Client: City of Greater Geelong Council. Geelong, the second largest city in Victoria after Melbourne, was our valued client.

Challenge: How can we infuse creative and COVID-safe activities into our Christmas campaign, ensuring a memorable experience for local residents and visitors while attracting more people to Central Geelong?

Goals

• Create unique and shareable experiences for both local residents and visitors
• Increase footfall and engagement in Central Geelong
• Provide a safe and festive experience for all amidst the COVID-19 situation

Solution: In response to the uncertainties posed by the pandemic and the immense potential of augmented reality (AR), we proposed and implemented various AR solutions in collaboration with the council, ensuring campaign consistency throughout.

The deliverables included:

Custom Augmented Reality Face Filter: Geelong boasts a popular floating Christmas tree, and we developed a custom AR effect that enabled people to virtually capture photos or videos with the tree from anywhere in the world. This interactive filter featured a 3D model of the vibrant Christmas tree, along with other campaign elements like string lights and the logo. It was made available for Instagram and Facebook users.

Augmented Reality Trail: Utilizing our own Christmas animations, we also created two custom animations for a treasure hunt-style activity. Floor decals, branded to suit the council's requirements, were strategically placed at 12 locations in Central Geelong. A campaign website provided a map with all the locations. Participants were required to install the CreativiTek app on their smartphones or tablets, scan the floor decals, and bring the animations to life. They could resize, move virtual characters, and capture photos/videos with them.

Augmented Reality Colouring Sheets: Five Christmas-themed colouring sheets were enhanced with augmented reality animations. All colouring sheets were designed to align with the council's branding for campaign consistency. The marketing team created a video explaining the colouring sheet interaction and promoted it on Facebook. Families could collect the sheets from a Central Geelong Christmas elf, The Carousel, Santa stops on the Christmas trail map, or download them from the campaign's website. Colouring sheets were also distributed to select primary schools and emailed to over 6,000 families in our database.

Outcome: The floor decals were scanned approximately 4,000 times, and the colouring sheets were scanned around 4,500 times. The face filter garnered approximately 5,000 impressions. Videos featuring the animations and the face effect shared on Facebook received over 15,000 views.