NEFT Frozen Barrel AR

NEFT Frozen Barrel AR

Turning an ice-cold brand moment into a warm lead generator.

The Brief

NEFT came to us with a clear goal: to transform their in-person events into lasting digital connections. They wanted a way to capture leads — names, emails, the start of a real relationship — without losing the sense of theater that defines their brand.

But forms and clipboards weren’t going to cut it. The activation had to feel as bold and refined as the NEFT barrel itself — fast, tactile, and memorable.

The Challenge

At every NEFT event, their signature oil-barrel vodka bottles are the centerpiece. The problem was, people admired them, snapped a photo, and moved on. We needed to turn that quick glance into an interaction — one that stopped people, drew them in, and created a tangible moment of connection.

And we had to do it without asking anyone to download an app or jump through technical hoops. It had to just work — instantly, anywhere

The Idea

The spark came straight from NEFT’s own branding. Their site opens with a striking visual — a barrel locked in ice, cracking apart to reveal the vodka within. That moment of tension and release became the foundation for our concept.

We built The Ice Barrel AR Experience, a fully browser-based activation that brought that cinematic sequence into the real world.

After entering to win, attendees scanned the physical NEFT barrel itself — no marker, no app required. The camera recognized its form and texture, triggering the AR effect directly in the browser. Before their eyes, the real barrel began to freeze: ice creeping up the sides, frost blooming across the surface, light refracting through the frozen shell.

To “free” the barrel, users simply tapped or swiped to break the ice, revealing hidden prizes and completing their entry. What started as a static giveaway became a living piece of brand storytelling — elegant, surprising, and seamlessly connected to NEFT’s CRM for follow-up engagement.

The Build

We started by rebuilding the NEFT barrel in 3D with full physically based rendering (PBR) for accurate reflection and lighting. Every detail of the material — the brushed metal, the paint imperfections, even the micro-scratches on the surface — was modeled to reflect real-world authenticity.

The ice, though, was where things got interesting. We created a custom PBR ice shader that mimicked real frozen transparency, combining refraction, subsurface scattering, and dynamic noise patterns to simulate crystallization. Tiny air pockets and light diffusion gave the ice depth, while a procedural shader animated the growth of frost outward from the barrel’s surface in real time.

To make it feel alive, we rendered the barrel inside the ice geometry, so light would bend, distort, and refract around it — creating a realistic illusion of being trapped within.

When users broke the ice, a real-time physics simulation took over. Hundreds of ice fragments burst outward in slow motion, floating weightlessly before fading into a mist. The physics were tuned to feel both powerful and elegant — like a slow-motion explosion from a high-end spirits ad.

All of it ran directly in the mobile browser using WebXR, with iOS users experiencing the same fidelity via an App Clip built on the same codebase. The end result was smooth, fast, and visually stunning on any device

The Outcome

The NEFT Ice Barrel experience turned a simple scan into an unforgettable, shareable brand moment. It pulled people in through sheer visual spectacle, then converted that engagement into real-world value.

Across its first event run, NEFT saw:

  • 2× more lead captures compared to previous event activations
  • Average engagement time of 45 seconds — exceptional for an on-site activation
  • Zero app downloads, meaning frictionless participation across all device

The result wasn’t just more leads — it was better leads. Every person who froze and shattered the barrel experienced the brand in a way that was tactile, cinematic, and unmistakably NEFT.

Impact Highlights

  • 2× increase in lead captures compared to past events
  • 70%+ opt-in rate among AR participants
  • Average session time: 45 seconds
  • Launched in under 2 seconds on any modern mobile device
  • Fully browser-based WebAR — no app required