Tag: QR Codes

Give-A-Toy Store

One of the things that all people do during the holidays, besides real shopping, is window shopping. Storefront window displays therefore have a stronger significance during the holiday season. Keeping that in mind eBay has developed a way to make this experience from a passive experience to an interactive and engaging one.

Give-A-Toy Store is a 3D Christmas window installations that has QR code tagged toys evoking passerby’s sensitive and giving side. Scanning the QR codes from inside the eBay app, allows passerby’s to instantly donate that toy on the spot, with the window lighting up and rewarding them for the donation.

The window installation is currently available at Toys for Tots in New York (at 35th and Broadway) and San Francisco (at 117 Post St).

Additionally customers can also customize their own toys on eBay’s Facebook page. For each toy created, eBay will donate $1 (up to $50,000).

Santa Tags

Brands generally use QR codes to direct consumers to websites. But this holiday season, J.C. Penney is taking a different approach.

As seen in the below video…J.C. Penney shoppers receive a “Santa Tag” sticker with each purchase this holiday season. These tags contain individualized QR codes that can be scanned with any QR code reader to record a personalized voice message! Gift recipients can, in turn, scan the codes to hear the recorded voice message when they open their gifts.

If there was a J.C. Penney around where I live, I would have definitely shopped there this season. 🙂

Augmented Reality – Hyperlinking the real world

Is the end near for the QR code? It has been put to good use in countless innovative projects, but recently I am starting to see a drift towards technology that can produce similar results without the codes.

French company Capturio, lets users turn their t-shirts into a business card! Now Blippar in UK is creating augmented reality effects from printed images without any activation from a QR code. All the users needs to do is:

  1. download a custom app…in this case its from Blippar
  2. scan a Blippar enabled printed image (identifiable by a small Blippar logo) with their iPhone, iPad or Android device
  3. and begin interaction with the augmented reality 3D overlay seen on the screen…

In India I have seen Telibrahma using the same technology to increase the experiential engagements of brands via traditional mediums i.e. newspapers, posters etc.

IAA Walk of Innovations – 2011

I was at the IAA 2011 this Saturday, and I got a glimpse of our automobile future! It was truly awe inspiring to see where the automobile industry is headed – almost all electric, fully computerized with interactive dashboards and window displays as seen in the below picture…

But while I looked at all the cars with amazement, I kept a close look out for innovative implementations of “todays” cutting edge technologies. I was curious to see how cars makers would use Touch Displays, Social Media, QR Codes, Augmented Reality etc to engage visitors at such a humongous event.

Here is a quick photo report of what I found interesting and innovative at the show…

Volkswagen

The Volkswagen Blue Motion technology was presented through a huge “motion based” interactive display. The visitors did not need to touch the display, but just use various gestures to navigate through the various menu options.

Renault

Visitors were able to use the motion based interactive display to learn more about Renault Twingo – one could change the colors of the model, watch demo videos etc.

Hyundai

The main draw at the Hyundai stall was the “Dream of Sand” show by Svetlana Goncharenko and Natalya Netselya who created vivid pictures in realtime on sand (as seen above)! For a non Hyundai branded sand demo click here.

Hyundai was also one of the only car brands trying to connect their stall with Facebook. Consumers needed to “Like” their Facebook Page in order to be part of a lucky draw that would give them a chance to drive their Hyundai dream car. Important details like Fan Page URL and more contest infos were not available or just not easily accessible? 😕

Skoda

Skoda was giving its visitors Augmented Reality Pins! The Junaio AR app needed to be used to scan the pin and activate the augmented reality. Most of the pins were gone by the time I got there. So I just scanned the above info card to see if I got some cool three dimensional messaging. But it turned out to be just 9 different regional videos.

Citroen

At the Citroen Eco Drive simulator, visitors could take the car for a 3D test drive!

iPads were being used by majority of the car manufactures to interactively share model specifications, videos, brochures and also take automated enquires from high potential buyers.

Opel

Opel had used the Microsoft Surface technology to share infos on their cars. It was my first live experience with the surface technology. I found it to work exactly like the Apple touch interface, even though it was not as sensitive and smooth.

Ford

Ford just like Citroen and Volvo had also set up a car simulator at their stall (as seen above).

