This holiday season, Vans wanted to create a magical customer experience at their retail stores that was unlike anything they had ever done. For the 2022 Holiday season, we extended their “THIS TIES US TOGETHER” campaign into their brick-and-mortar stores across North America by creating an exclusive AR driven experience in each of their 500 storefronts. Key to the brief was developing a retail window execution that could easily be scaled and installed across their stores.

Pulling inspiration from their larger campaign, Vans wanted to highlight each of the 3 key influencers personalities and aesthetics within the webAR companion experience to the window display. We stayed true to the visual language that was established while taking full advantage of the possibilities of a three dimensional space to create the most engaging and immersive experience possible. We also wanted to blend the physical space of the window display and bring it to life in Augmented reality. The final experience was a perfect expression of Vans’ style and message. It was unique, fun, intuitive, and inviting while celebrating every kind of family.

In collaboration with the Vans design team, we developed a design language and creative concept for the holiday display featured in the IRL windows across 500 storefronts. This was strategically designed to be flexible and allow for the local staff to install in their store (vs. custom installation). This had been the biggest challenge for Vans and our solution allowed them to roll out this holiday AR campaign.

Mobile devices and WebAR were identified as the best platform for our mass audience. For customers walking by their storefronts, being able to use their phones to connect with Vans in a novel way was identified as a unique engagement opportunity. Further, with the popularity of QR codes, we knew we could easily launch our WebAR experience. WebAR was identified as being able to provide an experience accessible by the masses without a download.

Customers scan the QR code located on the Vans’ retail window display to unlock a vibrantly animated 3D doubles of the physical gifts in AR. Users then choose one of three gifts (A guitar, Skateboard and Paintbrush) inspired by three unique stories including American indie pop band Muna, Queer art and music collective Bottom Feeders, and a group of artists and puppeteers at the historic LA Bob Baker Marionette Theater. After selection, users are prompted to “scratch to unwrap” the gift that will joyfully explode and take over the entire retail window. The experience is tied off with a final message, “Happy Holidays From The Vans Family, To Every Kind of Family”, surprising users with the ability to interact and play with the now-transformed space. After finishing the experience, customers are able to enter for a chance to win a year’s supply of Vans for their families.

17K Users

55% User Engagement Rate

500 Storefronts Across USA and Canada

Budget Savings Of Not Having To Fabricate Custom Displays For Each Vans Store