On 3 April Arsenal FC official betting sponsor Sportsbet.io launched the club’s first fully virtual, augmented reality match day programme to bring the matchday magazine experience into fans’ living rooms.
The initiative, which was developed in harness with sports, entertainment and PR agency Fuse, was designed for tablet on which the user can trigger a 3D augmented reality programme which brings to life most of the components of a traditional matchday programme such as Captain’s Notes, a holographic player video, player profiles, quickfire interviews, clips from Arsenal’s training ground and an interactive AR squad selector which enables fans to pick their team for the match ahead
With fans prevented from attending matches at the Emirates Stadium in person due to Covid-19 restrictions, Sportsbet.io sought to leverage its club partnership and connect with fans through the virtual programme which is being rolled out for remaining Arsenal games at the end pf the 2020/21 season.
The initiative leverage’s Sportsbet.io’s in-stadium matchday rights with the Premier League side into supporters homes and the programme is hosted on a private Sportsbet.io app.
Promoted through PR, direct to customers and fans and activated via influencers and a social campaign, the virtual programme will run for the remainder of the season and is part of the sponsor’s strategy of leveraging its soccer sponsorships to educate and engage football fans on cryptocurrency.
“We are always looking for new ways to connect and engage with our global fanbase and give them an incredible experience, whether that’s inside Emirates Stadium or in their own home,” said Arsenal Commercial Director Peter Silverstone. “Sportsbet.io shares this attitude and approach and it has been fantastic to work together to deliver this new and innovative service to our supporters. Everyone at the club is extremely excited to welcome all our supporters back to Emirates Stadium imminently, but until then this programme is an exciting and innovative way of bringing fans closer to the players, and the action, than ever before.”
Tim Heath, Founder of the Coingaming Group, added: “Across all of our Premier League partnerships this season, we have strived to use the latest in tech and innovation to try and bring a little bit of that magic of matchday to the fans at home. We are lucky to have two incredible partners in Arsenal and Southampton, who have got fully behind this mission and helped us deliver some amazing work. We are thrilled to be launching this new AR programme with Arsenal, and can’t wait to make the partnership even bigger and better next year.”
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This AR matchday activation follows on from The cryptocurrency sportsbook and Fuse’s virtual reality stadium tour experience for its other Premier League partner club Southampton FC.
Again, with games played behind closed doors at St Mary’s, the Saints activation created a new VIP experience using virtual reality to recreate some matchday magic for fan at home. As part of this experience, a group of influencers were provided with a Bitcoin wallet which they were able to use to create their own unique VIP experience at home: from a virtual stadium tour with a club icon to a pitchside view at the training ground.
The production of this Sportsbet/Saints 360-degree live content and immersive storytelling was handled by VR & AR agency East City Films, with content delivered to influencers using the Pico Neo2 headset by Pico Interactive.
Sportsbet.io, which is a principal sponsor of Southampton FC and the official betting partner of Arsenal provides a range of sports betting opportunities including the first crypto sportsbook.
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