Kyiv based studio AREYES has been developing AR products for social media platforms since 2019. The company has completed projects for Sony, L'Oréal, Lego, Red Bull (DE), Real Me (Global), etc. In this case, the studio tells how it managed to fit a full-fledged race into 4MB.
We were the first developers who adapt a full-fledget racing game for an Instagram filter. Before that, everyone believed that the social media could only fit simple design effects (one layer with simple mechanics), but our work uncovered broader possibilities of Spark AR Studio as for creators as for brands**.** The case drew the attention of developer communities. Some of the digital marketing specialists in these communities were already looking at the possibilities of AR and Ford was one of them.
It's a general trend: in the last two years, big brands and companies are increasingly turning to gaming as a tool for communicating with a younger audience. The GTB agency that manage Ford Europe also looking for different interaction formats included Spark AR for the new ad campaign and was find an interest Follow the Dream project.
In 2020 Ford launched the new urban SUV, Ford Puma ST — a car that rivals a race car: fast to respond, sharp in cornering, truly built to thrill, just like the tagline says. To promote the car, the marketing team used the gamification capabilities of an Spark AR games along with traditional advertising channels and plan create an Instagram race.
It have to be a simulation of a race on the Brands Hatch Track, located southeast of London. The main challenge of the project was to use an actual map. We had to recreate a realistic cornering on a real track, and we couldn't afford for it to look like 2D simulations; otherwise, it wouldn't convey all the advantages of the car.
For the client and the team to imagine the final product’s appearance, we started by preparing a detailed game scenario with mechanics, game logic, and part of storyboards — this is our process for each Spark AR project. Whether it is a simple AR effect or a game, all participants must have a clear, understandable, and — most importantly — an approved reference point. This product was no exception, and we immediately drew: