Arilyn Blog – All things augmented

Augmented Moomins courage children at hospitals

Written by Liisa Mathlin | 15.7.2020

Finnish health care company Mehiläinen and the Moomin Characters started collaborating in renewing Mehiläinen for Children's brand in February 2019. The co-operation creates a new kind of visibility into children's medical services.

In May 2019, Mehiläinen joined forces with VR studio Zoan and Arilyn to cheer up kids waiting for their turn at the hospital. AR ignited posters with familiar Moomin characters now lighten up waiting rooms all over Finland.

Client Mehiläinen
Graphics  Sami and Riina Kaarla
3D Animation Zoan
AR Production Arilyn

Concept

Four different Moomin stories came to life in May of 2019 within different Moomin posters. When scanned with the Arilyn app, the posters ignited into AR portholes, opening up the Moomin Valley's different views and story settings. Sami and Riina Kaarla draw the images. They also illustrate Moomin books. Zoan 3D-ignited the images, and Arilyn's AR platform combined posters and 3D content.

"With augmented reality, we will be able to add value to our work and create new stories with the Moomins. Through these stories, we can entertain children when, for example, they are waiting for a doctor or face some form of intimidation that requires them to come up with creative solutions to allay their fears." - Chief of marketing Mehiläinen Mirella Girs.

 

The AR experience

Moomins come to life when the hospital visitors scan the posters with the Arilyn app. From the posters, the users can explore what Moomin Mamma's purse hides, what pearls of wisdom are lurking in Moomin Pappa's hat, what kind of adventures has Snufkin stored inside his hat, and join Thingumy and Bob on a trip to a beach! 

The characters are familiar to all children across Finland, and they bring comfort and support by being present at the reception or in the waiting room. 

Why AR? 

Adding AR into the mix gives the posters an added level of interactivity and engagement, quickly taking the little viewer's mind off whatever else is to come. Mehiläinen also has a long-term co-operation agreement with Moomin co., as well as with Arilyn. Maybe this isn't the last time Moomins come to life in Mehiläinen's spaces.