Coca-Cola AHHCade

Real-Time Social → Physical Activation System · Live Event Interface · Interactive Installation

Engineered a kiosk-based interactive system that translated real-time social input into on-site actions during the Coca-Cola Red Carpet LIVE! pre-show at the 2014 American Music Awards, enabling live audience participation within a broadcast environment.

Role:: Software Developer/Architect
Employer:: IfThen
Client:: Coca-Cola
Team:: 2 Developers + Project Management
Industry:: Non-Alcoholic Beverages
Timeline:: 4 months (2014)

Impact

Enabled real-time fan participation during a live red carpet broadcast
Used by on-site talent and production teams during the Yahoo livestream pre-show
Bridged social input with physical activation in a live event setting
Operated continuously throughout the full red carpet broadcast window

My Role

Led full front-end architecture and implementation of the installation interface
Built real-time messaging layer using WebSocket, SockJS, and STOMP
Designed and implemented content orchestration and timed presentation logic
Developed producer tooling to simulate and trigger live content scenarios
Collaborated with integration engineer responsible for hardware connectivity

Technical Architecture

System Overview

Single-screen installation interface designed for a fixed-format kiosk display
Dual content pipeline supporting both scheduled playback and real-time injected prompts
Event-driven architecture allowing producers to push curated social content live
Touch-based interaction model enabling product selection within the activation space
Local WebSocket communication layer connecting UI interactions to physical hardware

Architectural Decisions

Adopted push/pull content model to enabled the system to operate autonomously while supporting live producer-driven moments
Separated content orchestration from interaction and messaging layers for independent control of presentation timing, user input, and external integrations
Optimized for fixed display dimensions, touch input, and minimal operator overhead
Introduced real-time messaging abstraction to support multiple transport strategies (SockJS, STOMP, raw WebSocket) across environments
Built simulation tooling for live event readiness allowing rehearsal and validation of content flows prior to broadcast execution

Stack

Frontend

JavaScriptHTMLCSS

Messaging

WebSocketSockJSSTOMP

Context

Coca-Cola’s Red Carpet LIVE! pre-show extended the American Music Awards broadcast with a branded digital experience streamed on Yahoo. The activation included the AHHCADE, an interactive installation where fans influenced on-site activity through social input.

The challenge was to translate live, unstructured social signals into a controlled, broadcast-safe interface that could be used by on-site talent and production teams in real time.

The resulting system functioned as an interaction layer between remote audience input, live production workflows, and physical activation hardware which enabled a continuous feedback loop between social media and the red carpet experience.

Media

In Action!

Meghan Trainor inadvertently demonstrates my software.

Hanging Out

Mark Cuban and his daughter hanging out at the Coca-Cola AHHCade.

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