Toys R Us together with Blue Star have launched an advanced augmented reality experience and movie making app, bringing an Easter hunt instore across its 34 store network.
The campaign is open from April 1 to April 12 at Toys R Us locations in ACT, NSW, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia.
The virtual Easter Egg Hunt works on any iOS or Android device and enables smartphone and tablet users to interact with Toys R Us mascot Geoffrey the Giraffe, leading them on a virtual hunt through the store to find Geoffrey’s playground.
Once the playground is reached, kids can create a short video through the app dancing alongside the virtual guides, and redeem a prize. The mini movie of the experience can then be shared on social media using #TRUMagic.
Brooklyn Troy, Toys R Us national marketing manager, said rolling out its first augmented reality play experience was part of the company’s key strategic focus as kids become increasingly technologically savvy.
“We wanted to push the boundaries with our instore Easter experience this year, and we’ve created something which is sure to be a winning experience for anyone coming into a Toys R Us store,” she said.
“The ability to interact with the surroundings using augmented reality and our smart devices means we can bring our Easter Hunt to life, and see Geoffrey the Giraffe and his bouncing Easter bunnies, all in 4D.
“We also wanted to make it possible for parents and children to be able to share this experience with friends by adding an AR-movie making element to the TRU Magic App,” said Troy.
Az Yousaf, Blue Star’s digital services director, said the TRU Magic experience is the first in what we expect will be a major trend towards Augmented Reality campaigns in bricks and mortar retail environments.
“The solution that we came up with leverages the huge number of comm’s that Toys R Us have in place including catalogues, social and email marketing, and drives that audience into store. We believe this technology will become a key component of the marketing plans for Australia’s leading companies. Augmented reality is a particularly powerful tool for creating retail experiences that surprise and delight customers in equal measure,” said Yousaf.
Big W launched a similar instore Easter egg hunt last week, The Great Eggscape Egg Hunt, a free interactive app that leads customers around Big W stores on a virtual hunt.
