A Gaggle Of Google Goodness

There's been a ton of really interesting collaboration and work coming out of Google recently, so I thought it'd worth taking the time to highlight just a few of these projects.

Sainsbury's Food Rescue

In the UK more than 20% of the food purchased in supermarkets is wasted and nearly 2/3rds of that food is perfectly edible.  To help drive awareness of the problem and reduce food waste in households across Britain, Sainsbury's and Google have partnered to create the Sainsbury's Food Rescue program.  Similarly to Spell Up, Sainsbury's Food Rescue used the Web Speech API to allow consumers to simply speak the ingredients that they have in their fridge while the site provides inspiration in the form of easy recipes that can be made with the food they might otherwise throw away.  Check out the intro video below or head on over to the Sainsbury's Food Rescue site to try it for yourself.

Spell Up

Next up is the latest Google Chrome experiment, Spell Up, which turns spelling into a game using just your voice.  As the project lead, Xavier Barrade writes on the Google blog:

As a student growing up in France, I was always looking for ways to improve my English, often with a heavy French-to-English dictionary in tow. Since then, technology has opened up a world of new educational opportunities, from simple searches to Google Translate (and our backpacks have gotten a lot lighter). But it can be hard to find time and the means to practice a new language. So when the Web Speech API made it possible to speak to our phones, tablets and computers, I got curious about whether this technology could help people learn a language more easily. 

That’s the idea behind Spell Up, a new word game and Chrome Experiment that helps you improve your English using your voice—and a modern browser, of course. It’s like a virtual spelling bee, with a twist.

We worked with game designers and teachers to make Spell Up both fun and educational. The goal of the game is to correctly spell the words you hear and stack them to build the highest word tower you can—letter by letter, word by word. The higher the tower gets, the more difficult the word challenges: You’ll be asked to pronounce words correctly, solve word jumbles and guess mystery words. You can earn bonuses and coins to level up faster.

Spell Up works best in Chrome on your computer and on Android phones and tablets. (It also works on iPhones and iPads, but you’ll need to type rather than talk.) Whether you’re just learning English or you’re already a pro, check it out! And if you’re a teacher, we encourage you to try it out in your classroom. 

Check it out below or head on over to the Google Spell Up site

Rubik's Cube Google Doodle & Chrome Cube Lab

Google marked the 40th anniversary of the invention of the Rubik's Cube by creating this incredible interactive Rubik's Cube Google Doodle.  It was one of the most technically ambitious Google Doodles which Wired has thoroughly documented in this behind-the-scenes article.  Beyond just the Doodle is a a cool Chrome Experiment that can be found at the Chrome Cube Lab.  The Chrome experiment lets developers customize and submit their own Rubik's cube designs and features a gallery of the best submissions.  Check out the video below:

Honda - Hands

To celebrate more than 65 years of engineering accomplishments and innovation, Honda has released this delightful film, 'Hands.'  As W+K London (the agency responsible for the film) writes: We have simply called the film 'Hands' as a testament to the tinkering nature of the Honda R+D engineers whose curious spirit (or hands) has made Honda the largest engineering company in the world.'

The film is a delight to watch and simply features a pair of hands magically transforming Honda products from one into another, taking the viewer from the earliest Honda products to the present day.

It's captivating enough to want to watch it again.  Additionally, Honda (and their digital agency, Collective) have launched an interactive version of the film.  The interactive version of the film, called The Engineer's Cut, allows 'viewers to interact via seemingly hand-written notes and doodles. Once clicked, the notes reveal the tales of engineers and innovation that have gone into the various Honda products.'


See the screenshot below and have a play around yourself by heading over to Honda Hands.  My only criticism is that there could be a stronger link between the flat film and the interactive version.  Clearly car enthusiasts or people who were delighted by the film would be interested in the interactive version, so an embedded link in the video sending users to the interactive version could help drive even more users to the deeper version.

Posted by: Reuben Halper

Dove - Camera Shy

Off the back of the tremendous success of the Real Beauty Sketches, Dove has released the latest ad in their quest to reduce the self-esteem issues that women face.  The latest film, Camera Shy, was created by Ogilvy & Mather London asks the question; When did you stop thinking you were beautiful?  The film, which won Gold at Cannes, shows shows footage of  women of all ages desperately trying to hide from the camera, before ending with shots of pre-schoolers confidently parading and performing for the camera.  It ends with the line 'Be Your Beautiful Self.'
The film is growing in popularity, with nearly 17 million views to date, though that is a far cry from the nearly 150 million views that the Real Beauty Sketches video racked up.  I find the insight behind this video more compelling than Dove Real Beauty Sketches insight 'You are more beautiful than you think.'  Scientifically speaking that statement may actually be false.  This article from Scientific American sums it up quite nicely 'The evidence from psychological research suggests instead that we tend to think of our appearance in ways that are more flattering than are warranted. This seems to be part of a broader human tendency to see ourselves through rose colored glasses. Most of us think that we are better than we actually are — not just physically, but in every way.'

