Naughty or Nice at the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice

It's very simple: download the free app, then point your device camera at a Naughty or Nice coaster and the augmented reality experience begins.

You'll see 3D angels and devils trying to tempt you with the things they like best, and you also have the opportunity to spin the virtual prize wheel for a range of hot prizes from free coffee and milkshakes to free nights at the hotel in Joburg or Cape Town.

Protea Hotels' group marketing manager, Nicholas Barenblatt, said Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! is ideally suited to launch this SA hospitality first.

The next logical step

"The hotels are so quirky and exciting that an augmented reality experience was the next logical step. Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! is already an experimental space and we'll continue to push those boundaries through service standards, product offering and design.

"It's the unexpected that people have grown to love about Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! - that edge that no other hotels in South Africa have.

"We had a lot of fun putting together the Naughty or Nice story, so I know how much fun people are going to have using it."

The augmented reality initiative was conceptualised with Jupiter Drawing Room and Sea Monster. This allowed all three parties to be involved in shaping not just the logistics and technicalities, but the story and its content as well. As a result, the technology, the content and the integration with the Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! brand all work together seamlessly.

Barenblatt said that the augmented reality works to involve guests more deeply in many of the experiences they take for granted, like ordering a coffee.

"By leveraging a tool that most people carry with them every day: a smartphone or tablet, this campaign adds real value to a guest's stay in a simple, intuitive way.

"The technology isn't an end in itself; rather, it's a way of allowing the brand to express itself through a medium that it is perfectly suited for," said Barenblatt.