Brands are built through experiences, not brochures. Our goal is always to give an unique insight into our innovation, make the visit memorable and turn visitors into Barco ambassadors.
500
tours per year
Inside Barco’s Experience Center: bringing Barco innovation to life
Centre d'expérience · 8 min de lecture
“We just finished a guided tour for the US ambassador,” says Liesbet Soenens when we meet at the heart of Barco’s One Campus. “This morning, we were guiding a school and before that, a customer team.” It’s exactly what Barco’s Experience Center is built for: letting different visitors feel and understand Barco technology – and make them a Barco ambassador. In 2025, that purpose got a major boost, as the Center was fully refurbished.
Our Experience Center in Kortrijk has a longer history than many people assume. “It started in 1998 at our former site, as a customer center,” says Wim Verstraete, who has been involved from the early days. “At the time, budgets were tighter and demos more product-oriented. Yet, while the center was less dedicated than today, we did welcome a lot of visitors already.”
Long before “experience centers” became common
“Barco didn’t jump on the experience center trend, we helped shape it,” Liesbet adds. “Still, it wasn’t until Barco’s move to One Campus in 2016 that we introduced the name Experience Center. Calling it a ‘customer center’ became too narrow. The center isn’t just a nice-to-have showcase for customers. It’s a practical way to make our sophisticated technology real. To understand and trust our solutions, people need to see them in action, feel them, test them, and ask questions.”
Beyond the technology itself, visitors get immersed in life at Barco. The center winds through different floors and corners of One Campus, so tour participants feel the campus vibe while employees enjoy the buzz that visitors bring.
The business case for experience
The Experience Center hums with activity from Mondays to Fridays – sometimes even in weekends. “On average, we have around three bookings a day,” Liesbet says. “We host many different audiences. Customers and partners, of course, but also suppliers, schools, future employees and even officials. That variety keeps us sharp and ensures every tour is different.”
The business impact feels for itself. As customers see what Barco technology can do, the center helps close sales opportunities faster. More than that, it creates chances for repeat business and upsells, and strengthens long-term relationships. Partners use it as a place to align and build a shared story. Investors get a tangible view of Barco’s innovation, coherence, and execution. For schools or future employees, the visit gives a feel of the campus vibe and Barco’ innovation firsthand.
The 2025 revamp: one story, across all divisions
Barco innovation doesn’t stand still – especially not in the past few years. That’s why, in 2025, Barco gave the Experience Center a complete refresh.
“In 2024 and 2025, Barco introduced an impressive slate of new solutions,” says Wim. “So we renewed every experience room with our latest technology.” A tour through the center now takes visitors from an amazingly colorful immersive show to a short movie in HDR by Barco at the cinema theater, new dedicated healthcare pods, and state-of-the-art control room and meeting room environments.
± 1,000
persons reached per month
50/50
courtesy vs. sales-related visits
Big efforts, big rewards
Construction, decoration, technical challenges, content updates, scripts: 2025 has been quite the year for Liesbet and Wim, who managed the revamp down to the slightest details. “What works really well between us is that Wim is super technical, and I bring more of the marketing profile,” Liesbet says. “When everything comes together seamlessly, that’s when people notice.”
And they do notice. The feedback is very rewarding, Wim adds: “We’ve had people with 20 years’ experience in the AV business tell us: ‘This is one of the best experience centers I’ve ever seen. That’s when we know we’re doing a good job.”
“People come here to understand Barco. We make sure they leave with the feeling: this is a company I want to work with,” Liesbet concludes.
We’ve had people with 20 years’ experience in the AV business tell us: ‘This is one of the best experience centers I’ve ever seen.
Kortrijk is the flagship Experience Center. But it’s not the only place where Barco gives visitors a hands-on experience. Across the world, Barco also has other customer-facing demo locations closer to regional markets. In addition to Experience Centers in Dubai, and Singapore, there are 14 smaller remote demo facilities around the globe.
This combination of a flagship Experience Center in Kortrijk and smaller hubs worldwide, works well. Some visitors will travel to Kortrijk for the full flagship experience. Others will discover Barco through a regional hub. Either way, the ambition is the same: discover technology and connect.
“Local teams are responsible for their own sites,” Liesbet says. “But budgets are governed by us and we keep alignment. We want the Barco experience to feel like Barco, wherever people meet us.”