The article goes on to describe a series of studies in which 'researchers took pictures of study participants and, using a computerized procedure, produced more attractive and less attractive versions of those pictures. Participants were told that they would be presented with a series of images including their original picture and images modified from that picture. They were then asked to identify the unmodified picture. They tended to select an attractively enhanced one.'

Regardless they're both wonderful pieces of work that hopefully serve to help women to feel better about their self-image.




Posted by: Reuben Halper

Barclaycard - #BespokeBallads

UK financial provider, Barclays is getting into the offers arena and has launched a new service called Barclays Bespoke Offers for their existing account holders.  As you may have guessed their point of differentation is that the offers from both national and local merchants are bespoke for each individual.

In order to promote this new service Barclays (and their agency, Dare) have created Barclays bespoke ballads.  They've enlisted several teams of comedians and songwriters to turn people's tweet stream into songs.  Here's how it works...a user submits a tweet to #bespokeballads, the songwriters/comedians then comb through their Twitter feed and create a bespoke song based off their Twitter activity.  That video is then uploaded to the Barclays Bespoke Offers YouTube channel  Check out the intro video below.
If you want to see these in action, you can see below the #bespokeballads created for my colleague, Nathan Guerra.

As in most things, the execution is everything.  In this case, the execution is really well done.  It's another great example of providing a personalized digital artifact back to users who have taken the time to engage with the brand.  On the other hand, the personalized videos are relatively meaningless unless you know the person being serenaded, which is why it also makes sense to include influencers, celebrities or people who have a large following on Twitter.



Posted by: Reuben Halper

Happy Egg Company - Chick Cam

Since Easter just passed, I thought it'd be worth highlighting something a bit different this Easter.  In the run up to Easter, the Happy Egg Company (and their agency, Hypernaked) developed this lovely Chickcam campaign, showing again that you don't need a big budget to have success in the digital space.  The Happy Egg Chickcam used a Google+ Hangout On Air & YouTube livestreaming over the course of four days to show the hatching of 17 eggs into cute, fluffy chicks. A livestream of eggs waiting to hatch would've been as excited as watching grass grow, so they also included a slate of activities throughout the four days to keep viewers watching.

As the good folks over at the Inspiration Room describe: 'On Monday the Chickcam campaign provided an opportunity for live Q&A on hatching chicks with Madeline from the Happy Chick Company, using Facebook, Twitter or Google+ event posts. On Tuesday viewers were given a chance to send in suggestions for the 17 Chick Cam eggs. On Wednesday questions and answers focused on egg farms with Happy Egg farmer JP. On Thursday, the final day of Chick Cam, a golden egg was sneaked into one of the camera views. The first five people to email the competition received a bundle of Happy Eggs goodies.'  Check out the highlight video below.
It's interesting to see more and more brands and content creators use Google+ Hangouts On Air to create either a) an always on, long duration livestream, or b) use Hangouts on Air akin to episodic programming.  In both cases, it gives users a reason to return back to the livestream(s) on multiple occasions.  For example, the Pet Collective YouTube channel runs multiple, always on Hangouts On Air of various animals including a Kitten cam, a Puppy cam a Golden Eagle cam, a Husky cam and many more.  One of my colleagues (who shall remain nameless) has actually bookmarked the kitten cam and fires it up whenever she's having a bad day.

hat tip: Inspiration Room



Posted by: Reuben Halper

Three - The Dancing Pony

Three is a UK-based mobile provider fighting for market share in a crowded and competitive environment.  Their most recent campaign, developed by Wieden + Kennedy London has absolutely blown up on UK television and the Interwebs.  'The Pony' is a truly delightful commercial and has been great in terms of generating awareness (though one could argue about the strength of the association with Three vs. just the Pony).

What's been interesting to me is to see how Three & W+K have extended on the TV commercial in the digital space, as well as taking the digital activity and feeding that back into TV.  If you haven't already seen it, check out 'The Pony' ad below before reading on.


