R/GA Austin Sends Wi-Fi Snow Globes Around Their Global Network to Spread Holiday Cheer
R/GA Austin wanted to do something a little different for their network holiday gifts this year.
How does the most connected agency send holiday cheer?
A connected snow globe of course.
Here's a statement from R/GA's Sr. Technology Director, Katrina Bekessy to explain what the connected snow glob project is all about:
"We have an awesome tech and systematic team at R/GA Austin and were always itching to do some sort of side project. It felt like Q4 was a crazy one for teams across all of R/GA so we thought that sending some fun holiday cheer across the network would be a great excuse for our team to do something in lieu of sending the usual gift baskets to the offices.
The idea of creating a connected snow globe came about rather quickly. It's a great format for taking an existing behaviour (shaking a snow globe and enjoying its magic) and adding some tech to make it even more meaningful. Every shake of a single globe will now send a little twinkling "hello" to all of our other 17 offices around the globe. When each office turns on their snow globe, it will automatically connect to our global network and be a pipeline of holiday cheer for the season.
We kept the design of the globes on brand, but with just enough holiday flare and homemade nostalgia to make it feel like an old-fashioned holiday decoration. I love mixing "high-tech" with "low-tech" that way. We spent just as much time at the craft store as we did on sparkfun.com to make this come to life, and our team had a lot of fun with the process."#
To go alongside the connected globe, Candice Hahn, VP, Managing Director at R/GA Austin has written a reimagined version of Twas the Night Before Christmas.
Twas the month before the holidays
And all through R/GA,
Teams were scurrying around
And working away.
Then down in the south,
A question came one day,
“How does the most connected agency
Do what we say?”
That was all it took
For great minds to hear,
And start to figure out a way
To spread holiday cheer.
A small crack team
Began to tinker around,
With circuits and a soldering iron
Sparks flew without a sound.
Quickly, a proof of concept
Began to take shape.
A new version of a holiday classic
Started to take.
On a stealth mission to another office
A beta version did travel,
To ensure the vision
Would not unravel.
Then back at the ranch
The team tested fake snow,
To confirm that the electronics
Would not suddenly blow.
With glue guns, wire
And ribbons for flair,
Our gifts to you
Were assembled with care.
So check your mail
For a package to arrive,
(assuming the service of UPS
was gentle enough to survive).
From the Austin team
To our friends far away,
A connected snow globe
Is on its way.
When you give it a shake
Festive lights will appear,
Triggering any domes on Mercury
To also shimmer so clear.
It’s a little reminder
To all who partake,
That the power of our network
We should not forsake.
And as we round out 2017
Be kind, please don’t hate.
Happy holidays to y’all
And may our new year be great!
