Interactive Retail Windows Tap-Window Technology—an interactive
storefront window display that draws customers into the store
Who:
From American Greetings: Peter Petrinovic, Media Lab liaison & Jim Morrison, marketing team From the Media Lab: Prof.
Joe Paradiso and the Responsive Environments research group
When:
Three weeks in 2001
Where:
MIT Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and New York City, NY, USA
Why:
A team at American Greetings wanted to turn entertainment into
a marketing opportunity at their store across from Rockefeller
Center. This could increase their retail traffic and the visibility
of the store.
Details
The American Greetings team wanted to develop
an interactive storefront, to entice passersby and draw them into the
store to shop.
The project had to closely simulate human interaction
to keep the passersby interested and to get them into the store. It
had to have the initial appearance of being totally revolutionary, attracting
passersby with audio and unique visual stimuli. It also had to be easy
to use.
Prof. Paradiso's group designed the Tap Window,
which was made up of a holographic projection surface and modified video
projector with audio. It ran MPEG videos on Windows 98 and was programmed
using Director 8.0.
To attract passersby and keep them interested,
the group used a combination of on-screen talent, a graphical user interface
(GUI), animation, and video. Features included a New York City infomercial
and a three-card shuffle game that awarded winners coupons for a free
card—leading them into the store to browse and shop.
The end result: about 120-150 hits per day and
10 winners per day.
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