Interactive signage has made it possible for thousands of Chicagoans to hold alluring Hawaii images in the palms of their hands while at the Windy City’s Clark & Lake train station this month.
The station has been festooned with Hawaii images designed to interact with mobile devices and deliver lush Hawaii videos and invitations to click through to gohawaii.com, the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Bureau website.
Clearly, it is hoped the images will fill viewers’ hearts with dreams, and heads with thoughts and action plans for Hawaii travel.
The advertising was created through a partnership between HVCB and London-based Aurasma, a technology company that has created what it calls a visual browser. In doing so, Hawaii has become the first U.S. destination to use the Aurasma technology for tourism promotion within the U.S., according to the HVCB.
The Aurasma Lite application, or app, can be installed in the iPhone 4, iPad2 and Android 2.2 smartphone. Once launched, the app enables users to point the device’s camera at an Aurasma-enabled image, which causes the device to deliver video, animations, audio or Web pages to the user. Instructions on how to download the app are posted around the interactive images.
The technology "helps engage and tantalize potential travelers to Hawaii like never before," Jay Talwar, HVCB senior vice president of marketing, said in a statement.
HVCB is able to track the number of times sign-viewers click through to gohawaii.com upon viewing the interactive billboards, according to Rebecca Pang, account supervisor at McNeil Wilson Communications, a public relations company that works with the bureau.
Booking of flights to Hawaii also can be tracked.
HVCB’s Chicago campaign also includes print, broadcast, online and outdoor advertising, as well as public relations, consumer events and outreach to travel industry publications.
» hawi.in/aurasmachicago
Heavy metal koa
The newly renovated Martin & MacArthur store at Ala Moana Center has reopened with a jewelry item sold only at that store, for the time being.
Eternity rings, made of tungsten, inlaid with koa and coated with a finish-protecting resin, have been added to the merchandise mix.
The unisex rings are created by craftsmen in the company’s Kalihi workshop, using wood harvested from fallen koa trees on Hawaii island, and start at $189.
A Google search reveals that tungsten is increasingly popular in high-end jewelry for its resistance to dulling and scratching — but the usage seems to have escaped the attention of the U.S. Geological Survey’s minerals website preparer, as well as the attention of the International Tungsten Industry Association. Neither group mentions using tungsten for jewelry on its websites.
The word "tungsten" is also the name of a typography font popular among some in the graphic design and sign-making industries.
But back to the rings.
Martin & MacArthur plans to make the rings available at its nine other stores, including the newly opened Sheraton Waikiki store, before the end of the year.
Reach Erika Engle at 529-4303, erika@staradvertiser.com, or on Twitter as @erikaengle.
