The story of a partnership that reveals an innovative business strategy meant to be for eXplorins

We focus on building connections, finding contacts, and establishing networks. We know the spark that drives the change is to team up. So we spread the creative vibe, knowing we attract the right tribe.

eXplorins was not founded on an idea, but instead, it grew from the roots of the surrounding living cultural environment. The rich cultural context is not only our inspiring muse. It is a dynamic resource, a bunch of creative stimuli, a human treasure of arts and technology that helps us co-create and deliver hybrid and immersive cultural experiences.

If it is neither competition nor cooperation: what makes eXplorins’ business strategy so innovative?

eXplorins realized that if you want your ideas to just shine, you compete. If you want your ideas to be helpful, you cooperate. But if you want your ideas to work out bringing benefits to you, your partners and the local community, then you embrace the coopetition strategy.

What is Coopetition strategy?

It can be easily explained by describing the relationship that exists between Indian rhinos and Mynas (a bird specie). Their unspoken deal is based on the logic of giving and receiving for their own good and for the equilibrium of the ecosystem. Mynas save rhinos from parasites while assuring themselves a food source. Likewise, eXplorins finds its mates, joining efforts, competencies and visions to create authentic cultural experiences that produce sustainable triple impact locally.

The coopetition strategy doesn’t affect the ability of a company to position well in the market. Not even converts a company into an ONG, sacrificing its profits, compromising its image or bargaining power. On the other hand, it is a new way of approaching business that prioritizes the quality and consistency of the results gained. eXplorins’ success is measured on the ability to multiply positive impacts in situ. So the more opportunities arise to accomplish this goal, the better for eXplorins and for the local community.

The coopetition strategy applied to a real case: the “Enter to WIN” story

WindingTree (WIN): a company that rethinks the accommodation booking system by removing the intermediaries between a traveller and a hotelier through the use os WEB3. WIN allows local communities to capture the real value of the profits and strengthen their local brands without having to depreciate their cultural and economical value.

WIN and eXplorins met at the XDWeek 2022 in Cologne both invited as spetial speakers for Digital Tourism Think Tank. After the talk they saw an instant opportunity to collaborate.

Their objective was to do much more than simply communicate their disruptive ideas. They wanted to deliver to people an interactive cultural hybrid experience in Barcelona that could help both brands to:

1. Show what interactive cultural experiences mean to an international audience coming for the ETHBarceloan 2022.
2. Allow people to learn key concepts of the WIN world and WEB3 in a totally new way.

As a result, there comes eXplorins magic and “Enter to WIN” was created, and where:

1. We wanted to bring people to iconic places in Barcelona and share their secret stories in an interactive way.
2. We wanted visitors to imagine the past while experiencing the future.
3. And we definitely wanted them to feel part of this creative narration: real players in a hybrid game.

We challenged new talents to design and create 3D models and develop cultural experiences following eXplorins methodology. AR models are the keepers of knowledge and fun: they also host in fact our limited edition POAp created by PANOT.es which can be won by the users. As always, we capture the hidden and we bring it to light: letting people learning-by-playing.

Enter to Win is a metaphor, but it also is the moral of this story: if you want to encourage a new generation of conscious travelers, you can’t do it alone. It’s neither a “Go big, or go home” nor “a jar fills drop by drop”. Competition means that I win, if you win, cause we all win.