About World Wide System

World Wide System is a forward-thinking systems development company with operations in Japan and Vietnam. World Wide System offers a comprehensive range of web-based tools for running promotional campaigns and events designed to engage users and enhance brand visibility, including social media campaigns, digital ‘stamp rallies,’ web lotteries, and interactive photo and video submission contests.

For engaging campaigns, add maps!

In the fast-evolving world of advertising and retail promotions, staying ahead of the curve is essential. Companies continuously launch new campaigns and assess effectiveness to maintain a competitive edge. Recent years have seen a significant shift toward web and mobile app-based promotions, which offer users an engaging and interactive digital experience. World Wide System recognized an opportunity to use map-based engagement to elevate promotional campaigns.

The company needed a location technology partner that could provide a high-degree of map data accuracy within Japan and internationally, while also supporting highly customized maps in order to blend in with clients’ tailored promotional campaigns. Additionally, with a development team based overseas, World Wide System needed a platform that provided documentation written in English as well as Japanese.

Mapbox provides the best coverage and flexibility

World Wide System quickly identified Mapbox as the best fit partner, thanks to a rich set of customization features and flexible technology stack. Mapbox also offered the best accuracy and coverage when compared to other map providers, in particular for Japan where Mapbox integrates with Zenrin data. Additionally, Mapbox Documentation, written in both Japanese and English, was a crucial advantage for World Wide System’s international team.

The combination of Mapbox GL JS, Mapbox Studio, Directions, and Geocoding was an ideal combination for World Wide System to use in the development of their B2B tool, ‘SmartMap Pro.’ Designed to streamline the implementation of digital maps, SmartMap Pro enables companies to harness geographic information for market analysis and promotional activities. Whether for internal mapping applications or external promotional and search tools, SmartMap Pro simplifies the process, allowing businesses to import and customize maps without complex procedures.

A no-code solution for creating promotional maps 

SmartMap Pro enables the clients of World Wide System to use a no-code solution to create customized maps for anywhere in the world. Users can add interactive features thanks to the Mapbox GL JS library. Route search functionality, built with the Mapbox Directions API, offers users optimal walking, driving, or cycling routes. The Mapbox Geocoding API enables a user-friendly address search, while Mapbox Studio allows SmartMap Pro users to create highly customized maps, complete with styles, markers, and images tailored to specific needs.

Modernizing stamp rally events in Japan

A ‘stamp rally’ (スタンプラリー) is a type of event or promotional campaign popular in Japan where participants visit various sites such as train stations, rest areas, tourist attractions, museums, shopping malls, and other locations to collect stamps that follow a certain theme, often to unlock rewards or other benefits upon reaching a certain number of stamps. World Wide System makes it easier for companies to organize stamp rallies with their Smart Stamp Rally promotional tool. Smart Stamp Rally modernizes the traditional stamp rally with digital maps for event planning and by collecting valuable real-time data on stamp rally participation.

By linking SmartMap Pro, built with Mapbox location technologies, with Smart Stamp Rally, campaign creators can choose to display information about nearby sightseeing spots and other points of interest near to stamp rally locations to help incentivize participation. The precise search functionality from Mapbox paired with sophisticated map designs supports expansive rally campaigns across wide areas, providing users with clear visual cues on distances between locations. Additionally, Smart Stamp Rally can track participant data such as route, time taken, and completion rates, offering valuable insights into campaign effectiveness.