"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." John Muir wrote this in 1911 in his book "My First Summer in the Sierra." Muir, who was founder of the Sierra Club and commonly known as the father of the National Park System, understood the language of the trees more than anyone. Intrinsically stitched into the quilt of humanity is the preservation of nature. And he placed the power of preserving that fragile ecosystem squarely in the hands of the people.

When Subaru of America Inc. began planning for its 2021 Los Angeles Auto Show exhibit where it would unveil the Solterra, the company's first fully electric vehicle, Subaru knew it wanted to embody the spirit of nature in its booth. Adventure seekers and lovers of experiences are the top demographic for the Subaru owner - the brand has always been synonymous with the great wide open. But Subaru wanted to tangibly illustrate how they are "More than a car company" in a way that was engaging and insightful. With its booth, Subaru needed to highlight how deeply woven the environment is in the brand.

The relationship between automobiles and nature conservation isn't a typical love story. But a commitment to thoughtful environmental practices is what drives the Subaru brand. Subaru Loves the Earth is the first pillar of the company's Love Promise - a set of principles that helps the company show love and respect to all people who interact with the brand - and is intertwined with every byway of the brand's movements.

Subaru manufactures its products in zero-landfill production plants, and its Indiana production plant is the only automotive facility in the U.S. that is recognized as a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. And as the largest corporate sponsor of the National Park Foundation (NPF), Subaru has provided nearly $55 million in support to national parks since 2013. But as majestic and stunning as these statistics may be, they don't translate easily into a booth design, especially when considering the heavy messaging behind sustainability.

So, how do you capture the spirit of Subaru and its Love Promise in something you can touch and reflect on, much like a photograph from your last treasured camping trip? How do you tell a story of environmental commitment without weighing on a visitor's conscience and relying on negative emotion? How do you create a sense of natural wonder, imagination, and engagement out of the concrete slab of an exhibit floor? For Subaru, that meant bringing the outside in.

Tackling the Peaks
Going into the 2021 Los Angeles International Auto Show, Subaru knew it had a series of summits to scale in the most Subaru way possible. The booth design had to be a journey for the attendee, where Subaru's commitment to national parks was front and center, and it needed to highlight the company's Love Promise initiatives. The centerpiece unveiling of Solterra, the company's first eagerly anticipated, zero-emissions electric vehicle, demanded a show as dramatic as the sunrise. And the entire experience needed to be as playful and engaging as a romp through the woods.

On paper, those points on the map seemed easy to reach. But the team at Subaru had their sights set even higher than Denali's peak. The experience of the Subaru booth needed to be as immersive as a multisensory, jaw-dropping drive through Yosemite National Park. So the team came up with an inspired plan. "We decided to use our auto show reveals and our kit as a way of bringing the parks to all people and spreading the word about preserving these pieces of America's history for future adventures," says Kerry Ann Nolan, Subaru auto shows and events manager.

There were several booth essentials Subaru wanted. They included real trees, a rope bridge, and log cabin structures. There needed to be wildlife and wayfinding signs, and because of the significance of the Solterra's unveiling, the stage set had to become the horizon's centerpiece. And capping the peak of the experience was real-life snow flurries.

Subaru leaned on three visionary firms for creative and production guidance to achieve the high-altitude goals, including Exhibit Works Inc. (dba EWI Worldwide). And, together with its partners, EWI built a 30,000-square-foot national park in the middle of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The first time the organization brought an earthy vibe to the trade show floor was in 2019 at the New York International Auto Show. But for this iteration, Subaru and its partners took the existing concept and expanded it into something as vast as the great outdoors.

Into the Woods
Stepping off the show floor and into Subaru's space was a journey into a forest wonderland. Tranquil lighting bathed the booth in shades of jade. Leaf motif gobos created the illusion of sunlight filtering through the treetops. The sounds of chattering birds and bubbling brooks muffled the sounds of a busy convention hall. And whiffs of pine wafted through the air.

Guests entered the space through a moss-covered, wooden A-frame structure that doubled as a welcome center and a display for information on the brand. Touchless QR codes allowed visitors to access detailed Subaru insights while contributing to the brand's paperless pledge. Subaru awards were on display, and wayfaring signs, like those found in any national park, proudly noted the brand's various achievements. In keeping with the wish list during the planning stage of the booth design, live plants and trees peppered the walkways.

As guests traversed the landscape, they passed various Subaru models, each subtly telling a story of outdoor adventure. The vehicles were strapped with kayaks, mountain bikes, and pop-up tents, promising the thrill of roads not yet taken.

Guests walked through the visitor center and into the park, and stepped into a digital Garden of Eden. LED backdrops featuring national park video footage towered like redwoods, stretching almost 20 feet high and more than 78 feet wide. Serpentine panels flowed from more than 23 feet above and spilled into a 3,050-square-foot LED floor. The illusion immersed guests in the feeling of stepping over running water while standing at the foot of tumbling waterfalls.

