Brands Experiential 2018

Brands Experiential 2018

1. Disney lets you sleep in Star Wars’ universe. Disney is making the most of its 2012 $4 billion purchase of the Star Wars franchise with Galaxy’s Edge. Described as a theme park experience, Galaxy Edge goes further than most by offering a luxury Star Wars hotel in Florida that lets visitors sleep in the Star Wars universe. Others can visit Oga’s Cantina, a functioning bar replete with Star Wars characters. When it comes to “immersive,” Disney seems to be raising the bar. It’s one thing to see a movie and go home. It’s another to live in a movie and wake up in it. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aP1jcbPRxc8 6. City Social’s AR drinks menu. And now for something completely different: London restaurant City Social this year introduced an AR drinks menu. Hold your phone up to one of these cocktails and you’ll see everything from dancing skeletons to an animated Van Gogh-like landscape. And that’s before you even drink anything. The experience works thanks to a branded app and special coasters that activate the AR. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=45&v=UvH5e4KcLFo
2. Felix the Augmented Reality Cat. Purina’s European Felix cat food brand let loose its mascot in London’s Waterloo station this summer. Similar to Coca-Cola’s Zurich AR implementation, this experience let users frolic with the animated cat, which one couldn’t see in real life, but could see on a large screen projected in the station. Much better than a billboard, this AR implementation brought some fun into what would have otherwise been a boring commute for many. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL5rf_o8RYR-hbZZmXe9rjyygyGUVzvHp1&v=E3fEKBKsgJU
3. Netflix punks CES for Altered Carbon. Netflix, no stranger to experiential marketing, set up a display at CES featuring nearly nude actors who were playing the part of the humanoid creatures of the future. Set 300 years from now Altered Carbon is about a time when humans can transfer their brains via a “cortical stack” to human sleeves. CES visitors didn’t necessarily know this was a Netflix stunt. The experience promoted Psychasec, the fictional company in the series. Netflix’s booth featured actors who stayed in character as representatives of Psychasec. Netflix even staged fake protests against Psychasec at the show. Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boUSJlyOCSA

Coca-Cola’s World Cup AR Experience

Coca-Cola feted the 2018 World Cup with an augmented reality (AR) experience outside of Zurich’s main train station. The station featured a giant screen that acted like a mirror, offering a video reflection of anyone who stood in front of it. The screen also featured Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri, making it look like passers-by were playing alongside the star athlete. This experience seemed made for Instagram and was on-brand as well, providing an upbeat tie-in to the World Cup.