Maria Sharapova, the face of sponsor American Express at this year’s US Open, fronts a virtual reality gaming experience that offers fans a chance to return her services using ‘live action and computer generated imagery’.
‘You vs Sharapova’ sees AmEx craft a VR experience enabling tennis lovers and amateur players to square off on the other side of the net from a CGI Sharapova and try and swing a virtual racket to return her serve.
The 28-year-old former champion and current world number two serves at speeds in excess of 100mph.
The experience is being made available between 31 August and 13 September to all US Open ticket holders and attendees at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
This four-minute immersive experience is built on HTC Vive – one of the earliest consumer-oriented VR devices to reach the mass market – and also uses Steam VR technology.
There are three stationed being placed at different points around the US venue where fans can get a better feel for what it is like to be on court competing in the tournament.
For those unable to make it in person, the campaign is amplified via an online video that approximates the experience.
This film is further supported by the de rigour ‘Making Of’ behind-the-scenes video.
The initiative is further supported through American Express’ social channels and digital platforms.
‘Over the last several years, we’ve been immersing fans through technology in the game,’ says VP of global sponsorships and experiential marketing at American Express Deborah Curtis.
‘For us, virtual reality is sort of the next evolution of what we have been doing, which is put the fan at the center of the experience. And in this case, we’re allowing the fan to join this virtual world of being on the court with one of tennis’ greats, Maria Sharapova.’
Comment
From McLaren Honda F1 ‘Fuels Your Senses’ (see case study) and Yorkshire Tea’s ECB sponsorship ‘A Proper Ball’ activation (see case study), to Wiliam Hill’s ‘Get In The Race’ (see case study) and O2’s ‘Wear The Rose (see case study), 2015 has been the year of virtual reality sports sponsor activation and this campaign from the global credit giant continues that trend of getting fans closer to the action through immersive VR experiences.
And, while most VR experiences have been largely passive experiences in which headset wearers simply watch the 3D action, the key difference with this activation is that it allows fans to step into a whole new world, interact and play with it.
It is an engrossing and immersive experience,
How long will be it be before it is a crucial coaching tool?
In fact, might it even ever become a sport in its own right and one that attracts sponsors too?
This innovative experience certainly generated solid buzz – including in Adweek, ESPN, Forbes, Sports Illustrated, Tech Times and The Wall Street Journal (and even a Tweet from Bill Gates to his 24 million followers after he tested the product himself) – and ‘You vs Sharapova’ generated over 1 billion PR impressions.
Links
American Express Website:
https://www.americanexpress.com
American Express Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AmericanExpress
@AmericanExpress
American Express YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/AmericanExpress
US Open Website:
http://www.usopen.org/
US Open YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/user/USOPEN
US Open Twitter:
https://twitter.com/usopen
US Open Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/usopentennis
US Open Instagram:
https://instagram.com/usopen/
