From April 28 to May 7, shoppers at ECE locations in Germany, Australia, Poland and Italy will find the Smiley icon, celebrating its 50-year anniversary across more than 350 activations taking place in various mall areas. 

The participating centers and their retail partners will be welcoming visitors with featured SmileyWorld products, installations, games and décor. There will also be interactive additions to keep visitors engaged with activities they couldn’t experience shopping online. 

Two examples are digital games where customers stand next to each other and smile. Artificial intelligence and camera sensors determine the strength of the smile, with participants receiving a printed coupon as their prize. Another is buzzer cashback activations, where customers win vouchers and SmileyWorld Premiums (freebies or gifts with purchase). 

There is also the opportunity for visitors to win scratch card lotteries and apply Smiley Instagram filters as well as a range of chewing gums for customers to pick from based on their mood. The activation aligns with Smiley’s focus on encouraging people to boost their EQ (emotional intelligence) by identifying their emotions by using Smiley emoticons.   

Keeping with the EQ theme, The SmileyWorld EQ Art-Trail takes place across 25 ECE shopping centers, offering an art trail of Smiley sculptures depicting the 27 most important human emotions.