iPhone launches are usually the biggest event of the year but when Apple was launching the iPhone 13 in September of 2021, mixed messages about Covid were causing mixed feelings about waiting in crowded lines. Our task was to put on a bigger and better iPhone launch despite this challenge, and to create envy for the new features and power of the iPhone 13 on Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network.

Grammy-nominated-musician Halsey and art collective FriendsWithYou helped us create H1DD3N, a first-of-its-kind immersive launch event in the metaverse across five cities – New York, LA, Miami, Chicago, Seattle – that was only possible because of the innovations of both the iPhone 13 and Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband. People could join in on location, or from home via Twitter. People crossed realities and went on bespoke metaverse treasure hunts mapped onto five iconic locations, turning the locations into one connected launch event, and letting people participate in the iPhone 13 launch and order the iPhone when they couldn’t gather in person.

It is hard to communicate the revolutionary capabilities of the iPhone13 on the best 5G network in America. When it comes to a technology that people haven’t experienced before, saying something isn’t as powerful as allowing them to experience it. To showcase the power of the new iPhone13 powered by 5G, we turned high profile spaces around the country into breathtaking AR experiences that were hidden in plain sight.

Our Metaverse launch event was tailored to 5 iconic locations – New York, LA, Miami, Chicago, Seattle – and coincided with the timing of the Apple Keynote Event. This work ran for one week beginning September 17th and ending September 24th, 2021. Users could cross realities and create their characters on location or from home and place them in the virtual environment on the ground. We brought to life the vision, art and music of Halsey and Friendswithyou through the power of 5G and the new iPhone13. We used 8th Wall’s WebAR technology to create an immersive web activation with app-level polish, minimizing the barrier of entry into the metaverse. WebAR enabled a frictionless experience accessible from a browser in a tweet or a QR code on location that users could start the experience from. By using WebAR, we pushed the technical limitations of the browser and mobile devices using the ultra fast speed of 5G and latest iPhone 13 technology, creating best practices for world tracking, anchoring and interacting elements to real-world positions and real time interaction between participants.

- Positive mentions +77% vs 2020 launch, +110% vs projection

- Average engagement was 3 minutes 29 seconds

- 7-day streak of winning Telco and Tech Share of Conversation on Twitter