Tag: Internet of Things

WestJet Flight Light

WestJet creates a small device with a big emotional job. WestJet Flight Light is a nightlight that uses live flight data to project a parent’s WestJet flight path onto a child’s bedroom ceiling, turning the wait into a visual, interactive countdown of hours and minutes until the parent returns.

Behind it sits a broader shift that shows up across industries. More brands move beyond selling a product and start designing convenience services that drive repeat usage and loyalty by solving real-life friction.

Here, the friction is business travel. WestJet wants frequent travellers to pursue work opportunities without losing connection with the people waiting at home. Flight Light makes the journey feel present. Not abstract.

Why the concept works

The power is not the hardware. It is the experience design. A child’s instinct is to count down. Flight Light makes that countdown tangible and playful by projecting the route in the place where bedtime routines already happen.

The service logic

This is a brand service that behaves like a product. Live flight data becomes a family connection layer. The airline becomes part of the at-home story, not just the transport provider.

Beta-testing and what it signals

WestJet says a prototype of Flight Light exists, with beta testing scheduled to begin later this year. That is the bridge between a cute concept and something that can be operated, supported, and scaled.

A few fast answers before you act

What is WestJet Flight Light?

A nightlight concept that uses live WestJet flight data to project a parent’s flight path onto a child’s bedroom ceiling as an interactive countdown to their return.

Who is it designed for?

Business travellers and frequent flyers with families, especially parents who travel regularly for work.

What is the core experience design move?

Turn a data stream. Live flight status. Into a comforting, visible bedtime ritual that makes the trip home feel real and close.

Volvo Concierge Services

Volvo is actively experimenting with moving beyond simply building and selling cars. With Volvo Keyless Cars and Volvo In-Car Delivery, the direction is clear. Build a service layer around the vehicle. In its latest effort, Volvo creates a concierge-style service ecosystem that gives customers access to third-party service providers who can remotely refuel the car, run a car wash, handle servicing, and more.

The heart of Volvo Concierge Services is the digital key. A one-time-use, location- and time-specific key that gives an approved service provider access to the vehicle. That matters because it keeps the car secure and removes the need for the owner to meet someone and physically hand over keys. Whether the supplier is a refuelling company, a valet parking attendant, or Volvo itself for maintenance, the provider uses an app to remotely unlock the car and allow the engine to turn on.

The Volvo Concierge Services are currently being tested in the San Francisco Bay Area with owners of the new Volvo XC90 SUVs and S90 sedans.

The digital key is the unlock. The services are the business model

This is not just about convenience. It is a structural shift. Once access becomes software, it can be controlled precisely. Who gets access. For how long. Where. For what purpose. That is the foundation you need to turn a connected car into a platform for partners and post-sale services.

Why “remote access without handover” changes behaviour

Traditional servicing and add-on services create friction. Scheduling. Meeting. Waiting. Key logistics. Concierge Services reduces that friction by making the car addressable when it is parked, and by making access safe enough to involve third parties.

What to pressure-test before you scale a service ecosystem

  • Trust and governance. Who qualifies as an approved provider. What is logged. What can be revoked instantly.
  • Edge cases. What happens if something goes wrong mid-service. What support paths exist for customer and provider.
  • Consistency of experience. If third-party services vary in quality, the brand still owns the perception.
  • Security by design. One-time, time-bound, location-bound access is powerful. It has to be implemented rigorously.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Volvo Concierge Services?

A service ecosystem around Volvo cars that enables approved third-party providers to refuel, wash, service, and handle other tasks with controlled remote access to the vehicle.

What enables the service providers to access the car?

A one-time-use, location- and time-specific digital key that unlocks the vehicle through an app without physical key handover.

Where is it being tested?

In the San Francisco Bay Area, with owners of Volvo XC90 SUVs and S90 sedans.

What is the core strategic takeaway?

When access becomes software, the car can support a partner service layer that keeps creating value after purchase.

Coca-Cola Wish in a Bottle

At Coca-Cola Summer Love 2015, a camp-like teen event held each year in Ganei Huga, Israel, Coca-Cola creates a moment that feels like magic. A teenager opens a special bottle, and a shooting star appears in the sky.

The mechanism is built into the packaging. Working with Gefen Team and Qdigital, Coca-Cola equips special bottles so that opening one sends a Wi-Fi signal to one of three drones. The selected drone flies up to around 1,000 feet and releases a firework that resembles a shooting star.

Why this is more than a stunt

This is a clean example of connected packaging used as an experience trigger. The bottle is not a container for a message. It is the switch that activates the experience. That makes the brand action feel causal and personal, because the spectacle happens at the exact moment of interaction.

The pattern to steal

  • Put the trigger in the product. The experience starts when the customer does something real, not when they scan a poster.
  • Make the payoff visible. A shooting star in the sky is instantly understood, even without explanation.
  • Design for shared proof. Spectacle that happens above a crowd is naturally recorded, talked about, and replayed.

A few fast answers before you act

What is Coca-Cola “Wish in a Bottle”?

A Coca-Cola Israel activation where opening specially made bottles triggers drones to launch fireworks that resemble shooting stars.

Where does it take place?

During Coca-Cola Summer Love 2015, a teen event held in Ganei Huga, Israel.

How does the trigger work?

Opening a bottle sends a Wi-Fi signal to one of three drones, which then flies up and releases a shooting-star-style firework.

What is the core experience design idea?

Use connected packaging to turn a normal consumption moment into a visible, shareable experience that feels personally triggered.