AR on every ColdCake
What is AR? How your cake comes to life.
ColdCake delivers your cake to your prospect’s office, with your logo, your design and a QR code in edible ink. Your prospect scans that QR code with their phone’s regular camera, points the phone at the cake, and the cake comes to life on their screen, with your video. In the browser, no app.
What is AR, in plain words?
AR stands for augmented reality. You look at the real world through your phone’s camera, and the screen adds an image that is not physically there. You may know it from an app that places a sofa in your living room. With ColdCake, the real world is the cake on your prospect’s desk, and the image added to it is your video.
The cake itself stays a cake: what moves is the image on the screen, right on the cake. Because it all runs in the regular browser and not in an app, this is also called WebAR.
How it works, in four steps
1. The scan.
Your prospect points their phone’s regular camera at the QR code on the cake. A page opens in the browser.
2. Camera access.
The page asks to use the camera. The camera and the AR take a moment to start.
3. The cake in view.
Your prospect points the phone at the design on the cake, and the page recognises the printed design.
4. The video.
The cake comes to life on the screen, with your video. If it has sound, the sound plays with it, or they turn it on with one tap. One button saves or shares the video.
Your message is already on the cake, in your design. After the scan, the same page can carry one more message. Further down the page they see who the cake is from, your own button if you added a link, and what is in the cake, allergens included. Step by step: what your prospect sees when they scan the QR on the cake.
No app, just the browser
There is nothing to install and no account to create. The QR code opens a page in the device’s regular browser, on iPhone and Android, on a phone or tablet.
- If the link opens in the built-in browser of an app such as LinkedIn or Instagram, the page asks the visitor to reopen the link in Safari or Chrome and scan again.
- If the camera is off, or someone opens the link on a computer, they can watch the same video on the page.
- You cannot scan the demo with the same phone you are viewing it on. Open the AR demo on a computer or a second screen and point your phone at it.
What you get out of it as the sender
You choose what plays.
Uploading your own video (MP4, MOV or WEBM, up to 20 MB) is included, or ColdCake makes a short video of your design for €35.
Your own button.
Add a link in the cake builder, where you put your cake together, and your button appears on the page: to a meeting, your site or a case study.
A delivery photo.
After delivery you get a photo by email of the cake where it was delivered.
Scanned? Ask us.
We tell you whether your cake was scanned. No automatic notification goes out.
A reason to call.
You know the cake arrived and, on request, whether it was scanned, so you are not calling cold.
FAQ
What is AR (augmented reality)?
AR stands for augmented reality. You look at the real world through your phone’s camera, and the screen adds an image that is not physically there. With ColdCake, that image is your video: the cake comes to life on the screen, right on the cake in front of the recipient.
What does the recipient see when they scan the QR code on the cake?
A page opens in the browser and asks to use the camera. When the recipient points the phone at the cake, the page recognises the design and the cake comes to life on the screen, with the sender’s video. Below it they read the sender’s message if they wrote one, and see who the cake is from and what is in it, allergens included.
Does the recipient need to install an app?
No. The phone’s regular camera scans the QR code and everything runs in the browser. There is nothing to install and no account to create.
Which devices does the AR work on?
In the regular browser, on iPhone and Android, on a phone or tablet with the camera on. On a computer, the recipient can watch the same video on the page.
What if the AR does not start?
The camera and the AR take a moment to start when the page opens. If the AR still does not start, the recipient can watch the same video on the same page. That happens when the camera is switched off, when the network does not load the AR, or when someone opens the link on a computer. If someone opens the link in the built-in browser of an app such as LinkedIn or Instagram, the page asks them to reopen the link in Safari or Chrome and scan again.
Which video plays, and what does it cost?
You choose in the cake builder, where you put your cake together. Uploading your own video (MP4, MOV or WEBM, up to 20 MB) is included. If ColdCake makes a short video of your design, that costs €35. The AR is on every ColdCake. A single cake starts at €160, including 6% VAT and delivery in Flanders and Brussels.
Does the cake itself move?
No. The cake stays a cake: what moves is the image on the phone screen, right on the cake. And once the cake is cut, the design is gone, so the moment belongs to the day the cake arrives.
Can the recipient save or share the video?
Yes. The page has a button to save or share the video. With it they keep the video on their phone or share it straight away.
How do I know whether my cake was scanned?
Ask us. ColdCake records the scan, but no automatic notification goes out. On request we tell you whether your cake was scanned. After delivery you also get a photo by email of the cake where it was delivered.
What happens to the data from a scan?
The page behind the QR code sends technical data to ColdCake: the order code, which steps were used, when and for how long (such as the camera, the recognition of the design and the video), how the scan ended and any errors, a coarse description of the device (operating system and browser, with version number), the size of the camera image and a random number per visit. That data contains no cookies and no IP address. After 12 months we delete that data and keep only counts without the order code. The names, and the email address and message if the QR link carries them, are removed from the link 30 days after delivery. It is all in the privacy policy, section 3.2.
Where does my message go?
On the cake, in your design. Your design with your message, your logo and the QR code are printed in edible ink. Behind the QR code sits your video, and the same page can carry one more message. Our delivery person can also say a line of yours at the handover. No separate card goes with the cake.
See it for yourself
Put the AR demo on a computer or a second screen, scan the QR code on that screen with your phone and watch what your prospect sees. A single cake starts at €160, including 6% VAT and delivery in Flanders and Brussels.