Heineken's technology, via infrared illumination, is only visible on mobile phone screens when people point the device's camera to film the display.
The Amsterdam dance event and Heineken, a beer brand, came together to encourage people to use less mobile phones at this year's 24th edition of the event, which kicked off on Saturday in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
While DJ “Barry Can't Swim” set up at the event's opening ceremony, Heineken deployed exclusive technology that transmitted a message via infrared lighting, invisible to the naked eye but visible when festival-goers raised their phones to film the presentation, Globe Newswire reported.
In the hidden message, which only appears on mobile phone screens, people were encouraged to put down their smartphones to keep the moment in their memory, not on their mobile phone.
Heineken's technology, which was also implemented at the Live Out festival in Mexico earlier this month, is part of a wider brand campaign aimed at encouraging people to live in the present and improve the live music experience.
In addition to its presence at these festivals, Heineken has also launched “The Boring Mode” app, which when activated on smartphones reduces distractions, silences notifications and blocks other apps. This way, users can fully immerse themselves in every moment and focus on the experiences.
“Today it seems that technology always comes first, leaving the joy of real life a close second. While technology gives us endless conveniences, it also comes at the cost of our inability to stop and embrace what is happening around us,” says Nabil Nasser, Global Head of Heineken: “At Heineken we want to foster moments of real connection to enable a more fulfilling social life.”
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