Ever wondered what makes a tech conference truly unforgettable? It’s all about those unique moments that get people talking, laughing, and, most importantly, connecting. That’s exactly what we at Puppy Love mastered at Universe 2023, GitHub’s big annual tech bash. Picture this: a blend of retro arcade vibes, some seriously cool tech, and a dash of whimsy, all rolled into one epic game called Ship It!

We didn’t just build a game; we crafted an experience that would integrate GitHub’s products and attract the top developer talent in the space. Imagine teaming up with your conference buddies to build out-of-this-world sci-fi inventions, all while climbing up a leaderboard that’s as competitive as it is fun. Our setup? Four custom tactile interfaces, a dazzling array of interactive LED tubes, and a visual feast of illustrations and animations. The best part? Our game was peppered with cheeky nods to the developer world, including a Copilot power-up that tied in GitHub’s brand seamlessly.

Over two days, we saw over 300 players dive into the game, racking up 21 million points, with one team reigning supreme on the leaderboard. But numbers aside, the real win was the buzz. That’s the power of interactive technology when it’s done right. At Puppy Love, we’re all about creating those unforgettable, immersive experiences that bring people together, all while giving a hat-tip to the brand that brings us all there. So, the next time you’re at an event thinking, ‘This could use a little something extra,’ remember — it’s all about making those connections, and the interactivity never hurts!

Say hello to us if you want to talk shop or explore opportunities like this!

P.S. Our parent company, The Bosco was also at Universe ‘23 with a super original AI photobooth that turned photos of guests into different styles of art like this. Make sure to say hi to them as well.

Product Manager: Syd Lea
Creative Director: Trevor Grove
Lead Experience Developer: Evan Gannon
Illustrator/Animator: Conor Donahue
Motion Graphics: Michael Olson
Fabricator: Ned Moshay
Creative Technologist: Metal Hayes
Agency Lead: Joe Miller-Jones

Puppy Love’s Technical Project Manager, Robert Wuss worked with researchers Anne-Heloise Dautel and Irem Bugdayci at Bartlett School of Architecture in London to bring this fascinating installation together.

Archives of Vision is an interactive installation that explores ways of seeing as a performative act of understanding space and constructing meaning. The installation is constructed in three parts — the first explores the tracking of the gaze as a device for spatial composition; the second re- enacts the path of the observer’s eyes through the motion of a robotic creature; the third archives these recordings into a network of situated compositions, revealing the space as seen by a collection of human eyes and robotic creatures. The project utilizes the latest technology in eye tracking hardware and software to detect the point of gaze in three dimensional space. An analogue augmented reality viewing apparatus materializes the collected path of the gaze in the form of a holographic eye drawing. Following the data collection of eye movement of various observers, the behavior of their individual gaze is translated to the motion of a human-scale robot, creating a situated, mechanical representation of the eye. Rather than replacing the function of the observer, the robotic creatures catalogue a temporal memory of looking. Archiving ways of seeing space through a (digital and physical) collection and interpretation of human and machinic vision provides a dynamic model of how unities are articulated in the production of boundaries between visual representations and spatial environments.

Interactive Architecture Lab Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, London 2019. Researchers: Anne-Heloise Dautel, Irem Bugdayci, Robert Wuss. Supervisors: Jessica In, Ruairi Glynn, Parker Heyl

TouchDesigner, Processing, Dynamixel SDK Python, Arduino, Tobii Eye Tracking X60, Tobii ProSDK Python, Custom Fabrication

DoorDash and Marvel have teamed up on a new comic book that turns four ordinary DoorDash delivery people into superheroes. The comic series called “The Dashers” likens the work of DoorDash’s delivery people to acts of everyday heroism.

To kick off the campaign, DoorDash hosted an activation at New York Comic Con which invites attendees to participate in different challenges and activities in order to become a superhero “Dasher” themselves.

The team handling the buildout, THA EXP, brought Puppy Love in to build an immersive, superhero body scan where visitors could view a live feed of the 3D and have results emailed to them in the form of a sharable mp4.

We built the experience in TouchDesigner and combined sound design, vibrating haptics and a volumetric sensor which culminated in a Marvel-inspired lab scan.

