Adidas Does Augmented Reality Right and Simple

Earlier this month, Adidas Canada launched “Boost My Ride”, an experiential campaign in Toronto to promote their new sneakers, the Ultra Boost ’19. This is a great example of how to seamlessly integrate both the digital and physical world as part of a brand’s marketing efforts.

The experiential campaign was executed by placing decal wraps and banners on different streetcars running through the downtown area which displayed a QR code to be scanned by riders. After doing this, people would be taken to a web based augmented reality interface that allowed them to point their smartphone’s camera towards their Presto transit card and turn it into a scratch card to win various prizes, including Adidas merchandise like the new Ultra Boost ’19 sneakers. Winners would then be given directions based on their location on how to get to the Adidas flagship store in Yonge and Dundas to redeem their prize.

Aside from being a really fun and interactive way to engage people, what I found to be the most interesting about the campaign was the way the AR technology was implemented. The experience was developed with a platform called WebAR which provides access to augmented reality through almost any web browser. By doing this, it offered the entire experience in just a few steps instead of requiring any application download which it removed the need for people to download an app which would deter many from participating.

Overall, I find this experiential campaign to be a seamless integration of the Adidas brand with the everyday commute of many of their consumers. From the ease to scan the QR code which prompts the AR experience to the directions provided to redeem the prizes, Adidas made sure that it was as simple as possible for people to actually participate in the contest and result in higher engagement with their target audience. As the AR technology is becoming so popular, it is important consider these new alternatives that make it easier for companies to develop the experiences and for their consumers to get involved in them.