enGen X 2026: Avatars, bookings and QR scanning across Chennai and Hyderabad

The occasion

enGen X 2026 ran for six weeks, from 18 August to 30 September 2026, across Chennai and Hyderabad: ten experiences in each city, from a theme launch and a stand-up comedy show to a mentalist, a short film festival and a main event in each city. The agency Aura produced the programme, and Sociana built the app that carried it, enGen X, under the line “Celebrating the Xtraordinary”.

What the client needed

This was a programme for a large workforce in two cities, not a single day in one hall, and it had four jobs. First, identity: enGen’s own attendee file was the source of truth, and nobody should be able to change their department or location from their phone. Second, capacity: several experiences had limited places, some were for particular groups only, and some people already had seats reserved. Third, the physical touchpoints: entry, exit and merchandise counters at each event, with a record of who had collected what. Fourth, a reason to come back between events, with a playful identity, games, a social wall and points that made the six weeks feel like one programme.

What we built

This is me

After a one-time code by email or mobile, the app showed each person the details enGen held for them, with a Verified for enGen X 2026 stamp. They confirmed with This is me, or tapped Not me to search again. If something was wrong, the card listed two support addresses; the app itself never let people edit the file.

Create your X-Avatar

Next came ten personas, each with a motto: the Xplorer (“Curious minds. Fearless journeys.”), the Xchanger (“Ideas flow. Connections grow.”), the Xtraordinary (“Ordinary isn’t our story. We are enGen X.”) and seven more. People picked one, took a selfie or chose a photo, and the app generated an AI version of them in that style in about a minute, then greeted them by name and persona. Creating an avatar earned 50 XP. Anyone who preferred not to could skip it.

Xplore and Book Your Spot

Xplore opened on each person’s own city, with tabs for Chennai and Hyderabad, ten experiences each, and cards giving date, time, venue, description and photos, with live and upcoming events first. Limited-place activities sat on a Book Your Spot strip on Home. A card could say Booked, show that bookings had closed or the event had ended, mark an activity Not eligible for a group it was not meant for, or tell someone Your Entry is Pre Booked, and when places ran out mid-tap, the card refreshed with the latest availability. My Bookings on the Me tab listed everything a person had reserved.

RSVP and hospitality

For the main event, a short RSVP asked whether the person would attend, whether they needed transport, pickup, drop or both, and their meal preference, then confirmed “You’re in!”. After the deadline, answers locked and the card pointed to the events desk.

Xcite, the X-Board and Xchange

Xcite held a crossword, riddles, sudoku, a jigsaw and an X/O game in enGen X colours, each opened by the event team when it suited the programme. Points fed the X-Board, which had a tab per city and filters for activity points and avatar points. Xchange was the social wall: posts carried the author’s department and city, an automatic #TENGEN tag, likes and comments, with share links that could be switched off. Albums and an AI Gallery collected each event’s photos, and a Live Poll on Home asked questions such as where collaboration could improve most.

One QR, three counters

Each person’s Me tab carried a single QR code. At every activity, the attendance team chose a sub-activity, Entry, Exit or Merchandise, and scanned it. Where order mattered, the scanner marked the next allowed step and flagged optional ones, and an activity code scanned by mistake was rejected with a plain message. Participants saw every scan, with its time, under My Attendance.

Tools for the event team

Managers saw extra options on the Me menu, split by role. The attendance team got Attendance: a list of activities per city, such as the main events, the short film festival, the Decade Arcade and the Inspiration Hour, each opening its expected guest list with search, a scanner and a manual add by email or phone for anyone without their phone. Other managers got Trigger Notifications, to send now or schedule for everyone or chosen groups, and Manage Live Polls, where a poll could be prepared hidden, made visible on cue and closed to votes separately.

How it ran

Experiences rolled out city by city from the theme launch on 18 August, with stand-up comedy on 25 August, Colours of Creativity on 28 August, a mentalist on 1 September and the Inspiration Hour on 10 September, with a main event in each city. Notifications kept the energy between dates: dress-code days (“Go Bold, Go Vibrant! Tomorrow’s Dress Code: Red, Pink & Maroon”, “Go Green Tomorrow!”), welcome messages and an evening community chat that earned 30 XP for joining. A Need to Know page answered the routine questions, from who could take part to how points were earned, before they reached the support team. Sections opened when the team was ready: a padlock on a tab, game or Home section simply meant not yet, and the Discussion chat and gallery uploads filled the gaps between events.

Outcomes

• 1,132 entry scans and 940 merchandise handovers at the Hyderabad main event, against 1,425 expected guests.
• 20 experiences on the programme across two cities in six weeks, with event photos in 10 albums.

What we would do again

• Put the correction route on the identity screen, so wrong details become an email rather than a queue.
• Treat merchandise as a scan, not a list, so handovers reconcile against entries in real time.
• Lead with the person’s own city, and let eligibility and pre-booking speak on the card itself.
• Give people an avatar early; it turns a long programme into something they own.