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Cheese Counter & Dairy Heritage Center

Entertainment | Museum

When Plymouth, WI, the Cheese Capital of the World, was raising funds to rehabilitate their historic downtown and create a Cheese Counter & Dairy Heritage Center, they commissioned Balance Studios to help tell their town's rich history and connection to cheese-making. The creative team was all-in and worked directly with Heritage Center employees, city employees, and the retail design firm, to help with everything from fundraising ideas, layout suggestions, and exhibit construction.

Knowing they wanted to incorporate technology to add flavor to visitor experiences, Balance led the ideation for all of the interactive experiences in the facility, totaling 16 unique, interactive ideas. In Phase One, four of the interactives were fully designed, developed and installed and have been edu-taining visitors with great – or should we say grate – success.

Video credited to America's Dairyland.

Welcome Video

The Cheese Counter and Dairy Heritage Center wanted something that would draw attention when visitors entered the building as well as provide an introduction to what they will experience in the center. A Welcome Video was the perfect solution!

Balance crafted the script, acquired the voiceover talent, and edited the final video using existing footage and photography to help tell the history of cheese in Plymouth and tell what visitors experience at the Cheese Counter and Dairy Heritage Center.

Set to trigger via motion sensor when the entering the building, visitors are treated to a video featuring historical images of Cheeseville and the local cheese companies, images around the heritage center, and a voice-over welcoming them to the experience they are about to have. Once the video is finished, the motion sensor reactivates and is ready for the next visitor to walk through the door.

Company History Multi-Gestural Table

Multi-Gestural Table Application

Within multiple award-winning cheese companies based in Plymouth, WI, the heritage center could not be complete without honoring their incredible history. The Company History Multi-Gestural Table takes a deep dive into the history of Sargento Foods, Sartori Foods, Master Gallery Foods, Great Lakes Cheese, and Cheeseville (aka the City of Plymouth). Allowing two groups to explore simultaneously, the multi-gestural table divides allows each visitor to choose their own adventure.

Once the visitor selects a company or the Cheeseville historical category, they explore the categories using a variety of interactive components including interactive timelines featuring photos and videos, historical photos and data, stories of how each company came to be, massive listings of awards, commercials, and news stories. Information discovered on this table is used to answer some of the Plymouth Quiz questions. Audio is directed by each side, allowing for both parties to hear their own experience.

As the companies continue to grow, content will be updated and added to reflex the latest and great innovations, digital stories, photos, and videos--making this a limitless storytelling tool for these nationally and internationally recognized brands.

Watch Video

Plymouth Quiz

Touch Screen Application

Visitors meet the loveable and entertaining Curds and Whey as they travel through an edu-taining quiz based on Plymouth cheese history. Balance Studios designed the cute characters as a spoof on the cheese products–curds and whey!

Utilizing facts learned throughout the Dairy Heritage Center from wall graphics and other interactives designed by Balance Studios for the Heritage Center, visitors play along with Curds and Whey as they share multiple choice questions on subjects from cheesemaking to a local cheese company’s history.

If a visitor answers incorrectly, a stinky cheese icon animates onto the screen and they are encouraged to guess again. Selecting the correct answer displays additional facts and the next question. Upon completion, visitors are given their score and offered the chance to play again.

Say Cheese

Touch Screen Application

Wanting to provide visitors with a fantastic memento of their cheesy time at the Heritage Center, Balance developed the Say Cheese Interactive Touchscreen Application. Say Cheese lets visitors and their friends and family take a group shot or be a star in their own cheesy selfie.

Once the countdown begins, visitors have five seconds to position themselves within the frame on the screen. Once the photo is taken, visitors select to retake their photo or keep it to “cheese” up their photo. They then add cheesy hats and accessories such as cheeseheads, graduation caps, mustaches, bow ties, and more! Once the photo has been “cheesed” up, visitors are invited to share their photo to an email.

Visitors receive an email with a link to a unique branded website where they can download the photo and share it out to social media. Administrators are provided access to the information provided in the submission to utilize in marketing and promotions as well as resend the email to the visitor upon request.

The Idea

To help create a heritage-style museum center full of interactive fun celebrating the rich history of a city and the many cheese makers who call it home.

Services

Your one-stop, collaboration shop. We provide full-service solutions, from helping our client partners with everything from concept, creation, layout, exhibit installation and ideas for fundraising. Our commitment to all-in involvement, combined with a shared passion and pride for our client-partner's vision, lets us do what we do best: tell stories and create memorable experiences.

The Result

The Cheese Counter & Dairy Heritage Center became an epicenter for tourism, drawing visitors from the entire region as well as vacationers passing through.