2019 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

During Ramadan, more than 60 million people search to find Qibla during prayer times. To answer their question, we introduced Qibla Finder, an easy to use, accurate and free web app that uses augmented reality to show you the direction of the Qibla wherever you are in the world on your mobile device (g.co/QiblaFinder). Qibla Finder's experience design allows for an immersive user experience where muslims around the world are able to engage with their surroundings through augmented reality, to find Mecca.

Background

Millions of muslims around the world turn to Mecca every day for prayer. One of the top questions on Google, particularly during Ramadan is “What’s the direction of the Qibla?”, which is the direction Muslims turn to at prayer time. Users often look for a website or an app to point them in the right direction but the experience is suboptimal and inaccurate. To answer their question, we launched Qibla Finder, a web app that uses augmented reality to show you the direction of the Qibla wherever you are in the world on your mobile device (g.co/QiblaFinder). The Qibla Finder uses the latest in augmented reality to paint a clear blue line within the imagery your phone camera sees, pointing you towards Qibla. We have enabled offline usage for users and a shortcut to add Qibla Finder to their Android home screen, so they can locate Mecca anytime.

Describe the creative idea.

To help users find the direction to the Qibla wherever they are we launched the Qibla Finder on a web app which users can access directly on their mobile devices from Google Search. The users simply have to hold up their phone and the Qibla Finder would show them the direction to Mecca. To provide users with a great experience, we integrated augmented reality within the Qibla Finder. There is an arrow within the UI which will rotate around the screen pointing towards the Kaaba, and will disappear when the Kaaba is in view. Then, a clear blue line is painted within the imagery of your mobile camera, pointing you towards the Qibla. To make Qibla Finder accessible to everyone and at all times, we enabled offline usage and the ability to add a shortcut on Android home screens, so users can locate Mecca on the move.

Describe the strategy.

During the month of Ramadan more than 60 million people worldwide search to find the direction of Qibla. To help users find the right direction to pray towards and celebrate the millions of Muslims around the globe searching for the same destination, we built the Qibla Finder. We collaborated with our engineering team to find the most accurate distance and direction to the Qibla using Haversine formula and created a simple blue line to Mecca. The platform was designed for a great experience on Mobile using Augmented Reality and accessing the Android Camera to help point users towards Mecca. Through the Qibla Finder, we demonstrated local relevance to millions of users active on this moment and connected Muslims with shared interests across the globe. Qibla Finder was marketed to all muslim users on digital platforms and through a launch video to spread awareness in regards to the platform’s immersive experience.

Describe the execution

To be able to design the Qibla Finder as a web app on Mobile devices our product engineers worked to ensure the accuracy of the Qibla direction being shown to users. We took the GPS and compass in a smartphone device, combined with the time of day and an accelerometer, and calibrated it against the curvature of the Earth using Haversine Formula. Using this Formula which gives the perfect great circle distance on a globe we curated a simple, clear blue line to Mecca that works wherever the user is. The Qibla Finder was built for anyone around the world to access through their mobile devices at any time during the day and wherever they are. Qibla Finder's mobile UI was designed to provide users with an immersive experience and engage them during their search for Qibla. Muslim users across the world today depend on the Qibla Finder everyday.

List the results.

Over 4M users found the Qibla using the web app during Ramadan and 45% of them are becoming repeated visitors.