How do you create a memorable event that incorporates key points from the brand while partnering with a charity, and do this without compromising an authentic experience?

As people arrived at the South Street Seaport, they encountered the enormous animated sphere in their path, gaze for a moment, and then be ushered into a photo kiosk where they’d use Windows Live to take a picture of themselves. The photo content would then feed into a processing application where it would be (somewhat magically) transformed into projected imagery on the sphere.

This relationship between individual and media created a real connection between how the content was being captured and how it was being projected. It was all happening live. Viewers could encounter a 60-foot high version of themselves, or come face-to-face with people participating halfway around the world. The smiling faces mixed in with the transformative imagery translated the awe and wonder of global connectivity into a visual language everyone could understand.

One thing we learned was how to get a smile not only from our participants but also from Microsoft: they loved it so much they kept it up for an additional day. Successful experiential marketing must involve the right brand presented to the right audience in the right way. This was a unique approach to communicating an important altruistic cause through an amazing piece of technology that could also contain a specific brand experience.