Digital integration
Interactivity can connect people to the brand
Right: A cereal killer piece of creativity and a strong message in a bottle from SGK a liquid nitrogen fog curtain, not only enhancing the visual transition from water to ice but also physically cooling the space for a fully immersive experience.”
A digital slam dunk for Puma
traditional platforms,” he explains,“ but a much more successful approach is to consider digital as an integrated element from the outset, using interactivity to connect people to the brand.”
A recent example of this approach, developed by SGK, was their Puma experience at the NBA All-Star weekend, creating a gamified environment that connected a digital experience with real-world brand connection at one of the sport’ s biggest events. Combining basketball hoops with interactive digital screens, SGK created a brand ecosystem where consumers could play with virtual characters using a real ball and hoop, with real-time scoring unlocking promotions and giveaways.
“ In the real world, our experience is multi-layered,” Vera continues,“ so why not offer that rich experience to people when we create a digital brand experience? That way, we enable them to step seamlessly into and out of the digital world, blurring the lines between the two.”
Developing the brand ecosystem Vera also highlights the potential to personalise the brand experience by creating opportunities to interact with the space. QR codes can be used to unlock anamorphic 3D content and augmented reality, for example, or RFID near-field or far-field technology can be used to alter the environment as someone moves around the space, making the digital elements of the brand experience agile and responsive, as well as interactive.
An example of these principles is a project SGK delivered for a soft drinks brand, which elevated the immersive experience by introducing multi-sensory elements and integrating the virtual brand ecosystem into the physical environment.
“ We designed an in-store meetand-greet with the brand’ s polar bear,” Vera explains.“ But the animated bear only appeared in freezing conditions. Most of the time, the environment remained aquatic, with digital puddles on the floor that splashed as people stepped in them. When the floor‘ froze’ and frost spread across the windows, the polar bear emerged. To seamlessly blend the digital and real-world elements, the team used
Virtually no limits With so much technology available, coupled with the creativity and strategic focus of experts like Vera and the SGK team, the potential for integrating digital technology into the brand experience is vast.
“ The only limits are time and budget,” he advises,“ otherwise, everything is possible. But the biggest impacts don’ t always come with the biggest budgets – or the most sophisticated digital elements.”
Alex cites SGK’ s Cereal Man campaign for General Mills as an example, which leveraged nostalgia for milk bottles and deliveries to create shareable real-world content that went viral across digital channels, delivering over 74 million impressions. With a vintage milk delivery van taking crates of milk bottles filled with cereal to the homes of social media influencers, SGK created a campaign on a modest budget that tapped into the appeal of traditions and the brand’ s heritage, while speaking to a new generation of digital natives.
“ That’ s the essence of delivering a digital brand experience,” Vera adds.“ It’ s not about using technology for its own sake, but about being led by the brand to discover strategic opportunities for digital and traditional marketing channels to collide to create an interactive brand experience.” EW
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