The Challenge
Dassault Systèmes had something remarkable: a photorealistic virtual reality model of Tanjong Pagar Railway Station, one of Singapore's most iconic heritage sites. The model had been built by students at SUTD as part of a collaborative 3D modelling project. Watch the student project video here.
The challenge was how to turn it into a brand asset. Multiple stakeholders were involved: Singapore Land Authority on the government side, National Heritage Board on the cultural side, SUTD on the academic side, and Dassault Systèmes as the technology enabler. Add COVID restrictions on physical gatherings, and the risk was clear: this remarkable asset would remain a one-off showcase.
What I Did
The opportunity
Dassault Systèmes was already a sponsor of the vOilah! French Film Festival. That sponsorship came with an opportunity: a natural platform to showcase the VR experience to a public audience.
One VR experience could serve three audiences at once: a public cultural moment, a government relationship-building opportunity, and a brand story that positioned Dassault Systèmes at the intersection of digital heritage and immersive technology.
Making engineering cinematic
The project was technically complex. Which made it very easy to make very boring.
So I went the other way. I worked with a video production agency to direct a 30-second cinematic trailer: music, pacing, voiceover, visuals. The goal was not to explain the technology. It was to make people feel something first and let curiosity do the rest.
That trailer screened 183 times ahead of films at the vOilah! French Film Festival in 2021. Watch the trailer here.
Tanjong Pagar Railway Station — archival photograph (National Archives Singapore) and VR render (Dassault Systèmes x SUTD)
Public exhibition at the National Museum
The VR experience was showcased as a centrepiece of the NHB 50th Anniversary exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore, running from November 2021 through 2022. It sat at the intersection of heritage, technology, and storytelling: exactly where Dassault Systèmes needed to be.
Government relationship-building
This is where the project moved from cultural moment to business opportunity.
We organised four curated sessions across one day for Singapore government ministries and statutory boards, including URA, LTA, GovTech, and other institutional stakeholders. The goal was relationship-building: a door-opener that gave decision-makers a reason to experience the technology in person. Each session ran up to an hour, covering an introduction to the project, an immersive VR walkthrough, and time for conversation.
The communications programme
The project was supported by a full communications programme, including joint press releases and press conferences with NHB, SUTD, SLA, and the French Embassy; media interviews with technology trade press; presence on the vOilah! website and Dassault Systèmes discover page; eDMs and newsletters; organic social media across LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube; an Industry Insider episode; and internal communications for DS employees, including a private showing of the VR experience.
The Results
- 183 screenings of the cinematic trailer at the vOilah! French Film Festival
- Month-long public exhibition at the National Museum of Singapore, tied to NHB's 50th Anniversary
- Four curated government engagement sessions with URA, LTA, GovTech, and other institutional stakeholders
- Joint press coverage with NHB, SUTD, SLA, and the French Embassy, including technology trade media
- Strengthened Dassault Systèmes' positioning as a leader in digital heritage and immersive technology in Singapore
- A direct B2B and B2G entry point for relationship-building with government-linked organisations
The Lesson
When we stopped asking "how do we explain this?" and started asking "how do we make people want to experience this?", the asset shifted into an opportunity.
Emotion before information. Story before strategy. One VR experience became a public cultural moment, a government relationship-builder, a media story, and a brand platform. The asset never changed. The thinking around it did.