Want to catch up with what happened in the digital world this week? Our weekly cheat sheet will fill you in on everything you missed while you were scrambling to meet deadlines and put out fires.
Read about how Mercedes-Benz is creating buzz for their new A-Class models, American Express’ new mobile offers, how one group turned peeing in proper places into a game, and more!
1. Mercedes-Benz Creates Buzz with Prototypes Camouflaged in QR Codes
Car manufacturers like to keep their new vehicles on the down low until big unveiling events and even then, people are already speculating what the new designs will look like. In order to create some added buzz and hype about the new A-Class models coming out, Mercedes-Benz created a campaign that covered the prototypes in QR codes and sent them to drive around the city as part of a contest that sends one person to the world premiere of the new A-Class. Users scan the codes from pictures, media, or on the streets in effort to collect badges hidden within each code. Each badge obtained will increase the chance of winning the contest.
2. American Express Introduces Mobile Offers
American Express is really working to meet the consumers where they are, first with the AMEX Sync with Twitter, and now they are offering localized recommendations with “My Offers” in their app. Users will be able to see a list of recommended offers within the app and sort them based on location or expiration date. To redeem the offer, users simply add it to their card and the savings will automatically be loaded once they check-out.
3. Waternet Finds Way to Stop People From Peeing in the Canals in Amsterdam
During Queensday every year, people in Amsterdam tend to drink too much and never make it to the bathrooms. They like to relieve themselves in the canals and Waternet was determined to keep people away from the water. They teamed up with Achtung to create outdoor urinals connected to Arduino boards and pressure sensors that turned peeing into a game. The outdoor installation became gaming stations where the person to fill their urinal the most and the fastest would win their water taxes back.
4. How Social Reality Merges Philanthropy and Social Gaming
Social Reality is an app developer that brings social good into social gaming. The developers merge philanthropy and gaming into a brand’s social strategy as a way to create viral digital programs. They have teamed up with gaming companies like Zynga and OMGPOP along with sites like Causes to help them create engaging experiences with an existing audience and also help drive traffic to an established cause.
5. ESPN and Twitter Team Up to Link Social to TV for the NBA Playoffs
In effort to connect those watching TV to those on social platforms, ESPN and Twitter are creating a program that encourages sports fans to interact with both channels during the NBA Playoffs. Fans will be encouraged via game telecasts to upload photos to Twitter with the hashtag #GameFace. This is a great way of how a company that typically uses traditional forms of media is tapping into social media to help better connect their fans.
