Beaming at BIMA tonight with the National Trust

Making the inaccessible accessible – for everyone, forever

If you’re connected to us or collaborate with us in some shape form, social or other, there’s no doubt you’ll be aware that today is a big day at Nomensa HQ.

We have been fairly vocal in sharing our delight at being shortlisted for a prestigious BIMA award, and tonight we’ll be donning our glad rags and heading to The Yard, London, to join the digital elite for the awards ceremony.

The BIMA Awards are the longest standing and most prestigious digital awards in the UK and are renowned for supporting, driving and celebrating innovation and digital excellence across the industry.

As such, we are over the moon to have been shortlisted for our work with the National Trust in the Immersive Conscience Category this year.

For this project we focused on helping the National Trust understand the barriers to access for certain individuals and open up avenues for new customers, ultimately making National Trust attainable and accessible for all.

Using Virtual Reality (VR) technology we enabled users with impairments to become immersed in an authentic onsite experience without leaving the comfort of their homes.

As a result, inclusive experiences and deeper connections were made with National Trust audiences of all abilities.

Joe Austin, Account Director, who lead the team, said: “It’s a real honour to be shortlisted for a BIMA – we are extremely proud of our work with the National Trust.”  

“By getting a real understanding of the barriers to access as well as the benefits to mental wellbeing that are a result of experiencing beautiful environments, we pulled out all the stops to create a VR solution that emulated these experiences in a realistic and accessible way.”

“We’ve been working in VR for some time now and given the challenges faced, web VR fit well as it could be easily discovered online; there is no installation or software required outside the browser and it can be viewed on any device.”

Feedback has been phenomenal, with users reporting a feeling of immersion, enrichment and beneficial calming for those with anxiety. 

Early stage dementia patients found it triggered memories, which we know from various studies can help in slowing the onset of severe dementia.

Having such an impact and making a difference is truly humbling. This is a vital demonstration of the importance of embracing VR technology; not only as an educational tool, or a way for organisations to better connect with their audiences, but as a means to improve the quality of lives for those living with impairments across the world.

It’s safe to say that we are incredibly hopeful for tonight and we all feel honoured to be nominated alongside some fantastic companies.