Category: Internet of Things

Mercedes-Benz: Yes, A.I. Do

For the world premiere of their new Mercedes-Benz EQC at CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Mercedes transformed their new model into a wedding carriage. Four lucky couples were invited to test drive the new Mercedes-Benz EQC on the roads of Las Vegas and experience its special A.I. features first hand.

Why this launch twist works

  • It turns a product reveal into a story. A “wedding carriage” reframes a tech premiere into an experience people immediately understand.
  • It makes A.I. tangible. Instead of describing features on a stage, it puts them into a real drive where reactions matter.
  • It earns attention without shouting. The setup is unusual enough to travel, while still keeping the car at the center.

The reusable pattern

Wrap a launch moment in a simple, human ritual. Then invite a small group to experience the product in-context so the story carries the technology, not the other way around.

A few fast answers before you act

What happened in the Mercedes-Benz “Yes, A.I. Do” activation?

For CES 2019 in Las Vegas, Mercedes used the EQC premiere as a wedding-carriage themed experience and invited four couples to test drive the car and experience its A.I. features first hand.

Why use couples and a wedding theme for a car launch?

It creates an instantly recognizable narrative frame, which makes the activation easier to remember and easier to share than a standard demo.

What is the main takeaway for product launches?

Give the viewer a clear story hook, then let the product prove itself through a real experience rather than through claims.

How do you keep a stunt from overshadowing the product?

Make the product the “stage”. The theme should guide attention toward the experience of the product, not away from it.

Pizza Hut lets you order pizza from your shoes

Pizza Hut is the official pizza of the NCAA, a men’s basketball tournament known informally as March Madness and played each spring in the United States.

For last years tournament Pizza Hut created the world’s first shoe that ordered a pizza. Now to celeberate their second year as the official pizza of the NCAA, Pizza Hut, Droga5 and the Shoe Surgeon launched Pie Tops II, a limited-edition high top shoes that not only utilized your geolocation to order the current Pizza Hut deal at the press of a button, but also allowed users to pause the game while they received their delivery.

A TV ad has also been released to highlight the new pause feature of these newly relaunched Pie Top shoes…

Jaguar launches in-car cashless fuel payment

Drive up to a Shell pump. Choose your fuel amount on the car’s touchscreen. Pay without leaving the seat. In a world-first, Jaguar and Land Rover owners can pay for fuel via the touchscreen of their car at Shell service stations. Rather than paying at the pump or queuing to pay in the shop, installing the Shell app via InControl means drivers can drive up to a pump at participating Shell service stations, select how much fuel they require, and pay with PayPal or Apple Pay on the vehicle’s touchscreen.

For more details click here.

Why this matters beyond fuel

This is not really a “payments innovation” story. It is a friction story. The value comes from removing context switching. No wallet. No phone. No queue. The car becomes the interface where the need happens.

It moves checkout into the moment of intent

The moment you decide to refuel is the moment you can complete the transaction. That reduces drop-off, reduces effort, and makes the experience feel modern without changing the core product.

It turns the car into a commerce surface

Once the dashboard becomes a trusted place to authenticate and pay, the opportunity expands to other “on-the-go” services where drivers normally step out, wait, or juggle devices.

It is a clean example of partner-led experience design

Jaguar provides the in-car platform. Shell provides the forecourt context and operational integration. The user experiences it as one flow, not two brands handing off a task.

The reusable pattern

  1. Embed the action where the context already is. Put the transaction inside the primary interface, not a separate detour.
  2. Keep the flow short and explicit. Select, confirm, pay, receipt. Anything more breaks the promise.
  3. Design for trust signals. Clear station identification, clear confirmation, and a clear receipt reduce “did it work” anxiety.
  4. Make the benefit obvious in one sentence. “Pay from your car” is enough. The value is immediate.

What to measure beyond views

  • Adoption. Percentage of eligible drivers who activate the in-car payment feature.
  • Repeat usage. Whether people use it again after the first try.
  • Time saved. Reduction in “fuel stop duration” compared with paying in-store.
  • Experience confidence. Drop-off rates between selecting the pump and confirming payment.

Risks and guardrails that matter

  • False positives. The system must reliably know which station and which pump the driver is using.
  • Failure recovery. If payment fails, the user needs a clear next step that does not create embarrassment at the pump.
  • Trust. Drivers need clear confirmation, receipts, and predictable behavior every time.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Jaguar’s in-car cashless fuel payment?

A Shell fuel payment flow that lets Jaguar and Land Rover drivers select an amount and pay from the vehicle touchscreen via the Shell app in InControl.

What problem does it solve?

It removes the need to pay at the pump or queue inside the shop. The entire task completes from the car.

What is the core mechanism?

A contextual in-car experience that links the driver, the station, and the payment method into one short flow.

What is the most reusable lesson?

Move checkout into the moment of intent inside the primary interface. Then keep the steps minimal and confidence high.

What is the biggest failure mode?

Any ambiguity about station or pump, or any unclear “did I pay” outcome. Trust collapses fast in payments.