Sometimes, it can be hard to find your beach. Maybe that’s because of distancing restrictions, snow, or traffic. But, it won’t be because of lacking brand awareness.
Corona Hard Seltzer is hopping on the “connected packaging” bandwagon and working with Blippar to help more people find their beach through an AR experience launched when users aim their smartphone camera at participating branded packaging.
Finding Your Beach in AR
The experience created for Corona Hard Seltzer is activated when users point their smartphone cameras at a QR code on the packaging. Because of the location of the QR code, the user doesn’t need to have purchased the package in order to access the experience.
Once activated, users “step onto a virtual tropical beach.” Within the experience, users can read exclusive recipes and even order ingredients to be delivered by Basketful. Users can also record video of themselves within the virtual environment to share on social media. This helps users interact with friends through the experience while increasing brand awareness.
“Corona Hard Seltzer is committed to offering consumers an opportunity to find their pure beach vibes in a way that is unique to our brand,” Constellation Brands Vice President of Experiential Marketing Rene Ramos said in a release shared with ARPost. “The AR experience allows them to step into a tropical oasis in an innovative way.”
The experience is currently only running in select cities and regions to test responses for a potential larger-scale rollout.
Blippar’s Own Brand Awareness Progress
Corona probably isn’t new to American drinkers, though Corona Hard Seltzer may be. Blippar might be new to American readers too.
Blippar is based in London, so its experiences aren’t as familiar to many in North America. The company also entered into administration and laid off its entire staff in 2018. CEO Faisal Galaria said that the move was because Blippar was then ahead of its time.
That could just sound like an excuse if not for the fact that last year Blippar came back bigger than ever. Their virtual launch of the OnePlus Nord phone was a huge first-of-its-kind event, as well as being a significant introduction to North American users.
The new Blippar is doubled down on connected packaging and raising brand awareness for clients also makes their experiences more familiar to users than experiences created by Blippar in the past.
“Covid-19 has created the need to create a new reality where physical and virtual brand experience are intertwined,” Galaria said in the release.
All Eyes on Blippar
Galaria told ARPost that Blippar would be “putting even more people on the ground and really expanding in North America” as a response to increasing consumer interest in WebXR and an increasing business need for brand awareness.
We’ve also seen a growing trend for immersive experiences and connected packaging in the beverage industry. Considering the fact that Constellation Brands – the company that manages Corona – also has a number of other beverage brands in their portfolio, it makes sense to watch for more immersive brand awareness campaigns in refrigerators and shopping aisles near you.
