Rita Retail – Digital Human
For years, the winners at the ABN AMRO Retailer of the Year Gala were revealed the same way. A standard video, a name, applause. Q&A Retail, the organiser, wanted the 2026 edition to feel different: more suspense, more creativity, something the room hadn't seen before.
Commissioned by Q&A Retail, and working with JUMP Retail and our technical partner a10n, we started brainstorming in early September. The idea that stuck was a second host for the evening. A digital human. We pitched her in early October, and a month later she was on stage.
Rita Retail – Digital Human
For years, the winners at the ABN AMRO Retailer of the Year Gala were revealed the same way. A standard video, a name, applause. Q&A Retail, the organiser, wanted the 2026 edition to feel different: more suspense, more creativity, something the room hadn't seen before.
Commissioned by Q&A Retail, and working with JUMP Retail and our technical partner a10n, we started brainstorming in early September. The idea that stuck was a second host for the evening. A digital human. We pitched her in early October, and a month later she was on stage.
Rita Retail – Digital Human
For years, the winners at the ABN AMRO Retailer of the Year Gala were revealed the same way. A standard video, a name, applause. Q&A Retail, the organiser, wanted the 2026 edition to feel different: more suspense, more creativity, something the room hadn't seen before.
Commissioned by Q&A Retail, and working with JUMP Retail and our technical partner a10n, we started brainstorming in early September. The idea that stuck was a second host for the evening. A digital human. We pitched her in early October, and a month later she was on stage.
Rita Retail – Digital Human
For years, the winners at the ABN AMRO Retailer of the Year Gala were revealed the same way. A standard video, a name, applause. Q&A Retail, the organiser, wanted the 2026 edition to feel different: more suspense, more creativity, something the room hadn't seen before.
Commissioned by Q&A Retail, and working with JUMP Retail and our technical partner a10n, we started brainstorming in early September. The idea that stuck was a second host for the evening. A digital human. We pitched her in early October, and a month later she was on stage.
Meet Rita
Rita Retail is a digital human we designed from scratch. She had to feel at home in retail and convince as a presenter. Neat, well dressed, with a slightly cheeky edge.
Together with our creative team we worked out her look and outfit, captured her in a character sheet and wrote her tone of voice: who she is, how she reacts, what makes her laugh. Rita knows retail inside out and doesn't keep it to herself. Her favourite target for the evening was the host.
Meet Rita
Rita Retail is a digital human we designed from scratch. She had to feel at home in retail and convince as a presenter. Neat, well dressed, with a slightly cheeky edge.
Together with our creative team we worked out her look and outfit, captured her in a character sheet and wrote her tone of voice: who she is, how she reacts, what makes her laugh. Rita knows retail inside out and doesn't keep it to herself. Her favourite target for the evening was the host.
Meet Rita
Rita Retail is a digital human we designed from scratch. She had to feel at home in retail and convince as a presenter. Neat, well dressed, with a slightly cheeky edge.
Together with our creative team we worked out her look and outfit, captured her in a character sheet and wrote her tone of voice: who she is, how she reacts, what makes her laugh. Rita knows retail inside out and doesn't keep it to herself. Her favourite target for the evening was the host.
The opening
The evening opened with a 30-second intro clip: Rita walking through a shopping street lined with the nominees, on her way to the Lichtfabriek in Haarlem. As the clip ended, she appeared live on the big screen above the stage, next to the evening's host, and greeted the room.
The opening
The evening opened with a 30-second intro clip: Rita walking through a shopping street lined with the nominees, on her way to the Lichtfabriek in Haarlem. As the clip ended, she appeared live on the big screen above the stage, next to the evening's host, and greeted the room.
The opening
The evening opened with a 30-second intro clip: Rita walking through a shopping street lined with the nominees, on her way to the Lichtfabriek in Haarlem. As the clip ended, she appeared live on the big screen above the stage, next to the evening's host, and greeted the room.
Live on stage
The host's microphone was connected to our system, so Rita heard what he said and responded in real time.
Throughout the night she introduced the nominees, described every course of the dinner, explained how the votes were counted and handed over to the reveal videos. In between, she and the host traded jokes. We gave her a clear framework to work within. She knew the programme, the nominees and the tone of the evening, and when the host went off script, she could follow him.
For the winners we produced seven reveal videos. Every nominee passes by, the top contenders light up one by one, and the winner lands with music. Rita announced each video and then let it do the work.
Live on stage
The host's microphone was connected to our system, so Rita heard what he said and responded in real time.
Throughout the night she introduced the nominees, described every course of the dinner, explained how the votes were counted and handed over to the reveal videos. In between, she and the host traded jokes. We gave her a clear framework to work within. She knew the programme, the nominees and the tone of the evening, and when the host went off script, she could follow him.
For the winners we produced seven reveal videos. Every nominee passes by, the top contenders light up one by one, and the winner lands with music. Rita announced each video and then let it do the work.
Live on stage
The host's microphone was connected to our system, so Rita heard what he said and responded in real time.
Throughout the night she introduced the nominees, described every course of the dinner, explained how the votes were counted and handed over to the reveal videos. In between, she and the host traded jokes. We gave her a clear framework to work within. She knew the programme, the nominees and the tone of the evening, and when the host went off script, she could follow him.
For the winners we produced seven reveal videos. Every nominee passes by, the top contenders light up one by one, and the winner lands with music. Rita announced each video and then let it do the work.
The night
A full room of retailers saw Rita in action. The biggest reactions came from the small moments: a joke from Rita, a comeback from the host, the room laughing along.
Afterwards, some guests told us they thought we had been playing pre-recorded videos of Rita all evening. She looked that polished. In fact, Rita was running live on stage, listening to the host and responding in real time.
What we learned is that a digital human on stage works best with a host who enjoys the interplay, and an audience that knows what it's looking at.
The night
A full room of retailers saw Rita in action. The biggest reactions came from the small moments: a joke from Rita, a comeback from the host, the room laughing along.
Afterwards, some guests told us they thought we had been playing pre-recorded videos of Rita all evening. She looked that polished. In fact, Rita was running live on stage, listening to the host and responding in real time.
What we learned is that a digital human on stage works best with a host who enjoys the interplay, and an audience that knows what it's looking at.
The night
A full room of retailers saw Rita in action. The biggest reactions came from the small moments: a joke from Rita, a comeback from the host, the room laughing along.
Afterwards, some guests told us they thought we had been playing pre-recorded videos of Rita all evening. She looked that polished. In fact, Rita was running live on stage, listening to the host and responding in real time.
What we learned is that a digital human on stage works best with a host who enjoys the interplay, and an audience that knows what it's looking at.
