2021 Cannes Lions
Creative Data - Data-enhanced Creativity
Gold Lion
Laugh Tracker
A wearable that scientifically proves kids have fun on vacation in Tennessee
- Office
- United States
- Client
- Tennessee Dept. of Tourist Development
We know parents want nothing more than to hear their kids laugh — because it’s proof they're happy
Tennessee is an incredible family destination. Rather than hear it from us, we wanted to hear straight from the kids. For the millions of families taking a trip this summer, we invite you to come and experience first-hand our state’s soundtrack of laughter with scenic beauty, rich history, music and adventure.”
How do we inspire families to travel to Tennessee?
To eliminate the subjectivity of travel reviews, we identified an entirely new metric to rate travel experiences – laughter.
We created a first-of-its-kind wearable device that measures laughter and excitement to determine how much fun kids have in Tennessee and put the devices on hundreds of kids across 31 locations. Equipped with a microphone, GPS technology and cloud computing, the device recorded audio samples in 10-second increments and sent them to a neural network, where AI software determines if a sound is laughter. We concurrently captured heart rate data to measure excitement, ultimately identifying the specific activities within attractions that generated the most laughter and excitement for kids. VML developed a custom experience on Tennessee’s brand site to create a planning tool for moms, showcasing the data collected and attractions reviewed directly from kids.
- 2,023,723 data points analyzed
- 1,667,760 seconds of laughter recorded
- 80 average laughs per hour (per kid)
- 3.5x more laughs than average
- Influenced 157,733 hotel bookings
- $42.2 million in direct hotel revenue
- $142 : $1 projected return on ad spend
- 235 million earned media impressions
Awards
2020 AME Awards
Best Use of Discipline - Creative Use of Technology
Gold
2020 Effies
Media - Emerging and New Channels
Bronze
2020 Effies
David vs. Goliath
Bronze
2020 New York Festivals
Creative Marketing Strategy/Effectiveness - Creative Use of Data
Bronze