Puppy Love teamed up with The Bosco to capture a photo at the end of the experience which was processed into a dynamic, animated output that visitors were able to share after the experience.

We’re proud to say that our scanner turned over 1,000 Comic Con goers into superheroes, and the sharable reached over 100,000 people across social channels.

P.s. check out this AR project we did at NYCC 2021

We thought we’d dig through the archives and share a fun project that our team worked on under the Midnight Commercial banner. Since then, Midnight Commercial merged with Puppy Love and the team continues to innovate, bringing the digital and physical worlds together with immersive experiences.

We have some fun projects coming up that we’re excited to share, but until then, a quick flashback…

The team was commissioned by Design Miami / Basel to create an interactive, massive sculpture installation at Messe Basel.

Triangular Series was the result. Conceived by Jamie Zigelbauma, Triangular Series was a site-specific lighting installation composed of numerous, truncated tetrahedral forms. Each object is an individual. They can sense each other and the physiological rhythms of beings beneath them. Aliens of a sort, their respiration is a movement of light. Like the cells in our hearts and the clocks on our walls their rhythms affect each other through the process of entrainment. The outcome is an emergent, undesigned dance of light from the ceiling swarm and triangular projections below.

Growing on the boundaries of human movement paths, they interact with the cohabitants of their space. Walk beneath them and you become part of a new, syncopated dialog — an autonomic communication with the other.

Each form in Triangular Series is programmed as an independent, synthetic organism with digital senses, internal respiration, and luminous ‘breath.’ The forms communicate with each other through the process of entrainment — they are in a constant process of synchronization and disruption. Via specialized sensors in each form, this rhythm is in dialog with the motion of people walking below. The largest tetrahedral can sense the heart rate of an individual standing directly beneath it. The form synchronizes with the individual’s heartbeat, and then spreads their pulse through entire installation.

Let’s talk about AR. Augmented reality isn’t a new technology. In fact, it was technically invented in 1968! What’s changing is the accessibility. Most of us have amazing sensors built right into our mobile phones, giving brands the chance to engage with fans in such a meaningful way.

Puppy Love was one of the first agencies to create an AR app with Apple’s AR Kit when it was released to developers in 2017. The result was an immersive, story-based journey that took the user into Patron’s hacienda in Jalisco, Mexico. Try it out here!

But we’re in 2022 now, you don’t need to download an app to experience something this interactive. The same could be made in WebAR, meaning you don’t have to download an app to visit the hacienda.

Another easy example are AR filters on Instagram or AR lenses on Snapchat. They’re pretty cheap to create and they allow brands to show off their products in a new and exciting way, creating a “hands-on” experience of products.

AR filters are not only helping brands interact with their followers, but they are also changing the way we interact with the world. AR is quickly becoming a part of our everyday lives, and it’s only going to become more ubiquitous in the years.

We’d love to help build your AR experience! Get in touch and we can talk through some ideas…

In the spring of 2022, Laverée was looking to break into the US market with their line of luxury laundry products. Along with Jane Smith Agency, they were planning a pop-up shop in the chicest neighborhood in the country — New York City’s SoHo.

Puppy Love was brought in to create a visualization that showed visitors the deep care that Laverée puts into their sustainable products. We built a 16 foot long LED screen in the space to display a custom animation conveying the scents of Laverée’s collection and an artful CGI interpretation of the movement of water inside of a washing machine.

Paired with our custom sound design, the screen immersed visitors in a world where nature lives in harmony with home and personal care.

The experience was witnessed and shared by thousands, and Jane Smith’s three-month build helped garner 25K additional brand followers on Instagram through the surreal, city pop-up.

Check out the final render here.

Agency Credits: Jane Smith Agency, The Family

Amazon is in the process of rolling out a new technology that is going to change how we shop. It’s called “Just Walk Out” and it’s exactly what it sounds like. The idea is: You scan your credit card on the way into a store like Whole Foods, then you just start putting things in your basket. If you decide you didn’t want something? No worries — just put it back on the shelf. When you’re finished, you just walk out of the store and you’ll be charged for exactly what you have in your bag.

The technology is extremely robust, with hundreds of sensors and endless data running in the backend. So they needed a simple way to showcase this technology on their 2022 B2B conference tour.

