“21 Days of Me: A Love Story”
Rewind a few months, you would have found me blissfully unaware of what “immersive experience” meant and uninterested in this burgeoning technology. Terms like “augmented reality”, “VR headsets”, and “gaming” felt like they had nothing to do with me up until last semester. The late afternoon of November 7th, the Texas Advertising Group weekly meeting, was the game changer. When Professor Erin Reilly started her presentation showcasing the impressive things TXI students were up to, I was mesmerized. And here I am now, captivated by the world of Immersive, and one month into this program that has changed my life. My apologies, I forgot to alert the incoming spoiler! I wish it could have been that easy. Yet let me tell you about the interim that preceded my acceptance into TXI: it was everything but straightforward.
At first, the application seemed like an insurmountable obstacle. How could I create an immersive experience about myself, if I had no idea of what immersive meant? If you are going through this as you’re reading my blog post, I feel you. Inhale. Take a deep breath. I began to think about what technology I could use to create it — wrong. In hindsight, per Professor Reilly’s most recent advice, focusing on the technology before even having an idea will get you swamped. In my case, time flew and a week remained until the application deadline; I was on the verge of giving up as I was sitting in bed indulging in my usual late night Tik Tok binge. Then I came across this video of influencer Lady Honor Teideman unboxing her PR Vogue Festive Advent Calendar 2023: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGehkfhJf/
I wish you could have seen my face as the light bulb lit up above my head. Creating an advent calendar about myself quickly became the perfect idea for a couple of reasons. First, creating a digital experience felt out of my reach without the knowledge or proficiency of potential virtual tools. However, since the beginning of last year, I have rediscovered my passion for arts and crafts, which was ingrained in my personality since childhood. Thus, making a physical application was a wonderful experience to reconnect with my roots and the best way to narrate my story, the same one that pertains to the little girl that lives inside of me. Second, advent calendars have been a part of my youth since I can remember. My mother would buy me and my siblings one around the holiday season every year, and during those 25 days until Christmas my first thought every morning was to open my daily box and reveal its content (usually a themed chocolate).
I then began to think about what feeling I aimed to convey to an audience that wanted to get to know me, so I asked myself the basic question “who am I?” After a quick existential crisis, I discovered the answer: I am a hopeless romantic. Since I was a little girl, when I was not painting or crafting origami, I would play with my dolls and develop the most intricate love stories between them. The love I feel around me is what fuels me. My friends, my parents, my relationships, even the caring “let me help you with that” said by an unknown girl in the elevator as I struggle to hold all my grocery bags. I enjoy romanticizing every little detail of my life, whether I am flying to a new city, or walking to class. That is how I decided to create “21 Days of Me — A Love Story” and have the feeling of love, both for myself and for others, be the main focus.
The advent calendar was created inside a box containing 21 intricately handcrafted compartments, like the years of my life. The modality for the audience to take part in this interactive experience is to open one box each day, in numerical order, starting from box #1, all the way to #21. Each box contains a lesson I have learned in my life on what love is about written on the lid, and contains handpicked miniature objects representing that lesson. For instance, Day #4’s lesson is about “finding harmony in life’s chaos,” accompanied by a miniature guitar. Day #19, instead, holds a picture of my mother and I, as hers is the purest love I have ever received (see photos).
As I reflect on my audience, I know my main targets were Professor Erin Reilly and Professor Azalea Laredo, and their wants and needs were to get to know me and evaluate the quality of my application to enter the Texas Immersive Spring 2024 Cohort. I knew I needed to convey my enthusiasm to create immersive experiences beyond my application and demonstrate that TXI was the place for me. But going beyond the purpose of the application, I believe that the audience that would engage with “21 Days of Me — A Love Story” is one whose functional needs are met, and is looking to please its emotional ones. In particular, these users are in aspiration mode, seeking “opportunities for growth and inspiration,” that the interactivity of this advent calendar provides. Despite the audience putting themselves into my shoes as they go about their daily unboxing agenda, this is a very personable experience, to which users can relate and self-reflect upon. Out of the attributes to greatness provided by Prof. Reilly for immersive experiences, I believe that “21 Days of Me — A Love Story” is certainly inspirational, but also authentic, as instead of focusing on the material content like commercial advent calendars, it is more about the spiritual journey through the meaning of love.
Generally, advent calendars have different audiences depending on the type: Christmas themed chocolate ones are popular among families, while branded calendars like the Vogue one linked above are engaged in by either influencers, or brand enthusiasts that are looking for value for their money to collect items (NPR, 2023). The context to participate is usually the holiday season, especially for people who enjoy traditions, and gift giving.
Overall, my advent calendar had its pros and cons. As I mentioned earlier, if I were to do it again I would first evaluate my audience instead of getting caught up on the technology to use. In terms of the immersive formula, it has the audience and the story, but is missing emerging technology, so I would explore new digital avenues for a more professional experience. However, I was very proud of the title “21 Days” as it not only referred to my age, but also as the application was due on December 4th, 21 days before Christmas, making the experience more authentic. I am so grateful for the opportunity to create this project and its outcome, as I am officially a TXI Explorer!
Treisman, R. “Advent calendars, explained: Where they came from and why they’re everywhere now.” NPR, 2023. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/11/1141855237/advent-calendar-history-evolution#:~:text=The%20calendars%20have%20their%20religious,Andrew%20the%20Apostle%20
