Echt and Nordwand virtually resurrect village founder of Wattwil
As part of the anniversary campaign 1125 Years of Wattwil, the agencies Echt and Nordwand are bringing the village founder figure Watto to life. As a guide in the interactive tour, he leads visitors through the village on an augmented reality journey through time.
With a 360-degree anniversary campaign throughout the jubilee year, Wattwil wants to attract the attention and sympathy of the population and visitors to the urban center in rural Toggenburg. The key element of the campaign is a village tour with augmented reality: Watto, Wattwil's founding father and witness from the past, lets his audience experience 1125 years of village history on the spot.
Infotainment spans from yesterday to today
This turns historical facts into an exciting experience. Using a smartphone - without having to install a special app - participants simply activate the QR code of the information boards, which are distributed at nine locations in Wattwil. And Watto tells the stories of the past in entertaining video sequences: about the Counts of Toggenburg, about the conflicts with prince abbots and foreign powers, about the industrial past, but also about Wattwil's tradition as an educational location and about visions for the future.
Connecting brand experience
It is the first village tour with augmented reality in German-speaking Switzerland. Since the start of the campaign at the beginning of March, guide Watto has already enthused around ten percent of the residents for the history of Wattwil on the village tour. Infotainment with modern AR technology allows digital and analog to merge and historical facts to be experienced in a playful way. And it vividly conveys the significance of the most important sites in the village's history. The goal of the AR village tour by Echt und Norwand is to create an unforgettable brand experience that motivates and involves a broad target group.
Responsible at the municipality of Wattwil: Marc Bohnenblust (Communications Officer). Responsible at Echt: Philipp Eggenberger (strategy, concept, script, direction), Estelle Müller (art direction, creation). Responsible at Nordwand: Silvan Widmer (Creative Direction, Creation). Responsible at Eltronix: René Liechti (Programming). Responsible at Focus Format: Gabriel Huber (camera, production), Yves Gmür (post production).
