new tech tools

Tiffany & Company used cookies with a QR code in the frosting to invite guests to its Fashion’s Night Out activities. The company made 3,000 cookies that linked to the detailed invitation online.

More than 500 fans of Latin pop singer Matt Hunter received QR-coded bracelets at an invitation-only concert at New York’s Samsung Experience in September. The bands, a new product from Skanz, linked to Hunter’s social media presence, online content, and exclusive videos. The company also created Skanz bands for attendees at Consumer Electronics Week to demonstrate how they could be used in place of business cards. Skanz also offers QR-coded phone cases.

Austrian company Kapsch placed QR codes on its booth at the World Congress for Intelligent Transport in Orlando in October, giving attendees the option to scan the code for detailed product information rather than picking up printed materials. Kapsch staff working at the booth also had QR codes on their nametags.

Attendees at Disney’s opening night party at Epcot for Meeting Professionals International’s World Education Congress received badges with a QR code on the back. When scanned, the code lead to a Web site that offered the evening’s menu, a map of the party, descriptions of featured park attractions, and a welcome message from executive chef Robert Gilbert. On each bar at the party, a QR code linked to recipes for the featured cocktails.

Toronto’s Boobyball fund-raiser for Rethink Breast Cancer in October put QR code stickers on the chests of two topless male models. The code linked to iTunes, where guests could download the organization’s new app, which reminds women to check their breasts.

Shape magazine used a Microsoft Tag to sell tickets to its Bikini Body Tour events in Santa Monica and Miami in 2011. Ads in the magazine and posters placed around the two markets included the Tag, which linked directly to the ticket site.

The Hotel Communication Network's Navigator system operates on a touch-screen computer equipped with a phone. By the end of the year, the company will have installed these computers in nearly 5,000 hotel rooms in Chicago.

The SmartEvent application from Roomlinx operates on the hotel room's television. Planners create a custom welcome message that can include links to sponsors and exhibitors.

At the Walking Dead booth at Comic-Con, staff from Sincerely snapped photos of guests using the Postagram Engage app. Guests received the photos instantly on email and also could opt to receive the image as a physical postcard.

A mock-up of a custom postcard for Comic-Con shows the sponsors' logos at the top and a brief message to the side of the photo.

Postagram Engage postcards can be customized with messages and artwork on both sides. The postcard Sincerely created for the Walking Dead booth at Comic-Con had the guest's photo on one side and the comic book's artwork on the other side.

Sincerely has tested the Postagram Engage app at more than 25 events around the country hosted by Gilt Groupe, including screenings of the movie Rock of Ages.

Clik invited attendees at South by Southwest to scan a QR code that let them use their phones as remote controls to manipulate content on the screen.

At a conference in Salt Lake City, ITN International tested its Citywide Attendee Credential, which served as both an event badge and electronic ticket for the city’s light-rail system.

Participants communicating on Blue Jeans Network can be displayed in a variety of formats, such as a grid or with the discussion leader in a large box and other participants shown smaller at the bottom of the screen.

PowerSlide allows planners to customize digital signage products using Powerpoint.

To launch the new Carrera 6000 eyewear collection this June, Solstice Sunglasses built a dome in New York's meatpacking district. Inside the air-conditioned tent, guests could see what the new shades looked like on them by posing for photos that were used to create mini flipbooks.

For its fall 2011 preview, New Balance dressed editors from head to toe in items from the new collection, and invited them to "Tone, Flow, Fight, Grind, and Bounce" their way through five workout stations.

To kick off their summer-long partnership, eyewear brand Warby Parker and the Standard in Los Angeles held a pool party on June 22. The poolside event at the downtown L.A. hotel saw staffers pushing library-style book carts around as a fun way to get guests to try on the limited-edition shades.

To promote Rickland Orchards Greek yogurt bars, and as part of its Fancy Food Show activation, the brand took to the streets of Washington with two branded pedi-cabs. Each vehicle contained staffers dressed as Greek gods and goddesses who gave out samples to passersby.

At Samsung's Infuse 4G launch in Los Angeles last year, organizers looked to highlight the cell phone's technology by designing a high-tech, futuristic environment. This included a custom ice cream station where guests could order toppings and flavors through the new devices.

To introduce vitaminwater10 a few years back, beverage maker Glacéau built a 10-day pop, dubbed the "Des10ation," on lower Broadway in New York to show consumers how they could burn off the drink's titular 10 calories. In one of its windows, a model performed simple exercises that burn at least 10 calories, such as taking a shower.

To celebrate summer solstice this year, Sunglass Hut hosted a block party on Perry Street in downtown New York. As a fun way to promote sunglasses, the brand brought out performance artist Joey Arias who sported a skirt-like shelving structure to display the products.