They partnered with NCompass International on the full build out, and Puppy Love was brought in to develop an augmented reality application that uses image recognizing technology to know when a product has been lifted off of a shelf, or placed back onto the shelf. Our team was able to replicate the Just Walk Out experience through this tablet interface, displaying just how incredible Amazon’s new technology really is.

For those who don’t know, DALL·E 2 is an AI program that creates images from textual descriptions, revealed earlier this year by OpenAI.

DALL·E is trained on a dataset of text-image pairs. The training data comes from a variety of online sources, including captioned memes, the Internet Archive, and even Shakespearean sonnets. When DALL·E is given a textual description, it tries to generate an image that matches the description.

For example, we asked DALL·E 2 to generate an images of “surrealist 3D rendering of dogs in love.” DALL·E produced these:

Beyond being the internet’s favorite meme machine, it’s showing promise as a tool for future marketing campaigns.

DALL·E’s future usefulness for marketing campaigns is its ability to engage consumers in new and innovative ways. DALL·E allows brands to create images that are tailored to specific consumer interests. For example, a travel company could use DALL·E to generate images of potential vacation destinations that are based on the user’s preferences. This would allow a brand to show the user potential vacation destinations that they may be interested in, and potentially encourage them to book a trip.

DALL·E also offers brands the opportunity to create interactive experiences for consumers. I.e. a cosmetics brand could use DALL·E to create a “virtual makeover” experience. The user could input their desired look, and DALL·E would generate an image of the user with that makeup. This would give the user a chance to see how they would look with the makeup before they purchase it, and could potentially increase sales.

DALL·E can also be used to create images for social media posts, ads, and even product packaging. With DALL·E, businesses will be able to create truly unique visuals that capture the attention of consumers.

Overall, DALL·E offers a lot of potential for brands to engage with consumers in new and innovative ways. It will be interesting to see how brands make use of this technology in the future. Exciting times are ahead!

If you’re a brand or agency looking to use DALL·E 2 or other AI technologies in upcoming projects, reach out! We can help you build it.

Studios have been increasingly turning to experiential websites and digital experiences to promote their upcoming releases. These sites are designed to maximize fan engagement and drive viewership, often through interactive features or by placing the viewer in the center of the story.

Here we take a look at some notable examples of studios using experiential marketing to promote their content, as well as some tips on how you can create an effective website for your studio.

Some notable examples of experiential marketing in the entertainment industry include:

• Warner Bros.’ The Dark Knight Rises Experience, which gave users a taste of what it was like to be Batman
• 20th Century Fox’s The Martian Experience, which allowed users to explore Mars alongside the film’s protagonist
• Disney’s Tron: Legacy Experience, which allowed users to explore The Grid in immersive 360-degree video
• Sony’s The Da Vinci Code Experience, which gave users a taste of what it was like to solve the film’s mysteries
• Universal’s The Bourne Identity Experience, which allowed users navigate the action through an interactive map

While experiential marketing can take many forms, there are a few key elements that all effective experiential websites share. Here are some tips on how you can create an effective experiential website for your studio:

• Make sure your site is mobile-friendly: With over 60% of web traffic now coming from mobile devices, it’s essential that your experiential website is optimized for mobile. This means ensuring that your site loads quickly on all devices and has a user-friendly interface.
• Use high-quality visuals: experiential websites are all about transporting the user into the world of your film or series. To do this, you’ll need to use high-quality visuals that accurately represent the look and feel of your story.
• Create interactive elements: experiential websites should be more than just a digital version of a traditional marketing campaign. To really engage users, you’ll need to create interactive elements that give them a taste of what it’s like to be in your world. This could include games, leaderboards, 360-degree video, interactive maps, etc.
• Drive viewers to take action: Ultimately, the goal of experiential marketing is to drive viewers to take action, whether that’s watching your film or TV show, visiting your website, or sharing your content with their friends. Make sure your site includes clear calls to action that encourage users to take the next step.

By following these tips, you can create an experiential website that will help promote your upcoming release and drive viewership. So get creative and start planning your experiential marketing campaign today!

What are some other examples of experiential marketing in the entertainment industry? How can you create an effective experiential website for your studio? Share your thoughts in the comments below.