Holiday Fundraiser Raises Money for Charity with AR Postcards
Each year since 2004 during the week before Christmas, Dutch radio station 3FM hosts the Serious Request donation drive to benefit a specific charity chosen for that year. The station’s DJs live for 6 days in a glass house erected in a public square as they broadcast on radio and TV around the clock, drawing big crowds and even bigger donations.
For this year’s fundraiser in the Dutch city of Haarlem, Serious Request has teamed up with AR developers Dutch Rose Media to create interactive AR postcards with their Layar-powered app Smilez. The postcards are being sold for €2, and €1 from each card will be donated to Serious Request.
When scanning one of three different postcards with the Smilez app (it also works with the Layar App), users will see a video play right on the card as it comes to life. One card features a holiday themed greeting, another shows a brief video tour of the city of Haarlem, and the third features imagery from this year’s charity theme, “Hands Off Our Girls.”
The theme of the fundraiser aims to raise money and awareness for female victims of sexual assault during war and conflict. Last year’s event to benefit charities fighting child death from diarrhea (humorously titled “Let’s Clean This Shit Up”) raised over €12 million ($15 million), with roughly half being donated on the final day of the drive, Christmas Eve.
To try it yourself, have a look at the Smilez-enhanced Serious Request postcards. If you’d like to purchase one, you can do so at the Smilez website.