We Are Plus Brings QR Code Technology to the Streets in Manhattan-Based Scavenger Hunt for Kidrobot

Aug. 31, 2009 - PRLog -- NEW YORK -- The brand movement specialists at strategic creative ideas studio We Are Plus (www.weareplus.com) are very proud to announce the launch of a high-tech, Manhattan-based scavenger hunt for Dunny Series 2009 by vinyl toy designer Kidrobot, planet Earth's premier creator and retailer of limited edition toys, clothing, artwork and books.  

The five-day promotion kicks-off today, offering Kidrobot's newsletter subscribers, community members, NYC store shoppers and Twitter feed followers daily clues that lead to a Kidrobot promotional display (posters, postcards, stickers and/or t-shirts) placed in a secret location around the city.  The clues also provide links to free smart phone applications which, once installed, can be used to scan the two-dimensional QR Code bar codes embedded in the hidden promotional displays.  Successful hunters can collect the day's Virtual Dunny Collection image and become eligible for prizes, including rewards for the first person to scan the QR Code from the day's hidden item, and a grand prize of a full set of the Dunny Series 2009 designer toys.  

Dunny Series 2009 is a collectible vinyl toy dropping September 10.  These 3-inch figures will be available at Kidrobot stores, kidrobot.com, and select retailers for $7.95 each.  Artists in this series include Amanda Visell, Andrew Bell, Amy Ruppel, Brandt Peters, Dalek, Devilrobots, Gary Taxali, Mori Chack, Huck Gee, Jeremyville, Kozik, Kronk, Luke Chueh, Mad, Pon, MR. Shane Jessup, Shawnimal, SupaKitch, Travis Cain, and Thomas Han.

Over the past seven years, Jeremy Hollister, his co-creative director Judy Wellfare and their colleagues at We Are Plus have built a reputation as a go-to company for fashion brands seeking to create sexy, marketing-savvy visual content for high-profile promotional uses ranging from live and in-store events to online, offline and traditional broadcast marketing campaigns.  For their own artistic and business pursuits, both Hollister and Wellfare have spent considerable time in Japan, where the use of QR Codes for mobile tagging has become widespread for marketing and informational purposes.  

Hollister is a long-time associate of Paul Budnitz, Kidrobot's founder, and the idea for this promotion came about as a result of one of their frequent collaborative discussions.  "Kidrobot is known for its toys, clothing, and store design, but more than anything else, Kidrobot is a community and cultural experience," Budnitz explained.  "We're constantly finding new ways to involve our community in what we do.  My idea with the Dunny Hunt was to allow our fans to create a virtual Dunny toy collection.  QR Codes will be placed all over the city -- on signposts, billboards, T-shirts, stickers, even online.  By photographing the QR Code with their cell phones, players add a new virtual toy to their collection.  It'll be a blast, and we're giving away toys to people who collect certain images (or enough images) first.  We Are Plus has been a brilliant partner.  They've handled the strategic, creative, technical, and PR aspects with us.  It's amazing to have such a creative company to work with."

While the campaign's promotional elements were created by Kidrobot's artists, marketing director Nichole East, managing editor Mike Klar and their colleagues, the crew from We Are Plus conceived the campaign with Budnitz and then created the campaign's smart phone-optimized microsite (the target linked by the campaign QR Codes, which registers hunters, delivers the daily prizes and manages data for further interactions), including programming the backend technologies necessary to administrate the scavenger hunt and interface with the QR Codes.  

"This technology has been used in Japan for some time, but it's still relatively new here in America," said Hollister.  "Elegantly incorporating the technologies in the ways that we have, and creating a nice looking, mobile-optimized website that functions properly,  were the biggest challenges."

Continuing, Hollister added, "Paul is very creative, and being able to help him visualize this idea, and then execute it, is what we're most proud of.  This is obviously a very unique promotion, in that it appeals to Kidrobot's fan base in a very fun, exciting and progressive way.  Looking ahead, we're hoping to be able to roll this out in other cities across the U.S. to support upcoming releases and events at other Kidrobot locations."

More information on Kidrobot, its community and newsletter are available online at www.kidrobot.com, and those interested in participating in the Dunny Hunt are invited to visit dunnyhunt.kidrobot.com and sign up for Twitter feeds at www.twitter.com/dunnyhunt09nyc.

For We Are Plus, credits for this campaign also include projects director Zu Al-Kadiri.

About Kidrobot
Founded by designer Paul Budnitz in 2002, Kidrobot is the world’s premier designer and retailer of limited edition art toys and apparel. Kidrobot merges urban street trends, fashion, and pop art to produce limited edition, collectible toys and apparel. Kidrobot products feature unique collaborations with top international artists with backgrounds as diverse as graffiti, fine art, fashion, industrial design, graphic design, illustration, and music. Kidrobot operates store-galleries in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and Dallas, and the company's products can also be found at select boutique retailers around the world. Visit Kidrobot online at www.kidrobot.com.

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About We Are Plus
A strategic creative ideas studio, We Are Plus are brand movement specialists and creative catalysts poised to deliver what is needed by brands today and tomorrow. We Are Plus thrives at the intersection of creativity and entrepreneurship. The company's unique expertise successfully transports brands, products, ideas and innovation to market. By uniting visionary brand strategy with masterful thinking, design, and production, We Are Plus propels these ideas across every form of media. We Are Plus works in concert with decision-makers behind the world's most prominent brands, forging powerful, lasting commercial connections with consumer groups ranging from niche to mainstream. Catch the movement by visiting www.weareplus.com, or call +1.212.473.3800.