Photo credit: George Pimentel
Ancestry brought wartime history to life last week in downtown Toronto for an immersive, AR tech-enabled exhibit.
The augmented-reality exhibit, held at a former art supply shop November 3, showcased the famed works of Canadian writer, printmaker and wartime artist Molly Lamb Bobak. Attendees were also able to have their portraits taken by red-carpet photographer, George Pimentel.
Using AR tech is “absolutely unprecedented for our company and brand,” says Allison Lau, GM, Canada at Ancestry. She tells strategy it offered a truly 3D experience, informed by the fact that as a brand, its mission is to tell individual stories. It’s one thing to hear a family story with a conventional audio tour, and it’s another to dive into the platform and get a visceral reaction, Lau says.
“We’re a human brand and we do change lives,” Lau claims.
The emotion you feel when you see transportation documents, images or signatures can be life-changing for people, and according to Lau, it will be using the technology for future activations as well.
Coming out of COVID, there’s an eagerness on the part of the public to do more and venture out and Lau says that Ancestry wants to take advantage of this sentiment.
Ancestry launched a local Canada office in January for the first time in approximately ten years, and in terms of the operational model, it’s finding its footing in the country while investing more on the community engagement front.
Lau says that COVID was somewhat of a blessing for the business, and with people having more time on their hands at home, it saw solid organic growth in 2020 and 2021. People came to understand the value in leaving a legacy behind and passing it on to the next generation. Fall and winter are key seasons, as spending time with extended family is top of mind, and when you’re more likely to hear family stories.
Lau says it’s a family history company first, and that its genetic testing is a gateway into the experience. According to Lau, with a database of 22 million people, there’s a lot of research that can be leveraged – something the brand is working hard to convey, since the family history aspect is a differentiator against competitor 23 and Me, and others.
The experience will be running until November 11, Remembrance Day.
This activation is a project with experiential shop, Salt XC, and the relationship started a few months ago.
Top of line messaging from last year focused on a young book aficionado who finds out her great aunt was a published author, and features the tagline “get to know your family story.”
Weber Shandwick supported on the PR side.
