In this series, features and series developer Heather Nicholls takes you behind the scenes of some of the most compelling brand activations and events.
In this edition, we meet Impact XM, the agency behind Qualcomm at Mobile World Congress MWC 2025.
The Brief:
Qualcomm came to MWC 2025 with a clear mission: build on the momentum of its 2025 presence while pushing their experience further.
The ask wasn’t to reinvent, but to evolve – with purpose, precision and a touch of boldness. This meant designing a space that didn’t just look new but felt new, while still staying true to the brand.
They wanted to create a booth that would capture attention and deepen engagement across a global audience. They needed to integrate innovative technology in ways that invited interaction, not just observation. They asked for a seamless unification of all demo areas to tell one cohesive, connected story about their ecosystem.
The environment also needed to reflect the elevated nature of their brand, both on the surface and behind the scenes. And at the centre of it all, Qualcomm wanted to build anticipation and deliver a show stopping reveal of the Nothing Phone (3a)—a moment that needed to be designed to captivate the floor and ignite conversation.
The Execution:
A spokesperson for Impact XM said: “We didn’t want to just put Qualcomm at MWC 2025 on the map again, we wanted to own it.”
Impact XM crafted every detail of the booth with intention. The design was an evolution, not a reboot with smarter, cleaner and packed with moments that made you want to stay and explore.
The star of the show was a semi-transparent LED mesh, a first at this scale in Europe.
It wrapped the booth’s front like a second skin, seamlessly flowing into a massive 35-meter LED wall. The entire surface became a living canvas, pulsing with custom content that brought Qualcomm’s technology to life without ever feeling overdone.
Along the back wall, mirrored slats gave depth and texture, while vibrant LED backdrops powered demos that didn’t just inform, they engaged. Screens at every station worked in sync, lit by color-shifting LEDs that moved with the story. The whole space breathed and shifted, guiding visitors naturally from one moment to the next.
Behind the scenes, Impact XM elevated the back-of-house experience to match the front-facing energy. While the general layout from 2024 remained, the finishes were completely transformed.Marble and stone-effect laminate flooring, glazed meeting room walls, and a dedicated press area all added a refined polish.
The newly built broadcast studio became a standout space of its own, equipped with smart privacy glass that allowed for instant transitions between private sessions and public livestreams, giving Qualcomm full control over the moment.
When it came time for the Nothing Phone (3a) reveal, the booth came alive in a new way. The main LED wall took center stage with a synchronized countdown.
Chris Patrick from Qualcomm and Akis Evangelidis from Nothing stepped up to deliver a reveal that was part presentation and part performance.
The Result:
The experience left a lasting impression with attendees staying longer, exploring deeper and engaging more fully with the technology on display.
Qualcomm’s ecosytem came across not just as a series of products, but as a unified vision of what’s next in connectivity. Feedback from the Qualcomm team was positive, especially when it came to how deeply the experience reflected their brand.
A Impact XM spokespersons said: “The environment felt seamless. The storytelling felt strategic. And the impact? Immediate. This wasn’t just an evolution of their booth—it was an elevation of everything Qualcomm stands for. And it set the tone for everything to come.”