How Flowcode Created The Biggest QR Code In The Sky

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Did you ever think you'd be able to scan a code in the sky? For the first time ever, a giant floating and glowing QR code lit up the night sky of Miami during the 2023 Grand Prix weekend. In partnership with the Jonas Brothers, Flowcode created a first of its kind marketing activation. Check out the video to watch it in action and read on to learn more about how this came to life. 

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The 2023 Miami Grand Prix last weekend hosted over 270,000 attendees. Among the weekend's festivities, a private 200+ person party was hosted by Rob’s Backstage Popcorn, featuring the Jonas Brothers. The Jonas Brothers team partnered with Flowcode to develop and execute one of their biggest activations yet – a giant floating QR code formed by a constellation of 350 drones. 

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How did Flowcode create a QR code out of light? 

The Flowcode team created the QR code in a unique way, where we had to create a unique QR code data pattern, then map each data particle up to its own LED drone. In essence, each data point of the QR code was created by a bright spot of light, then carefully crafted and arranged to form a perfectly scannable QR code through this arranged barcode matrix. 

Sounds pretty unreal, right? To pull this off, the Flowcode team worked with Sky Elements, a drone specialty company, to transition a perfectly arranged QR code pattern into a live rendering and flight plan to arrange the drones. Through digitally mapping the data pattern, the exact same digital pattern was replicated and rendered in real life with the drones flight path.

The execution consisted of 350 drones with LED lights – the black night sky created the perfect contrast to make this data pattern scannable like any other QR code. On the day of, a team of 10 prepped for 5 hours to get ready to launch the QR code into the sky for 30 minutes. 

What was the promotion?

As part of their tour, the Jonas Brothers team wanted their Flowcode to redirect to a ticket giveaway for their 2023 tour, providing the winner two free tickets to the show of their choice. In return, the Jonas Brothers marketing team was able to collect valuable customer contact information in exchange for the giveaway – generating highly valuable CRM for their marketing team's outreach lists.

In just 30 minutes and with roughly 200 attendees, the Flowcode generated over 1,000 scans. But the floating code reached beyond that, capturing the attention of pedestrians in the area and those living in nearby buildings. Not only did this activation leave guests in awe, but it generated additional buzz and UGC across the internet.

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Looking to create your own buzz-worthy activation?