Marketing
Jet Lag Gets Grounded
Delta's Photon Shower
When Delta Air Lines introduced a series of sleep-enhancing advancements for fliers, it wanted to make a statement that went beyond just fluffier pillows and flatbed seating. At the 2013 TED conference this spring, Delta agency Wieden + Kennedy, New York, pulled out all the stops, unveiling the Photon Shower, an invention that promises to end jet lag. Based on the research of an Oxford neuroscientist, the Photon Shower uses a newly discovered photoreceptor in the eye that resets the body's internal clock when introduced to spectrum-specific doses of light for a set period of time. At TED, the Photon Shower proved a real eye-opener for travel-weary attendees.
Brand Performance
Fresh Take on Bottled Water
The Fountain of Electrolytenment
To launch Resource 100% Natural Spring Water in Southern California, McCann Erickson New York built an interactive water installation that used scripted sheets of water to present quirky, real-time answers to questions posed by passersby at L.A.'s The Grove. Dubbed The Fountain of Electrolytenment, this invention played off the Nestlé brand’s positioning of an enlightened choice in bottled water (electrolytes, recycled plastic). The unexpected, visually captivating installation attracted 35,000 visitors in just three days.
Creative
Instant Snapshots Via Instagram
Cheapstaprint
Seattle agency Creature and its sister office in London love Instagram, but as auto printing was too expensive, it created its own code to work with any printer on a network. The code “listens” to Instagram for new photos agged at locations or with certain hashtags, then pulls them, adding customized logos. And in the spirit of sharing, it gave the public the code.
Design
Vodka Bottles Become an Artistic Canvas
Absolut Unique
Given Absolut's history of packaging breakthroughs, it’s hard to imagine how the brand might reach even greater heights of aesthetic innovation 34 years following its global launch. With the debut of its Absolut Unique limited edition in the fourth quarter, the vodka brand did just that. This time around, the spirits maker’s own machinery was the artist. Absolut turned its production line into the creative force behind nearly 4 million one-of-a-kind bottles. Working with Stockholm agency Family Business, Absolut reengineered its production process to create carefully orchestrated and yet totally random designs on every bottle, using complex coating, pattern and placement algorithms, splash guns and color-generating technology. A unique number was assigned to each of the bottles, befitting a truly individual work of art.
Product Development
This One Really Cleans Up
Glad Tent
It takes a lot of imagination to make garbage bags cool, something Clorox's Glad brand did this year—and among finicky millennials to boot. Glad and Miami agency Alma DDB disseminated tents made of ForceFlex stretchable bags to hipster music destinations such as Austin’s SXSW. At the festivals’ end, campers were encouraged to dismantle their tents and use them for refuse. Moving beyond the backdrop of kitchens and meticulous moms, Glad was able to connect with a fresh consumer base as well as that audience’s green priorities. It also underscored the marketing message of a brand that has associated itself with waste reduction. Reusing trash bags may be unfeasible at home, but given the amount of garbage created at outdoor events, Glad’s dual-purpose tent encouraged campers to clean up after themselves.
Event/Experience
A New Spin on The Test Drive
Audi Quattro Experience
Given the discerning, upscale tastes of the Audi buyer, this is a prospect that's hard to impress, and the conventional test drive just won’t do justice to the four-wheel-drive system of the brand’s Quattro model. To promote the 2013 Audi A4, Toronto’s Zulu Alpha Kilo reimagined the test drive, creating an interactive installation inspired by the toy race track. Using an iPad-enabled slot-car controller, the driver was able to experience the vehicle’s road-hugging capabilities around hairpin turns, along highways and through icy mountain passes. Over the two-week activation in Toronto’s financial district in Q4 last year, 3,932 passersby took the simulated test drive, a 4,525 percent increase over the local dealer average. More to the point, sales soared 30 percent YOY.
Retail
Sharper Focus On Eyeware
LensCrafters' myLook
Eyeglasses can redefine a face, but how does a shopper see that effect when squinting through those sample, nonprescription frames in the store? For LensCrafters, SapientNitro in Miami designed a digital mirror that snaps photos so customers can view choices from multiple angles through their own prescription lenses. (One can get a second opinion by sharing the pics on Facebook.) The myLook device is like shopping science fiction, blending technology such as facial recognition, sonar detection, barcode scanning, multistage lighting and nine cameras to capture every angle.
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