WHO ARE WE?
Once upon a time...
Micro Immersive was born from the founder, Jason Neal’s, passion for creating immersive experiences.
We would love to share with you our why; but like all stories, it starts with a beginning…
CHAPTER 1 | CHILDHOOD CREATIVITIES
From a young age, Jason always liked to put on a ‘show’ to entertain others. At such a young age, he even provided his own entertainment for his 6th birthday party by learning and performing a magic show (bless you, Paul Daniels). At a similar age, he started to invent fantasy stories; even giving ordinary objects, such as climbing frames and rubbish bins elaborate historical backgrounds that intrigued the local neighbouring children as he told stories (blatant white lies) as if they were grand tours. He didn’t stop there though…
Growing up wasn’t easy for Jason, as he was plunged into an isolated village, far from friends and with no new ones in sight. So, he started to get even more creative by inventing and exploring his imagination in ways that would not otherwise have been possible if not for his stunted social circle. At the age of 16 he discovered the wonders of songwriting; little did he know, this passion for music would become the foundation for the next 20+ years of his life.
CHAPTER 2 | GETTING ONBOARD THE BUSINESS TRAIN
Fast-forward, Jason created his first (official) business at the age of 25, as he delved into the world of music production. Something wasn’t quite right though. There had been a void created mainly by the social pressure of ‘getting a degree’, which he obtained just months earlier. That void was creating experiences. As much as it delighted him to record artists and help make their dreams a reality, he was essentially spending hours in dark rooms with little engagement with people. The lack of sunlight and low nutritional intake took a toll on everyone, draining…as the energy in the room was so often ended each day. He didn’t want people leaving his business tired and depleted of inspiration – he wanted them on their feet, smiling and with great memories that would last forever. The next chapter was soon to begin…
CHAPTER 3 | BEING A POP STAR
Over the next few months, Jason started to create a new brand, one that would attract people who wanted to feel like a pop star, even if it was for a few hours. Most often, being a pop star was just a pipe dream or just an illusion created by a karaoke machine or a shower ‘sing session’. So one day, CoverStar Experiences was born. Jason started to tap into his childhood passion for creating memorable moments, but ones where participants would create their own stories. CoverStar Experiences went on to become an award-winning recording experience company at the heart of Liverpool’s already famous music centre. The next few years passed and Jason created a series of intimate live music events, music production workshops and even a collection of audiobooks for children designed to promote positive messages to young children (HappyMe). In 2017, he decided to pursue his ambition to live in another country, selling CoverStar Experiences and leaving his music studio life behind.
CHAPTER 4 | ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER CULTURE
As he adjusted to life in another country, Jason started to work with smaller companies and solopreneurs. Through his experience of developing his own business, he suddenly found himself quite useful to those who needed support with their branding development and generally being an all-round ‘Tech Ninja’ (his clients’ words, not his). But again, something was not quite right, there was a metaphorical scratch that wasn’t being itched. So, another brand was born, The Native Way. Jason recognised that learning English was a big thing in Spain, but the issue was that if learners couldn’t surround themselves with the language, how could they truly understand it? How could they be engaged to not only learn, but to love it? So over the next few years, he created various immersive experiences including theatrical Halloween gymkhanas, sensory tasting activities and 3D audio experiences in the dark. Unfortunately, back in 2020, the world was hit by ‘you know what’, and so although The Native Way still exists today, the premises had to close and Jason relocated to his current base of operations in Madrid.
CHAPTER 5 | ENLIGHTENMENT
Jason continued to work with businesses remotely, but this ever-repeating gap of not being able to ‘entertain’ was left wide open once again. As the pandemic eased and the doors opened ever so slightly to public events, Jason put on his most daring immersive experience to date, You Can’t See Me. It was an idea that came a few years earlier, but the development started in April 2021 with the aim of showcasing it at the Uprise Collective Community Retreat in Portugal. It was not long before that Jason really wanted to focus on experiences that enlightened others to improve awareness and develop emotional intelligence so that they could understand themselves, others and the world better. So, Jason took all his knowledge to date and created a story based on a recurring dream he once had as a child that highlighted an important topic, isolation. He really wanted participants to connect with the child and to feel his fear. So, in August 2021 he launched his experience with approx. 20+ participants taking part. In small groups, they were introduced into a cabin in the middle of nowhere, each with a pair of headphones and a participatory token. Each experienced a 30-minute interactive 3D audio journey that took them into that very dream he used to have when he was younger. After the experiences were finished, he made his way back to the retreat centre where he was greeted with rapturous applause, he couldn’t believe it. The moment had arrived, he knew what he was born to do, even if it took him almost 20 years to figure it all out since that magic show back when he was just 6 years old.
So, we’ve arrived at today, the day you’re reading this. The next, but certainly not the last chapter of the story.
CHAPTER 6 | MICRO IMMERSIVE
In January 2022, Jason’s latest brand, Micro Immersive was born out of a desire to make the types of experiences he had done to this point a full-time combination of his passion for immersive experiences and his experience working with brands.
Micro Immersive’s mission is to create moments of true emotional connectivity through immersive environments and compelling storytelling, putting participants at the heart of a story. The business side of Micro Immersive focuses on purpose-driven brands that have a passion for the good they do in the world to help them build communities that thrive on taking action, creating experiences that identify with their followers’ aspirations and need to feel connected. Essentially creating meaningful brand interactions that invite their clients to participate in memorable experiences.
Our vision is to go beyond what we know and create immersive edutainment that aligns and improves human connection, so with this new awareness we can help each other and the world to become a place with less uncertainty, less pain and more love.
We all have our own story, so we always invite people to have a chat first and tell us theirs so we can really understand the ‘why’, and make sure our values align. Micro Immersive values mutual trust, respect and transparency. We are committed to higher purposes and businesses that have been built in order to impact the world in a positive way – we don’t cover the ‘cracks’. If we are to have people feel and connect truly with our vision for the world, we must be at one with them to work together for success.
You can connect directly with Jason via his LinkedIn page or request more information here regarding any of Micro Immersive’s offerings.