“Street Taps solves a small need in a simple way, creating huge opportunities for two unique sets of users—street musicians and the community at large.” —juror Megan Meeker

“A simple, but delightful, product demonstration.” —juror Natalie Lam

Overview: With so many new payment technologies, today’s consumers are carrying even less cash in their pockets. Visa set out to bring the future of mobile payments to a cash-oriented industry: New York City street performers. Through near field communication (NFC) technology and Visa/Apple Pay, BBDO New York gave select musicians a new way to earn a buck. Over the course of two days, in multiple high-traffic locations in New York City, anyone passing the performers could tip them $1 using his or her smartphone.

•The idea was a social experiment.
•The amount on each portable NFC-enabled terminal could be preset to $1, to make it as easy as possible to give a tip.
•The reactions of the experiment’s participants were filmed.

Comments by Roberto Dañino:
Did you meet with any out-of-the-ordinary obstacles during development? “One of the challenges of the development was finding the right street musicians for this social experiment. After researching many street musicians in New York City, we were able to find performers who wanted to be the first to earn tips in a way that had never been done before. We then selected several high-traffic areas in New York City, including popular busking spots in Central Park and Union Square, and filmed for two days.”

Is the audience you were targeting a particularly difficult one to reach? “New Yorkers can be a difficult target, especially if you want them to stop and listen to a street performer for a few minutes. That’s why it was important to find the most talented street performers around.”

What was the response? “With a very limited paid social media budget, what started on the street spread online as the video was shared on Twitter and Facebook. In just two days, the video received more than 13.5 million impressions and more than 2.7 million views.”