In terms of driving digital activity, Three have created 'The Pony Mixer' which sends users to the Three YouTube channel where they can create their own bespoke version of the Dancing Pony, complete with various visual effects and a wealth of iconic songs to choose from.  That's a fantastic way to deepen the experience for users who are willing to go beyond just a passive view of the video.  You can check out the trailer for the Pony Mixer below.  There's also a heavy Twitter component around the hashtag #DancePonyDance, which generated 14,000 tweets within five hours of the video being uploaded and has continued to be active throughout the life of the campaign.
 

Lastly, Three have also taken the best of of the user generated videos created via The Pony Mixer along with the associated tweets and are running those as follow up TV commericals.  These include versions such as the Bollywood Pony, the Punk Pony and my personal favorite, the Hip-Hop Pony (see below)

Taken together the work from W+K London is just a fantastic example of how various channels can work together in a way that allows each component to extend and amplify the overall campaign.

Also worth noting that, the Poke have created their own hilarious version (not via the Pony Mixer) of the Dancing Pony called the Findus Pony.  For those of you outside of the UK, Findus is one of the brands/vendors caught up in the recent Horsemeat Scandal.

hat tip: Bobby Nolla & Adrian Dent


Posted by: Reuben Halper

SafeStyle Windows - Secret Door

You don't need to be a big brand or have a huge marketing budget to create an amazing digital experience.  Case in point, see this beautiful and delightful experience created by Safestyle UK.  Safestyle are 'the largest independent company in the UK that provides top-quality, affordable uPVC double glazed windows, doors, French doors, sliding patio doors and composite doors.'  Perhaps not the most obvious candidate to create an immersive experience using Google Streetview, but that's the power of the web.  It democratizes marketing and provides the means to reach a tremendous audience without needing a massive budget (case in point see Dollar Shave Club or Orabrush on YouTube).   Interestingly, I've read articles that indicate that this is an SEO play by Safestyle UK to maintain it's organic search position.  Whatever the objective, it's a lovely experience for the user.

But I digress...the idea behind the Secret Door is that you step through it and are transported to some of the 'most quirky and interesting places Google Maps has to offer.'  The experience is essentially a curated version of Google Streetview (both indoor and outdoor) and provides serendipity and delight as you allow the Secret Door to take you to various places around the world.

Additionally the site can be embedded around the web, ensuring the experience can be spread far and wide.  So have a play around with the experience which is embedded below.

The Secret Door is presented by Safestyle UK

Audi RS4 - Ultimate Paintball Duel

I think of the Audi station wagon (errr...estate car as it's called over here) as a boring staple of the British upper-middle classes.  Generally speaking, estate cars/station wagons are thought of as boring family-mobiles that just appeal to Moms.  Audi's challenge is to shift the stigma away from estate cars and demonstrate the performance and handling of their recently relaunched RS4 wagon.  Rather than just talk about specs like the 450hp V-8 engine, Audi's agency Rubber Republic have brought the promise of the RS4 to life through a top-gearesque paintball duel.  You may remember Rubber Republic from their awesome Bodyform response video work.  In this case, they've enlisted two of the best UK stunt drivers (check out the behind the scenes video here) in 'two brand new 2013 RS 4 Avants with bonnet mounted paintball guns take over a military aircraft hangar and go head to head in the ultimate paintball duel.'  The result is sheer joy to behold & a perfect way to appeal to a male audience all of whom believe they could secretly be race car drivers.

Check it out below.
via: Yoram Cisinski

Topshop/Google+ - The Future Of The Fashion Show

Lately there's been a trend in terms of fashions shows bringing the audience closer to both the catwalk and behind the scenes of the show (see the recent interactive Adidas Fashion Show).  Now Topshop has teamed up with Google+ to launch what it's calling 'The Future Of The Fashion Show.'  The show itself takes place at the Tate Modern, but a host of tech will make the experience incredibly rich for the audience online.  The desire is to give viewers the ability to see the show from every point of view including the makeup artist the audience in the front row and even a first person view from the models as they walk down the runway (using micro HD cameras).  As the Telegraph writes:

Google+ will offer its users exclusive digital diaries by four of Topshop's famous model faces - Cara Delevingne, Jourdan Dunn, Rosie Tapner and Ashleigh Good - in their 'Road to the runway' series which will track each of the models from their first fittings for the show to the moment they hit the catwalk.

