Mobile agency XS2TheWorld (which has just opened an office in London) and Amsterdam's Yune are delighted to announce that they have jointly won their first award at the Cannes Lions, the world's most prestigious international advertising festival.

The two agencies scooped a Silver this morning in the festival's first-ever Mobile Lions (previously mobile work has been acknowledged in the Cyber and Media categories).

The award was for a unique piece of work for NS - the major railway operator in Holland - to promote one of the most extraordinary, yet invisible, parts of the rail network - The Royal Waiting Rooms.

Created for the Dutch royal family, the Royal Waiting Rooms are hidden away from the public, behind the walls of Amsterdam and The Hague railway stations. According to scholars, the rooms are among the finest examples of craftsmanship to be found anywhere in Europe - however, they have never been open to the public.

NS' dilemma was to share this treasure with the Dutch public and the world, while at the same time preserving both the décor and Queen Beatrix and family's privacy. XS2TheWorld was commissioned to solve this dilemma. In conjunction with Yune the agency created the Royal Waiting Rooms app.

Available for free for iOS and Android devices, the app allows users to view, zoom in and explore the rooms in high definition. Thanks to XS2's bespoke 360º motion- based image technology, the physical environment of the rooms are brought to life in a fully immersive way, allowing users to connect with a previously inaccessible part of the world.

By physically moving the device the user is able to navigate through the rooms; touching hotspots opens information about specific items on-screen; and the high definition imagery allows the user to zoom in and view the fine detail of the rooms' decorations, just as they would in a museum.

"The public has always been curious to see the beauty of these Royal Waiting Rooms first-hand," says Robert Doggers, Creative Director and Co-founder of Yune. "The inspiration for this app was to allow them to satisfy that curiosity in a way that was fresh and instantaneous, and also to be able to share what they'd seen."

Sander Munsterman, CEO of XS2 added: "Consumers want immersive experiences from their mobile devices, and they want to be in control. 360 degree panoramic imagery for mobile has of course been done before. But we are the first to allow the user to direct the journey or experience completely for themselves.

"The way people consume media is changing, and their expectations of the technology are constantly being raised - particularly in respect of their ability to connect with the world around them. Yune and XS2 understand this and have always seen it as our job to enable consumers to consume media and connect, which is what I think we achieved with the Royal Waiting Rooms.

"We enabled people a degree of intimate involvement with a place that is normally completely closed to them, and I'm delighted with this award, which recognises our achievement in this respect."

The app can be downloaded here: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/ns-koninklijke-wachtkamers/id436379200?mt=8

A short film about the app can be viewed on Vimeo here: http://vimeo.com/42556674.

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For more details please contact:
Nathalie Agnew
Switch Communications
Mob: +44 (0)7985 595510
Email: nathalie@switchcoms.com

About XS2TheWorld
XS2 is one of Europe's leading connected media communications companies, with offices in London and The Netherlands. The company provides a comprehensive range of mobile, tablet and connected media services including: mobile creative services, mobile advertising; application development, mobile internet and various mobile technologies like 360, augmented reality and scalable mobile marketing and communication platforms. For more information visit www.xs2theworld.com