Challenge: Standing out on crowded shelves
One of the most consistent challenges brands like Zebra Pen face is standing out in a retail environment. Consumers are faced with a full aisle of options from competing brands, and they don’t want to spend much time making a choice. It’s critical for companies vying for retail purchases to stand out, and the stakes for standing out are always rising.
Kevin Justice, the Co-CEO of Ignite2X, says, “Zebra Pens wants to be a game changer in retailers' writing and creative instrument category. Zebra Pen is driven to execute shopper campaigns with out-of-the-box thinking to strengthen partnerships with retailers and increase in-store purchases.” Justice also noted, “Zebra Pen relies on their agency to develop solutions to continue growing the brand and drive sales through innovating technologies and solutions.
Solution: QR Code-driven augmented reality experiences
Ignite2X crafted an AR experience that customers could access with a QR Code on the packaging and in-aisle signage. Kevin says, “Our goal is to help them maximize the customer retail journey. There’s not enough time or space to educate a customer in a retail experience, so we turned to QR Code-driven augmented reality experiences.”
While the AR experience changes depending on the campaign, they initially launched an experience that connects consumers with an experience where Zen, the animated mascot, guides them to learn more about the products and take a selfie with consumers. You can see the augmented reality experience here.
Ken Newman, Director of Marketing at Zebra Pen, says, “Zebra Pen prides itself on product innovation; however, technology allows us to expand our innovative spirit into new consumer-driven areas. Augmented Reality fits wonderfully with our spokes-animal and is another way to bring him to life and heighten the consumer experience with our brand,”
The team chose Uniqode because they were looking to consolidate, track, and manage QR Codes across various tools, teams, and customizations. Uniqode was the only solution that offered everything they were looking for: Easy—to—Design, dynamic, and trackable QR Codes that helped them optimize their campaigns.
How augmented reality connects customers with brands
Ignite2x and Zebra Pen created an augmented reality experience that made their products stand out on shelves, resulting in improved relationships with retailers and boosting in-store sales.
Here’s how other brands are also using augmented reality to connect with their customers:
Product visualization: Help customers see products like furniture, art, and more in their space by including a QR Code that allows them to download an app or see an image.
Store navigation: Help customers get to where they need to go by adding QR Codes that link to a map to an in-store signage.
Interactive displays: Let customers interact with a product or view product specs with a QR Code that links to an augmented reality experience.
Virtual try-on: Include a QR Code in mailers or ads to connect customers to products like cosmetics or clothing.
Results: In-store experiences that wow retailers and customers
The response from both stores and consumers was unanimous – everyone enjoyed the fresh, novel experience that Ignite2x and Zebra Pen created.
Kevin says, “The experience even resulted in retailers like Walmart giving Zebra Pens premium shelf placement and additional opportunities to connect with customers in-store. Retailers appreciate anything that helps them create stand-out experiences, and QR Code-driven augmented reality experiences offer exactly that.”