Via YouTube, Topshop will broadcast not only the live show but a 'red carpet hangout', allowing viewers to join in the hustle and bustle of the celebrity arrivals at the show, and using Google's 3D streetmap technology you'll be able to explore the show's exciting venue, The Tanks at Tate Modern.

Other aspects include a 'Be The Buyer' app which will allow fans to create their own mood boards from the pieces on the runway, as well as video advice from International buyers and Topshop's in-house team offering tips to aspiring young buyers or fashion enthusiasts. An animated Google+ photo booth has also been installed in the brand's flagship Oxford Street store allowing fans to upload their looks to an interactive digital window immediately.

Check out the video below that demonstrates how it all comes together & tune in on Sunday, February 17th at 3PM (GMT).

Valentine's Day - Nivea, Sky, & Ikea

In honor of the most Hallmark of holidays, I thought it'd be nice to show few examples of Valentine's Day executions that stood out in my mind.

Nivea - A Date To Remember
Nivea is promoting their new Stress Protect deodorant range which 'provides proven protection under stress, so whatever happens, you can stay cool and confident.'  Developed by Agency Republic, A Date To Remember is billed as the first date that the user controls.  The interactive YouTube experience allows the user to choose how the date (awkwardly) unfolds while showing the stress level that the 'ordinary' girl is experiencing.  Check out the trailer below and have a play around with the experience on the Nivea UK YouTube channel.



Sky Germany
This ad from Sky in Germany reminds football fanatics the potential risks of forgetting Valentine's day, More importantly, it just goes to show that everything is better in slo-mo.


IKEA - Australia
A love this Valentine's day print ad from IKEA in Australia.  See below.  No further explanation needed.

amusing Valentine's Day offer—a free crib for babies born nine months from today.

BMWi Born Electric

Here's a nice bit of mobile advertising.  The BMWi Born Electric campaign allows users to take a virtual test drive in the BMW i8 or i3 concept car with Google Maps and Street View.  After selecting one of the concept cars, users are put in the drivers seat and can choose a route that they want to take to any location or one of many landmarks in different cities.  Users are given an in-car perspective and given a view of their route via Google Streetview.  An accompanying map shows the location on the route and how much power is left in the electric battery.  If you select the 'Interior 360' option you can pan around inside the car and get a 360 degree interior view of the car and a 360 exterior view of your location in Street View.

Targeted at city dwellers, the mobile experience is a really nice way to put the experience of the i3 and i8 into the users hands while showing how electric cars can easily fit into their existing urban life.

Have a play around with the London experience.

SodaStream Responds To Their Ad Being Banned In The UK

This ad from Sodastream, home carbonation system that lets you make your own soda, was banned in the UK because it 'denigrated the bottled drinks market.'  Ridiculous.  In response, SodaStream launched a protest TV ad showing a black screen and inviting the users to watch the original/banned ad on YouTube.  The banned 'Sodastream Effect' ad has gone on to garner a ton of views and attention in the press.

Sodastream have also decided to run the 'Set The Bubbles free' ad during the Superbowl.  This just shows that YouTube can give a voice to the disenfranchised, whether they be brands or individuals.  Another interesting tidbit is that the agency responsible for the ad is Common, which is headed by Alex Bogusky who left cp+b two years ago to become a consumer advocate and has previously gone after the soda manufacturers through campaigns such as the real bears.

See below for the censored version of the ad that Sodastream ran on TV as well as the banned ad that lives on YouTube.  It's a great piece of creative and generally just a great way to turn lemons into lemonade (to use a tired ass cliche).

The replacement spot that ran on TV



The Banned Ad

Other Things I Like (But Don't Have The Time To Write Up): ESPN Born Into It & Slap Jamie Oliver

ESPN - Born Into It
In advance of last weekend's Manchester Derby, ESPN released 'Born Into It.'  The commercial, created by W+K, shows the passion and loyalty that two fans feel for their respective Manchester teams through a nice split screen video experience.  I particularly love the companion video which educates Yanks such as myself who may not be familiar with the Brit/Mancurian slang used through the spot.  So good.   Check it out below.

Slap Jamie Oliver
Christmas has come early (at least it has for me!  This interactive video promoting the upcoming launch of Jamie Oliver's new food channel allows you to slap him as well as interact with his kitchen by throwing food at him all via clever usage of YouTube annotations.  Have a play around below.

