Lightswitch has been designing lighting for Subaru's top-tier North American auto shows since 2009. Each year, these immersive, themed experiences evolve and expand in scope and scale, while continuing to highlight Subaru’s adventurous brand identity and commitment to the National Park Foundation.
Lightswitch has been designing lighting for Subaru's top-tier auto shows since 2009. In 2019, the brand pivoted its traditional auto show strategy toward a more experiential concept that embraced its adventurous identity while also strongly differentiating itself on the competitive show floor. The following year, when the pandemic presented challenges and delays, the company continued to lean into its new "National Park Experience" concept. This immersive aesthetic has evolved throughout subsequent auto show seasons, as Subaru continues to produce highly theatrical and cinematic product reveals that serve as both introductions for the auto industry media, as well as themed attractions during the auto show’s public days.
To bring these auto shows to life, Lightswitch collaborates with EWI Worldwide, Hansen Productions, Inc., and 4Wall Entertainment to create highly engaging experiences built on Subaru’s commitment to the National Park Foundation. Each year, we evolve and expand these elaborate, theatrical experiences in scope and scale, building upon the lighting and scenic elements used in the event’s previous iterations to enhance Subaru’s signature nature-themed product reveals. These themed environments emulate the experience of walking in a forest through the use of live plants and trees, shifting “sunlight,” immersive audio and video, fog, snow, and even olfactory effects. Through the years, variations on the reveal have included giant virtual waterfalls, rainstorms, a mountain-top sunrise, and even a functional replica of the famous Tunnel Log drive-through tree in California's Sequoia National Park. These showcases play periodically throughout the auto show, bringing the excitement usually reserved for media previews to the general public. This theatrical component lends an air of excitement to the event, creating an atmosphere more akin to that of a theme park than a traditional auto show.
In the industry’s cautious post-pandemic return to auto show marketing, Subaru has forged ahead with these immersive showcase experiences, differentiating itself from other manufacturers in the auto show landscape and the industry overall. As Lightswitch continues to help design these immersive, themed experiences, we look forward to seeing what innovation lies in store for future auto show reveals.
photography by Matt Petit, Kathryn Rapier, Phil Gilbert Jr.
