Plan International Canada used a 3D hologram powered by a supercomputer to kick off a campaign that lets Canadians encourage young women to stand up for themselves.
Shoppers passing through the CF Toronto Eaton Centre on International Women’s Day were introduced to the hologram of a young woman who was crouched down with her arms hugging her knees. When consumers shared positive messages using the #LiftHerUp hashtag on social media, the girl would slowly rise to her feet. The campaign’s initial goal of generating 30,000 social media posts was reached within that first day at the Eaton Centre, which translates into real impact: for every #LiftHerUp gender-inclusive message, Scotiabank donated one dollar to Plan International’s “Because I Am A Girl” program.
“A lot of people tend to look at international development as something that’s happening overseas and not in their own backyard,” Plan International Canada director of brand marketing and communications Erin Abbatangelo told Marketing. “Global poverty and human rights are relevant everywhere. This was about making people understand what the issues are, then advocate on others’ behalf. In the end, they may look to donate to us to help support the work we’re doing globally, but really, the awareness is just as important.”
Isobar planned, created and launched the campaign under the leadership of creative director Kelly Small using multi 3D-enabled projectors coupled with interactive cameras, explained Kai Exos, its chief creative officer. Prototypes were built over a period of eight weeks to develop a reflective system implementing custom-built transparent holographic surface composited from multiple layers of acrylic and films. An NVidia Jetson TX1 supercomputer handled the processing requirements.
“[It was] inspired by the stuff of sci-fi, classic magician tricks and Tupac’s Coachella performance,” Exos said. “It was powered by social sentiment analysis code to showcase the young girl’s evolution. We created a real-time feedback loop between the hologram and the audience.”
While the campaign has now grown to more than 60,000 social posts, Plan Canada has followed up with a video and microsite and will be continuing to promote it until the end of this month. That said, Abbatangelo suggested the organization will build upon the campaign in other marketing activities.
“This isn’t something that will go away. The campaign may shut down, but the work we do is something we’re very proud of,” she said. “Women can thrive in the right environment. We want to keep looking at how we can represent that, both internationally and locally.”
