1. PHOTOGRAPHY:LEONCSERNOHLAVEK
WHO WAS
THERE
REWIRED
STATE
The London-based
collective of coders
and hackers run
programmes for
young people
looking to pursue
digital careers.
They provided the
brains behind the
project, recruiting
the 20 hackers,
makers and coders
who competed.
GEORGE
OF ASDA
Retail experts Asda
joined forces with
WIRED to hack their
way to the next
level of customer
experience. In
August, George,
the clothing arm
of the brand,
commissioned 20
developers to make
a new consumer
smartphone app.
IBM
BLUEMIX
Computing giants
IBM were on
site to provide
the technical
support and APIs
that brought the
competition to
life. Using Bluemix
technology, the
team provided a
range of options
for the hackers to
engage with.
WINNER
ONE: GO
Alex Read won the
hackathon with his
app GO. It allows
users to search the
George website
for specific items
using a number of
descriptors. Read
hopes it will save
time and make the
user experience
smoother and
more personal.
WINNER TWO:
HELLO GEORGE
Ben Nunney and
Jake Mulley created
Hello George, an
app that adds
an AI personal
shopper to the
George experience.
Dubbed “Siri for
clothes”, Hello
George will take
in information via
text and reply with
appropriate items.
Insets: hackers at work.
Main: Alun Williams,
performance
marketing planner at
Asda, chats with the
Hello George team.
Above left: the Rewired
State and IBM tech
support teams
Above right: Emma
Mulqueeny, founder
of Rewired State and
Chris Chalmers,
head of digital
marketing at Asda
INSIDER
Events, new products
and promotions
to live the WIRED life
Compiled by
Ruby Munson-Hirst
Frombarcode
torealcodeHOW GEORGE OF ASDA IS GETTING SMART WITH A HACKATHON
BACKED BY WIRED, IBM AND A LONDON-BASED CODE COLLECTIVE
On August 20-21, WIRED joined forces
with Rewired State, IBM and George
of Asda to host a two-day hackathon.
Hosted at the Condé Nast College of
Fashion and Design in London’s Soho,
developers were briefed to design and
implement an engaging smartphone
app that would improve customers’
experience on asda.co.uk. Ten teams
worked through 48 hours, planning,
testing and creating new ideas, with
some impressive results.
IBM “geniuses” were on standby to
supply any required tech support and
to offer hints on getting the best from
IBM’s API system. Although this was a
data hack, a range of George clothing
wasonsitetoprovideanaloguerelief–
and a warm pullover, if needed.
On the second day, each of the
development teams presented their
ideas to an eager audience, one which
included several representatives
from all four hosts. The two winning
app ideas, GO and Hello George
(see left), were celebrated for their
innovation and creativity.
For more, see asda.com/george
Follow us on Twitter:
@WIREDINSIDERUK
Follow usonInstagram:
@WIREDINSIDERUK