When it comes to explaining the complexities of the current generation of electricity metering systems – the hardware that collects the data, the software that interprets it, and the tools that manage the resulting information – words aren’t enough. Neither were the materials Itron had put together to demonstrate its expertise to customers. Itron’s message – its ability to provide end-to-end energy resource management solutions for utilities worldwide – was getting lost.

Leading a team of over half a dozen vendors, Anderson Mraz Design developed a portable, scalable, and memorable system that more clearly communicates Itron’s expertise. All the firm’s conceptual, design, fabrication, assembly, and programming expertise was brought to bear on the project: a sophisticated demonstration kit that’s now in use in Itron’s North American region. Asia/Pacific and Latin American versions are also in production.

“AMD was asked to take very complex technology and humanize it for our customers,” explained Tim Wolf, Itron’s director of marketing communications, North America/Latin America. “It was a formidable design challenge.”

“Responding to Itron’s needs would take any designer outside his comfort zone,” said AMD associate and senior designer Shirlee Roberts-Downey. “It’s more than graphics, imagery, and words; it’s first understanding the technology behind Itron’s products and services – then creating an experience that shows, rather than tells, how Itron is different from its competition.”

“What AMD accomplished is experiential marketing at its best,” added Wolf, “the result of which is a highly interactive, theatrical impression that sets Itron’s brand and technology apart.”

Two 10 ft x 8 ft projection screens are used to showcase an animated presentation controlled by an iPod Touch. All content is customizable. In addition to two large projection screens, a typical kit consists of a control station, up to six color-coded LED-lit vignettes, and various demo equipment housed in custom-designed display units.