To celebrate the release of the latest Smurfs movie, we invited Smurf fans everywhere to experience the “Lost Village” in the most immersive way possible. Elements from the big screen came alive in the real world through the power of Augmented Reality and the Microsoft HoloLens.

With a focus on our target audience (kids!), we artfully constructed a Smurf world that they could explore. Every child who donned the headset became fully immersed in a reality beyond their imagination, and with Papa Smurf, as their guide, they were able to go on a gamified adventure unlike anything they’ve ever experienced.

The characters and environment were painstakingly crafted true-to-Smurf to make the experience feel all the more delightful—it perfectly emulates the film and pays homage to the beloved Smurf characters.

Leveraging key elements from the movie and the essence of the Smurfs themselves, we had to recreate the “Lost Village” and these favorite blue characters in 3D. It was a challenge because our timeline had to precisely coincide with the movie release to further amplify the buzz surrounding “The Lost Village” and act as a powerful PR tool that delighted fans along the way.

Because HoloLens is such a new device for the mass market and embeds new ways of interacting, we needed to make sure that our experience felt intuitive (especially to young children) and behaved seamlessly. At the same time we wanted to preserve the fun and sense of adventure which is a broader part of The Lost Village film narrative.

• Reach: Behind the scenes content resulting in 20.8 Million Impressions and 15.9 Million video views with an astounding 62% video completion rate.

• Engagement: We had incredible PR pick-up, with stories featuring in The Drum, M&M Global & Mashable, among many others. These stories generated over 40m media impressions and 15.5m organic social impressions

• Impact : We offered moviegoers a glimpse into the future of branded entertainment, while generating industry buzz and showcasing an exciting use of MR technology suitable for audiences young and old. We believe this is a great example of the future of storytelling in mixed reality for entertainment brands, showing how 3D characters can be brought to life in your own environment.