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Augmented Reality

Sports should leverage AR for improved fan engagement

Augmented Reality (AR) can help sports companies tackle current challenges by creating more engaging and insightful viewing experiences, while the overall AR market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% from $22 billion in 2022 to $100 billion in 2030.

GlobalData’s latest Thematic Intelligence report, “Augmented Reality in Sport,” reveals how fan experiences offer the most lucrative and accessible opportunities for AR integration.

Jordan Strzelecki, Associate Thematic Intelligence Analyst at GlobalData, said: “AR graphics in broadcasting create a more engaging and insightful analysis of events. AR on mobile devices is a novel marketing introduction that can increase fan engagement. As media competition intensifies for sports rights with the rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms, broadcasters must invest in more sophisticated technology to attract or keep contracts and engage with fans. For example, Sky Sports launched a new mixed-reality studio in August 2023 for Premier League Monday Night Football and US Tennis Open coverage, enriching viewing experiences with advanced AR graphics.”

Broadcasters are increasingly providing AR-enhanced alternative broadcasts of sports events to tailor coverage to specific audiences. Stadium-based AR mobile experiences are also available, aiming to enhance live viewing.

Strzelecki continued: “New and innovative AR use cases are regularly being announced. In October 2023, AT&T and Gallaudet University debuted the first 5G AR helmet for deaf American football players. The proliferation of 5G will lead to widespread and more advanced AR adoption among major sports entities.”

Strzelecki concluded: “However, smaller sports federations and clubs will miss out on large-scale technological investment and partnerships. Brands will focus financial resources on teams and leagues with large fan bases and footprints, as they allow them to reach the most people. While brands may still partner with less successful organizations, most sponsorship spend will be directed towards larger properties.”

Photo by Sandro Schuh on Unsplash

Chris Hassell &Brynley Gibson

Ralph & Kuju partner to offer VR & AR experiences to brands

Brand experience agency Ralph Creative and Kuju, a full service Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) content specialist, have teamed up to offer a one-stop-shop for creating groundbreaking VR and AR experiences across any platform.

The announcement follows their earlier co-production of a music remix experience for Grammy Award winning duo The Chainsmokers and Sony Music. The experience, for the single Paris, was unveiled at SXSW in Austin to great applause.

“We are thrilled to be announcing this partnership today,” said Kuju’s Head of Studios Brynley Gibson. “When Ralph first approached us about a collaboration on The Chainsmokers’ VR experience it seemed a great fit: our interactive entertainment background in music and VR, alongside their impressive expertise in brands. We found in Ralph kindred spirits with a passion for creating cool innovative projects and we’re looking forward to showing the world what we will come up with next.”

Chris Hassell, Founder of Ralph added: “Working with Kuju is hugely exciting. We knew we wanted to find a partner that had true game development experience but never thought we’d find someone with such a pedigree, with many years of VR experience across many platforms. Based on the success and positive feedback of Paris.VR on the PlayStation Store, we are looking forward to having a lot of fun and doing more groundbreaking work with them in the future for new and existing clients.”

PlayStation-VR

OPINION: Augmented reality is going mainstream by stealth

We may have talked excitedly about Virtual Reality (VR) for the past five years, but it still feels like an emerging  technology.  I read the other day that 63% of Americans are not aware of VR or haven’t got a clear idea what it is, which means there is still a massive wow! factor opportunity.

We have tested VR a lot and have run a couple of campaigns for mobile operator DNA including a pop-up VR downhill ski experience that put the public in the boots of Olympic skiers via two 360-degree giant slalom and ski cross videos.  We used VR because it was cool and new – it hadn’t been attempted before in Finland.

VR is still quite stunt driven because there are limitations, especially with the equipment – good quality sets are still not mainstream.  But in the future it’s going to be huge.  The level of immersion is mindblowing and I can see some custom gaming uses emerging, but by summer 2018 VR will maximise its potential.

VR gives a sense of scale and distance, with its potential uses widespread. For example, I know that VR is used as an effective solution by organisations selling large-scale equipment.  It’s a lot easier to transport a VR setup to demo than it is to transport a military tank.

Because VR gives a really good perspective of being in a particular space, it is also being used to great effect alongside personalisation.  IKEA has used VR to allow shoppers to customise rooms and personally, I think it would be great see a car manufacturer like MINI use VR to produce one-off cars.

I’d love to do a VR walk-round of a MINI, sit inside and adjust it, add my own wishlist and see it brought to life.  It’s great for education too, in fact every time you have to show something new you should use VR.

Having said that, I am going to predict that Augmented Reality (AR) is going to be bigger than VR because of its widespread use on mobile platforms.

Interestingly, most people don’t think they have used AR until you ask them if they use Snapchat filters or play Pokemon Go.  It’s a fantastic sign of impending success when when people use something without knowing it. It’s nearly mainstream.

My ‘watch this space’ tip is to keep a close eye on Mixed Reality. Microsoft Hololens is definitely top of the list as the opportunities are amazing.

Ossi Honkanen is Senior Creative, Manager of Innovation, gadget hoarder and gaming enthusiast at hasan & partners, marketing communications agency with 111 people from 10 different countries, based in Helsinki and Stockholm.

Could Snapchat be moving from apps to hardware?

The photo-sharing app, Snapchat – which is considered to be the most popular social networking platform among teenagers – has strongly indicated that it could be making the transition to hardware devices from apps; joining  a Bluetooth consortium that manages the ‘wireless standard’.

The app, which is reported to have acquired 150 million daily active users, is fuelling speculation from initial industry discussions back in March that experts from Logitech and Nokia had joined the Snapchat team to work on development plans for new hardware products, and is now listed as a member of the Bluetooth Special Interest Group’s website. It is thought that they are planning to create a pair of augmented reality (AR) glasses.

It has also been reported that the social networking app will be introducing a behavioural targeting tool, in a bid to attract more advertisers. Brands using the social media network to advertise will be granted access to personal user data in order to provide more personalised and relevant campaigns.

Read more about Snapchat’s potential hardware plans here