They also engaged the visitors with a small “collect the stamps” game. The game made the visitors goto each section of the Ford stall, correctly answer some easy questions related to the car / technology, collect the stamps and get nice Ford branded water bottles. Additionally visitors could play further and win 2 tickets for the UEFA Champions League Finals in 2012.

Chevrolet

Visitors could scan the QR code on the floor to view a short Chevrolet Volt specs video.

Volvo

The Volvo Open 70 Simulator, gave visitors a first hand experience of what all the Volvo Sailing team goes through when they go sailing in the ocean…

On taking the ride I could not help but slide steeply from left to right on the seat. There was also non stop wind blowing on my head with regular splashes of water! It gave a great 4D kind of experience to the whole thing.

Additionally visitors could also try to hoist a virtual sail! On my second attempt I managed to hoist the sail in 12.3 seconds. The current record was set at 9.03 seconds by one of the previous visitors…

Mini Cooper

I really enjoyed visiting the Mini Cooper stall. Their displays were just amazing! A beautiful Mini surrounded by a bright circular display was seen on entering the stall…

Mini’s in all colors were on display with various digital displays on the walls…

They were also showcasing their new iPhone app for their car which claimed to be the intelligent link between the driver and his Mini. This new Driving Excitement App had features that helped the driver perfect an even more sporty and precise driving style…

I also spotted Lancia, Fiat and Alfa Romeo promoting their iPhone apps via simple leaflets.

A nice souvenirs section also greeted visitors on the first floor of their stall.

In the end I got to drive my own Mini. 😉

BMW

The BMW stall was the biggest in terms of size and digital displays! Two of the most stunning concept cars from the whole of IAA could be seen here.

The car from the above photo has been used in the new hollywood blockbuster “Mission Impossible Ghost Protocol.”

Above is the BMW i3 Concept city car. At its stall I found an interactive telescope (seen below) through which I could watch various videos and product demos. To select a video I had to move the telescope around and point it at the desired video…

I spent 7 hours at IAA! It was totally awesome! The only car stalls I could not visit were that of the Mercedes and Audi…there were just way too many people crowding their stalls, and if I had waited, I would have missed at least half of all the other things I saw during my time there.

I look forward to the next Internationale Automobil Ausstellung in 2 years. Till then this is Sunil Bahl signing off from IAA 2011. 😎

Homeplus Subway Virtual Store

South Korea is a unique market. Even the most powerful global corporations tend to fail miserably in the Korean market. Walmart and Carrefour had to pack up their bags and leave. On the contrary, Tesco has been evolving itself, adjusting to the local market. It even changed the name itself, from Tesco to Homeplus! And at last, it grew to rank No. 2 in Korea! But Tesco had to overcome one obstacle? A fewer number of stores compared to the number one company, E-mart.

Agency Cheil Korea came up with the idea to bring the store to the people! They created virtual stores in subway station hoping to blend into people’s everyday lives. Their first try was busy subway station in rush hours. Although virtual, the displays were exactly the same as actual stores – from the display to merchandises. Only one thing was different, you could use smart phones to shop! Scan the QR code with your phone, and the product automatically would land into your on-line cart! When the online purchase was done, it would be delivered to your door right after you get home.

As a result people could meet Tesco Homeplus wherever they go, not having to visit the actual store. Moreover they could make good use of the wasted times and enjoy their free time. After this campaign, on-line sales increased tremendously (Nov 2010 – Jan 2011). Through this campaign, 10,287 consumers visited the online Homeplus mall using smartphones. The number of new registered members rose by 76%, and on-line sales increased 130%. Homeplus became the No.1 on-line market and is a very close 2nd offline.

Diesel’s Real Life “Likes”

People love to share moments of their lives, what they do, what they think and, of course, what they like. Because of this, the “Like Button” is clicked 3 billion times a day.

So agency Fullsix Madrid decided to give people the chance to like their favorite Diesel outfits in the real world. All customers had to do was go to a Diesel Store, fall in love with a Denim and as they would do on Facebook, “Like” the product by scanning a QR code which would post on their Facebook wall. Easy!

At the moment this is being tried out in Diesel stores in Madrid, Spain. If successful it may well be rolled out across Europe.