For the 2022 holiday season, X-FCTR worked with Groove Jones to bring a massive in-store AR campaign to life for their client, Target. By scanning a QR Code on floor decals or custom aisle endcap displays, holiday shoppers can unlock a winter wonderland featuring Target’s mascot – Bullseye, and virtually play with this holiday’s hottest toys.
Once activated, Bullseye leads you through a large door flanked by two giant candy canes.
The X-FCTR team wanted to drive desire and discovery by bringing back the wonder and magic of holiday shopping in stores. (By turning around, you can see the store through the portal doorway you walked through.)
In-Store Holiday Portal
Inside the Target store, shoppers can activate a portal experience, which launches a Target holiday wonderland that engages shoppers in exploring exclusive holiday toys.
The shopper will open a portal, step into it physically, and walk around.
If the user cannot move freely in real-world space, we added a teleportation option. Users could click on a visible beacon to teleport to where they want to be, use their phones to look around, admire the environment, and explore the toys.
Shoppers will find themselves under a massive, bigger-than-life Christmas tree.
Around the base of the tree, shoppers will find four gift boxes to open and choose from, where they will launch an AR experience to play with the toys inside.
By looking left or right, they will find whimsical animated holiday scenes, such as a pair of snowmen greeting you, a dancing gingerbread man, and a LEGO tiger and bird at play.
Interactive AR Game Featuring Animal Planet Deep Sea Shark Rescue Submarine Playset
We created a game that allows the guest to interact virtually with a toy. Players must rescue holiday presents before the sharks get them.
The experience turns the Target Store into an endless ocean where the player can control a submarine in 3D space, control it like a drone, and drive it to save as many holiday gifts and scuba divers as possible from a vicious shark attack.
In the end, the players see their points tallied.
Bluey Ultimate Lights & Sounds Playhouse Scavenger Hunt
Bluey is having a holiday party! Help get the celebration started with this interactive scavenger hunt.
We created an interactive “game” that allows Bluey and their friends to get in the holiday spirit! Start a virtual dance party with Bluey, Bingo, and Lucky.
By finding all of Bluey’s friends, players activate the dance party.
Take a Tour of Barbie’s Vacation Home
We created an interactive experience that allows guests to help Barbie prepare her vacation home for the holidays! The player can choose between two different Barbies – Brooklyn or Malibu – to play the game with. The players tap the icons to help Brooklyn or Malibu Barbie with their holiday tasks.
Barbie decorates the tree by adding lights, ornaments, and a star on top.
By hopping on the chair swing, she takes a ride upstairs and adds Holiday lights throughout her Vacation Home.
Barbie walks the dog and puts a reindeer headband on him. Once all the tasks are cleared, the whole house lights up in celebration.
Build Your Very Own Gingerbread House Featuring Favorite Day Classic House Gingerbread Kit
Customers can build their own 3D Gingerbread houses!
Add all your favorite candy and watch it come to life. Tap the door to go inside and see what Bullseye has been hiding. Once completed, users can take a snapshot of their creation – or a selfie!
Special Touches
The Groove Jones team created subtle animations for buttons in the experience. Below is a video highlighting those special touches.
Bullseye’s Top Toys List
Bullseye’s top toys are selected each year and advertised throughout the store. We have highlighted four of his top toys within the four AR games, as well as showcased several others in our portal wonderland. The AR experience included links to Bullseye’s Top Toy List.
The X-FCTR team created custom promotional kiosks to drive awareness about the program.
They also brought live toy demos, holiday product sampling, personalized gifting along with the immersive AR toy experience to Target stores across the country this season.
Award Winning Production
Chief Marketer Pro Awards
Category: Best AR/VR/XR
Vega Digital Awards
PLATINUM
Category: Digital Marketing (Campaign) – Augmented Reality
NYX Marcom Awards
GRAND
Category: Advertising – Point of Purchase
Hermes Creative Awards
PLATINUM
Category: Electronic Media / Social Media / Interactive Media | Mobile & Web-Based Technology – Mobile Buying Experience
Muse Creative Awards
GOLD
Category: Branded Content – Retail
The Results
The digital experience generated 50,273 unique clicks and 14,188 unique visits to the linked landing page. The 1:18 average time spent in the AR wonderland was twice the industry average for AR engagement time. And it’s safe to say that the kids who virtually decorated Barbie’s Vacation House or played Animal Planet’s Deep Sea Shark Rescue, among other games, got into the holiday spirit.