Two Nice Uses Of UGC From Brands - AT&T and EE

EE is the name the recently launched 4G brand from the owner of Orange and T-Mobile.  They & their agency, Poke, have leveraged the huge UK viral hit Fenton (JESUS CHRIST IN RICHMOND PARK) as part of their comms around the speed of their 4G network.  They've taken the original video and 'Remastered it' in epic form.  Users can switch between the original video and the “Fenton 4GEE Remaster” on the EE YouTube channel.  The premise is that everything on YouTube looks amazing on the EE 4G network.  The video will also be featured in the EE retail stores and feature heavily across all of the 4GEE digital activity.  Whether the remastered version actually demonstrates the speed of their network is up to you to decide, but it's a clever way to leverage the success of the UK phenomenon that was Fenton.


AT&T (another telecom company in the US) is also using UGC to promote their 4G network.  In this case, AT&T (and their agency, BBDO NY) took a piece of user generated content that had been making the rounds on YouTube called 'Hello' and used it as the premise for their latest TV commercial.    In the original video was from a high school football scrimmage and showed a player doing a flip over a defender.  As the video description says:

'Hello" demonstrates an amazing moment being shared across the country on the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T. It starts as an amazing football play seen by a few people. But once posted, it becomes a moment the entire country can enjoy, and something that builds to an introduction our hero will never forget.'
Personally I find this a much more believable use of UGC in a branded context as it naturally reflects the way that people view, share and discover new content while also positioning AT&T in the middle as the facilitator/service provider through their 4G network.

Two Nice Stunt Videos - Sony Xperia & Red Stripe

I keep thinking that stunt campaigns are somehow going to die off, but the public appetite for them shows no sign of slowing down.  What's more impressive is that agencies keep coming up with new and innovative ways to communicate a clear product message through stunt videos.  The latest hot stunt was developed by CP+B Stockholm to promote the new waterproof Sony Xperia phone.  During screenings of the new James Bond film, Skyfall, several  of the waterproof phones were hidden inside free soda cups given to random viewers.  It's a nice way to demonstrate the main USP of the phone in a way that fits nicely into the overall theme and feel of the Bond film.  Check it out below...I do question how the hell the people managed to get a drink without noticing that there was a phone embedded in their massive Coke.


Another delightful stunt comes from Kessels Kramer for beer brand, Red Stripe.  For one day only, a corner store became a giant musical instrument, playing 'A Message To You, Rudy.'  Products on the shelves and items left scattered around the store part of an ad-hoc orchestra, triggered when a customer chose a Red Stripe from the shelves.  Just a really nice way to reward customers who choose your product with a delightful and unexpected experience.  Check out the video below and it's also worth checking out the behind the scenes video as the 'making of...' is fascinating.

Mercedes Benz - #YOUDRIVE

Mercedes, AMV BBDO, & Stink have developed an innovative idea to help launch the new Mercedes Benz A-class.  On Saturday, October 6th viewers are invited to take part in #YOUDRIVE a campaign that's being billed as a social media first (at least in the UK).

Using Twitter, viewers will drive the action of a 3-part story that will be shown during the commercial breaks in the X Factor.  The spots center around a musician and a professional driver who are chased by 'the man' on the way to a secret gig.  In practice users are invited to choose what the characters should do next by voting on Twitter with the hashtag #YOUDRIVE.  Think of it as choose-your-own-adventure on a massive scale and brought into the television experience.  But wait...there's more!  The spots will also direct viewers to the lovely Mercedes Benz YOUDRIVE YouTube channel where they can view the ads as well as create their own story.  The final ad will also show the voting percentage /breakdown for each choice. 

This is quite an effort.  Obviously each of the possible decision paths had to be shot and readied for the voting outcome, but it actually pays of the much bandied about term of social TV viewing.  David George, marketing director of Mercedes-Benz UK, said the new A-Class vehicle represents a "new, younger, more dynamic' & that it's 'a modern Mercedes-Benz that encourages people to do what we know they enjoy – to get involved.'

What I find fascinating about this idea (and 'social TV' in general), is that the creative can't be separated from the media.  In other words, this idea, this execution only works if the media placement is spot on.  In order for this to be a success it needs to run against a TV program that is considering destination viewing, where liveness is important, and where the audience is passionate enough about the show that you can pretty much guarantee that they'll be around for the second spot and ultimately the following week for the third spot.  It's interesting to see how new creative ideas and formats (see the Coke Polar Bears during the Superbowl) emerge around premium programming where the 'liveness' guarantees a large and captive audience.