This digital backdrop became the centerpiece for the unveiling of Subaru's Solterra. The impressive display tapped into the Latin roots of Solterra's name. The words "sol," meaning sun, and "terra," meaning earth, collided on the screen behind a raised dais. As a cyber sunrise stretched its morning yawn over the horizon, the LED wall parted, revealing Solterra in illuminating sun-like rays and dramatic fog. The crowd surrounding the unveiling was dense, and as the alpenglow illuminated their faces, hundreds of flashes captured the birth of Subaru's first all-electric car.

Daybreak wasn't the only treat in store for the guests near the stage. Every hour, the scenery shifted to a wintery landscape, and foam made to look like snow flurries began to fall. Each time the snow appeared, delighted attendees danced as the flakes whirled around them.

Cave Dwellers
Like any national park, the booth comprised more than one monumental landmark. Subaru's own Cave of Wonder, developed to awaken attendees to their responsibility toward sustainability in a positive way, was erected across 30 feet of the booth. And it was as miraculous as the Carlsbad Caverns. Massive, simulated limestone walls surrounded guests, shimmering like the dewy tunnels of dissolved bedrock. Stalactites, illuminated by a cave light show, dripped from overhead like stone icicles. Hidden scent machines infused the air with the unmistakable aroma of wet earth. As guests stepped into the tunnel, they inhaled the primal perfume of a damp cave with each breath they took. And once inside the cave, the attendees' experience took a magical turn.
Explorers traversing the faux limestone chamber were stunned by a kinetic visual display. State-of-the-art proprietary technology that was in development for two years was housed in the cave to capture precise guest movement. In real-time, image-capturing devices and projectors rendered the visitors' silhouettes onto the walls. Guests saw their digitized shadows jump, twirl, and move as they did. According to the booth designers, the image-capturing devices' sensitivity to movement was even a surprise to them. The sensors were affected by neighboring booths and had to be adjusted on site.

But it didn't stop there. The vignettes unfolded into three distinct storylines designed to educate guests. The first was a night sky that introduced the story of Subaru's national-parks partnership. With a flourish, visitors could simulate a wave of stardust and aura borealis against a starry night. Soft text boxes floated among the stars, explaining Subaru's history with national parks.

Then as gentle as a breeze, the projected imagery transitioned into a second story line. This one displayed a reforesting scene, where showgoers engaged with the tree lines. Visitors could "plant" and "grow" a sapling into a tree with simple arm motions. The scenes served as a nod to Subaru's notable contribution of a million trees that it replanted through the Forester Reforestation program with the National Forest Foundation in response to wildfires.

The final vignette encouraged guests to divert digital waste from landfills by moving it into recycling receptacles. Attendees kicked their feet, triggering images of recycled waste to transform into park benches. Accompanying verbiage educated viewers on Subaru's Leave No Trace and TerraCycle partnerships, which have kept more than 8 million pieces of trash from landfills.

Each scene squarely placed attendees in the proverbial driver's seat of eco-awareness while stimulating their sense of wonder and imagination. Living up to its name, the Cave of Wonders was a chamber of discovery.

Rounding out the interactive moments of the Subaru booth was the "wildlife." Another arm (or paw) of the company's Love Promise is Subaru Loves Pets. Subaru's commitment to the furry members of the community has resulted in more than $42 million in donations to national and local animal organizations. To spotlight this initiative, Subaru included an on-site dog park. Showgoers could get up close and personal with a rotating pack of shelter dogs that were available for cuddles or even adoption.

Like a national park, some of the best views of the booth came from above. Attendees who hiked up to the rope bridge were rewarded with unparalleled views of the 30,000-square-foot environment. From this vantage point, attendees gazed across the expansive scenery, peered into the wilds of the animal sanctuary, and watched wide-eyed travelers emerge from the multisensory cave.

Reaching the Summit
The call of the wild was a strong one. When the sun set on the show's final day, more than 82,500 attendees visited the Subaru booth. That was 93 percent of the total 2021 LA Auto Show attendees. The attraction was so popular that more than 2,500 show guests couldn't help but revisit the cave. And the visitors not only passed through, they stayed, resulting in more than 4,800 hours of dwell time.

In addition to the throng of visitors, Subaru's brand awareness experienced a swell. Subaru tracked a 15 percent increase in awareness over its New York International Auto Show attendance in 2019. And the subsequent media coverage was a ripple effect that, according to show organizers, reached more than 62,320,000 people.

Subaru educated attendees and showcased their first electric car in a playful, immersive world. According to one Sizzle Awards judge, the experience was awe-inspiring. "The perfect mix of technology, emotional connection, and environmental awareness to create attendee engagement that delivers on the Subaru brand mission." E