In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing led to cancelation of pretty much all in-person events. Among those were high school and college graduations. The traditional ceremonies mark an important milestone in the life of students and signify hard-earned achievements. The graduates, eagerly awaiting the completion of their programs, were heartbroken to find out that they wouldn’t be able to walk across the stage.
The Florida Lottery is a state government agency that offers Lottery games to provide fun and excitement to those who play. The Florida Lottery’s sole mission is to enhance public education in the State of Florida through the transfer of revenues from the sale of Lottery tickets - the organization has donated more than $38 billion to education and sent over 880,000 scholars to college. PPK partnered with the Florida Lottery to allow the class of 2020 to celebrate the academic achievements they worked so hard for, despite the hardships and limitations of the global pandemic.
The Bright Futures Scholarship program, primarily funded by the Florida Lottery, brings higher education to students from all walks of life, some of which are first-generation college graduates. In the same spirit, we believe that every student deserves to celebrate their graduation. To work around the restrictions caused by the global pandemic, we decided to take the graduation ceremonies into the augmented reality space and develop the AR filter CLASS OF 2020. We wanted to allow every scholar the opportunity to “walk” across the graduation stage, even if it was a virtual one in the safety of their own homes.
Launched on Facebook and Instagram during the graduation season in April, the filter reached hundreds of thousands of people. Over 18,000 students accessed the filter to record their graduation selfies, share them with the community, and celebrate their academic achievements with their peers. Through clever use of technology, the Florida Lottery managed to champion education once again, while thousands of graduates got a chance to recognize their hard work and make well-deserved memories.