So check out the trailer below & if you're in the UK you can use this campaign as a good excuse for why you're actually watching X-Factor

Additional Articles: Brand Channel | Campaign

Dolce & Gabana - Video Comes To Print

Several thousand copies of the October issue of the UK Marie Claire includes a video ad in print.  The double page spread for Dolce & Gabana fragrances feature a 45-second video ad (including sound) which plays when the reader opens the page.  The technology was developed by Americhip and gives advertisers the opportunity to bring their print ads to life.  It's previously been used in Russian Vogue, but this is a UK first.  So is this the start of a wider trend or just a gimmick?  I haven't experienced it for myself, so I haven't a clue, but I'm intrigued by the idea.  See the video capture below that someone else was kind enough to upload to YouTube


On a more low-fi note, I just came across this Cannes winner from Brazil.  Developed by JWT for Coca-Cola FM, it turns a magazine into an iPhone speaker.  At first read I thought it must be similar tech to above, but in fact it was a genius low-fi execution.  A few strategic cuts in the ad and instructions on how to roll up the magazine turned it into an amplified.  Check it out below.


via PSFK

Other Things I Like (But Don't Have Time To Write Up)

Budweiser - Bud Clock
Great use of QR codes to turn Happy Hour into an interactive drinking game and extend Happy Hour through buying more Bud.

via: Banner Blog

Kit Kat - We Will Find You
Kit Kat has created a modern day version of Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket with a dash of dystopian Phillip K. Dick novel.  They've hidden GPS transmitters in four packs of Kit Kats on sale in the UK.  Opening the pack activates the GPS and Kit-Kat promises 'We Will Find You' within 24 hours and give the lucky recipient £10,000.  Very cool from a tech perspective, but the messaging is kind of creepy.


Gatwick Express - Tracks
To elevate the experience of the 30-minute train journey from Victoria to Gatwick airport (and of course boost online sales), VCCP has commissioned various artists to create a custom half-hour soundtrack that's synced to what riders see on the journey.  Customers who buy their Gatwick Express tickets online can download the tracks directly from the Gatwick Express website.

Grolsch - Big, Bold Journt

I recently came across this campaign on the fantastic Digital Buzz Blog.  It's a campaign by Grolsch (developed by BMB agency) that promised to be a true multi-screen experience.  There seem to be more and more campaigns that are truly multi-screen experiences where the TV spot just becomes the teaser for the rest of the campaign.  The real substance and essence of the experience lies in digital.  This campaign promises just that, viewers of the TV commercial are introduced to the character Journt, a policeman that demonstrates that character speaks louder than words.  Users who go to the Grolsch UK site are invited to share a beer with Journt.  Text him your name and if Journt recognizes the name he'll reward you by buying you a beer.  Literally you'll get a text back with a  a coupon for a 4-pack of Grolsch and a store finder that shows the nearest shop to claim your Grolsch.  It's a great idea and great way to tie together the awareness from TV with SMS, online video and mobile activity to ultimately drive foot fall in store.

Unfortunately the TV commercial doesn't include an obvious call to action or information about what viewers can expect (eg. free beer!) at the Grolsch UK website.  Unless you're one of those people who go to the URL at the end of every commercial, it's unlikely that a great number of people were pushed to spend further time with the brand by viewing the TV commercial.  Too bad really as it's a very nice idea.  Check out the case study below.

Tesco - Virtual Grocery Store At Gatwick Airport

Many of you may remember the Tesco virtual grocery store in S. Korea that brought home a media grand prix at Cannes last year (case study here).  Commuters were able to purchase groceries from their smartphones by scanning QR codes in a virtual grocery aisle composed of subway billboards.  The project was very successful, helping Tesco become S. Korea's number one online grocery retailer and facilitating more than 50,000 transactions.

Now Tesco has brought the experiment to the UK, specifically to the departure lounge of Gatwick airport's North Terminal.  They'll be trialling this over the course of the next couple weeks.  According to Tesco, 'around 30,000 people depart from Gatwick's North Terminal each day and each has an average of 70 minutes of downtime while waiting for flights. They can now use this time to ensure they don't have to make a trip to the shops on their way home.'

This is just a great example of a brand making life easier for their customers and solving an actual problem.  The insight that people getting home from holiday often have empty fridges at the time when you least want to deal with pedestrian things like grocery shopping, is something we've all experienced.  Pair that with the natural downtime that takes place before a flight and you've just turned unproductive time into life made easier for your consumers.  See the video below for more information.