Tag: music event

Singapore – Coca-Cola ASEAN and South Pacific has announced a range of engaging consumer experiences by merging human storytelling with technological innovation. These experiences are built on the brand’s last year’s message ‘The World Needs More Santas’, with Coca-Cola continuing to celebrate the spirit of Santa Claus within each of us this Christmas.

This season, Coca-Cola unveils a new festive digital AI experience, enabling people to engage in heartwarming conversations with Santa Claus to create a personalised, shareable snow globe animation, based on a personal memory. The digital snow globe serves as a virtual gift to share with someone as an act of kindness. 

Accessible through scanning the QR code on a Christmas bottle or can of Coca-Cola, the Create Real MagicTM Experience uses multi-modal AI including 3D avatar generation, GenAI-enabled real-time conversation, image generation to create a highly unique and personal experience for each user.

In addition to facilitating online connections, Coca-Cola has curated a series of enchanting live consumer experiences in Manila, Philippines (30th November) and New Zealand (30th November in Christchurch and 14th December in Auckland). Each event promises to ignite the magic of the season and celebrate the spirit of togetherness that comes from sharing these unforgettable experiences.

In the Philippines, this festive season is marked by the return of its iconic Coca-Cola Christmas Caravan, bringing festive cheer and kindness-led experiences to communities across the Philippines. The Coca-Cola Christmas Truck Tour, which started on September 1 and will last until December, is a showcase of the holiday spirit as communities come together through heartwarming moments and festive fun. 

To elevate the experiences this year, Coca-Cola is going bigger than ever and will paint the Philippine sky with a breathtaking display of over 1300 drones on November 30. This isn’t just a show of technological prowess; it is a captivating story woven in lights, celebrating the unique traditions that make Filipino Christmas so special where the iconic parol lanterns come alive against the night sky in a vibrant tapestry of colours and families gather for traditional feasts, reimagined under a dazzling celestial display.

Meanwhile, the iconic Coca-Cola Christmas in the Park in New Zealand is marking a major milestone—celebrating 30 years of bringing festive cheer to the nation. As New Zealand’s largest free annual entertainment spectacular and dubbed “the nation’s favourite Christmas party”, this beloved celebration offers an unforgettable evening of world-class entertainment including performances by singer-songwriter Georgia Lines, Persian-Kiwi rapper CHAII, DJ double-act Sweet Mix Kids, and hip-hop legend Che Fu and jaw-dropping fireworks.

Teejae Sonza, senior marketing director for Coca-Cola Trademark, Coca-Cola ASEAN & South Pacific Operating Unit, said, “This Christmas, our aim is to make kindness travel even further. We believe in the power of connection to create a brighter world. This Christmas, we want to help spread kindness to all four corners of the globe and remind each other that the real magic of the season is found in human connection.”

Netherlands – Heineken has joined forces with creative agency LePub for a new global campaign aimed at encouraging concertgoers to minimise phone use on the dance floor and fully embrace memorable moments. 

As part of this campaign, Heineken collaborated with the Silver Live Out Festival in Mexico and the Amsterdam Dance Event in the Netherlands to implement a technology that conveyed hidden messages using infrared lighting.

The hidden messages are invisible to the naked eye but appear when attendees hold up their phones to film the performance, encouraging them to cherish the moment instead of capturing it. Leveraging infrared light, the technology creates an unseen display that is visible only through the phone’s camera, requiring no additional apps or downloads.

Heineken has also made the hidden infrared technology available for artists to download and use at their live shows.

In addition, Heineken has created the ‘Boring Mode’ app to reduce smartphone distractions. This app temporarily blocks other apps, notifications, and even the camera, making their devices less engaging. 

Heineken aims to reduce technology distractions so people can enhance their nightlife experiences. With the Boring Mode app, users can simplify their smartphones by pixelating their cameras, blocking apps, and silencing constant notifications, allowing them to focus on enjoying the moment.

Nabil Nasser, global head of Heineken, commented, “Today it feels like tech always comes first, leaving the enjoyment of real life in second place. While technology grants us endless conveniences, it also comes at the cost of not being able to stop and embrace what’s happening around us.”

“At Heineken®, we want to foster moments of genuine connection to enable a more rewarding social life. When we launched The Boring Phone earlier this year, demand was huge, but only a limited number were made. So, we hope the launch of The Boring Mode helps even more people take a step back from taking photos for posting on social media and instead look around to enjoy what’s right in front of them. After all, there is more to your social life when there is less on your phone,” Nasser added. 

The campaign’s launch aligns with a rising trend among artists and DJs encouraging fans to be more present at concerts and festivals. Increasingly, Gen Z and Millennials are also found to be seeking digital disconnection to fully engage with the experiences happening around them.

Over a third (35%) of Gen Z and Millennial smartphone users in the UK, US, and Netherlands admit to checking their phones too often while socialising, and 60% believe they’d enjoy music events more if they could disconnect. Additionally, 41% find it frustrating to see a sea of phones at concerts, while 55% have prioritised recording videos over being present, even though 13% rarely watch those videos later.

Scottish DJ and producer Barry Can’t Swim said, “I’m all in favour of The Boring Phone and Boring Mode, which Heineken has created. When I heard about the new ‘anti-smart’ phone concept, it was something that struck a chord with me. With live music, of course you are more present and immersed if you are giving it your full attention rather than taking a video on your phone. And without phones, the energy is definitely different—people are more connected on the dancefloor.”

The Boring Mode launches in response to the high demand for The Boring Phone, a limited-edition Y2K-inspired flip phone created by Heineken and Boston streetwear curators, Bodega, which saw over 70,000 requests earlier this year. 

Also speaking on the campaign, Bruno Bertelli, global CEO LePub and CCO Publicis Worldwide, shared, “The essence of this tech-driven initiative is to redefine the concert experience, creating spaces with no distractions where people can authentically live the moment and immerse themselves in the magic of live music.” 

“By leveraging creativity and innovation, such as Heineken’s collaboration with Silver Live Out and ADE, we transformed phones into tools for deeper connections. Celebrating the power of music, the Boring Mode app aims to bring people together in meaningful ways and give socialising the quality it really deserves,” Bertelli further explained.