Toyota and 360i collaborated with Brightline Interactive to develop a first of its kind nationwide experiential marketing campaign designed to educate new drivers on the dangers of distracted driving by placing them behind the wheel in a safe virtual environment.
As senior interactive producer for Brightline on the second iteration of “TeenDrive365,” I was charged with creating a more immersive user experience designed to fully replicate real-world driving scenarios in a virtual environment that could be controlled by the physical hardware inside a Toyota vehicle. We achieved this goal by scripting new cellphone centric distractions, integrating map updates with expanded branching complexity, and introducing depth-sensing cameras along with custom IR tracking of users’ hands. Unity was used for development, and VR content was delivered via an Oculus Rift headset.
The resulting 2.0 release of “TeenDrive365” provided a hyper-realistic simulation of a distracted driving experience. At the completion of their “TeenDrive365” experience users were asked to sign a pledge that they would aim to reduce further distracted driving; 94% of users agreed to do so. Over 20,000 people participated in this VR experience over its 2-year tour across 9 auto shows and SXSW. Their involvement led to 277mm earned media impressions for Toyota.
