5 “Outside the Box” Applications for Virtual Advertising Technology
Virtual advertising technology has applications that go far beyond placing virtual logos on LED boards – here we explore some “outside of the box” ideas for taking full advantage of this versatile technology.
QR Codes for Local Audiences
Quick-response (QR) codes were originally introduced back in 1994 but took some time to take off – with the real heyday coming with the advent of camera phones, enabling simple scanning of the codes by everyday consumers. These days QR codes are used for a multitude of purposes including everything from restaurant menus and website logins, to virtual stores and various video game applications.
Virtual advertising enables the placement of QR codes onto sponsorship inventory within live sports broadcasts, either by virtually overlaying the codes onto the existing advertising signage or even by placing them on the playing surface itself. and be directed to an online landing page. Insertion of virtual QR codes into the broadcast feed raises additional possibilities for unique QR codes tailored to different markets. Virtual advertising enables the duplication of the television feed to create multiple versions, targeting different geographic locations. It also enables multiple pieces of virtual content to be rotated throughout one live game, allowing more than one sponsor to utilize the same piece of inventory.
The technology would enable fans watching at home to be directed to local online vendors, to buy club merchandise at the click of a button, to interact with other fans in their locality, or submit user-generated content directly to the sponsor.
User-generated content
Keeping with the theme of user-generated content – virtual advertising offers more opportunities than ever for brands and sponsors of live sports to connect with fans at home, and to create a feeling of affiliation between the fan and the brand, event, or club. Imagine, for example, an app that allowed fans to submit their own selfies to be displayed on the perimeter advertising boards during the event. Or a social media wall, for which the brand could announce an event-specific hashtag and then display users’ tweets throughout the game.
We saw this in play to some degree during the “crowdless” stadium days of the Covid-19 pandemic. Various providers offered the chance to fans to submit anything from digital avatars to cardboard cutouts of themselves to be displayed in the stadium. While not an ideal or sustainable solution long-term, it did offer fans without the means to attend a live game the opportunity to connect with the game on a new level. Using virtual advertising technology, the opportunity could be offered to fans once again, to have their images or messages displayed within the broadcast coverage of the stadium during gameplay.
Athlete endorsement goes live
Athlete endorsement is big business. The majority of athletes will earn more throughout their careers from brand endorsements than they ever will from prize money. However, what’s missing from many of these endorsements is a sense of meaningful connection between the brand, the athlete, and the club itself. Clothing and sports equipment brands have it the easiest – they often require the athletes they sponsor to wear their apparel or use their products during live sports events, thereby getting the exposure they need and connecting the brand with the athlete and the sport in the fans’ minds. However, when it comes to cosmetics, luxury goods, automotive brands and others, – it is near impossible to create that all-important brand-athlete affiliation in-game.
This is where virtual advertising technology comes in. Picture a baseball batter stepping up to the plate. On the back wall behind the player, appears an advertising message from a brand the player endorses. Perhaps the message directly mentions the player alongside a call to action for the viewer at home. Similarly, messaging could appear when a football or basketball player steps up to take a penalty shot, and the virtual advertising technology would allow multiple different brands to be showcased using the same inventory.
Clickable sponsor messaging
Markets throughout the world have differing rules and regulations when it comes to advertising. Such restrictions commonly apply to products and services related to gambling, alcohol, tobacco and junk food, amongst others. There are also restrictions in some markets regarding the amount of advertising that can be shown within a certain physical space or period of time.
As fans continue to consume more live sports content online via OTT and streaming platforms, new options are available for sponsors and rights holders to connect with fans. We can now easily imagine a future in which fans could see perimeter board advertising with personalized messaging from their favorite brands or even featuring their own names. Before we get there, though, there are several interesting possibilities for integrating other technologies with virtual advertising in live sports streaming to offer a more dynamic and interactive experience for the fan.
One such opportunity, that comes with the move to online streaming, is the possibility to integrate interactive “clickable” advertising onto the in-game sponsorship inventory. Integrating this technology would enable advertisers to display a “call to action” on the advertising inventory that, once clicked, would direct fans to a specific landing page URL – for an e-retailer, for example. The technology would allow the viewers to engage with sponsoring brands on a deeper level, to purchase merchandise, order food delivery or engage with their favorite club and fellow fans.
Clocks and other real-time stats
Of course, it is not only advertisers and rights holders that stand to benefit from virtual advertising technology, it can also add value to viewers at home by providing additional data, statistics, and information about gameplay.
Shot clocks in basketball countdown from a preset time and reveal how much time a team can keep possession of the ball before attempting to score. Shot clocks are usually displayed on the backboard so as to be visible to the players. However, virtual advertising technology would allow the shot clock to be displayed virtually elsewhere in the stadium, such as on the court surface. This would provide a better viewing experience for fans watching at home, to whom the physical clock is not always easily visible without taking focus away from the game.
The technology could also be applied to display virtual pitch clocks in baseball. Pitch clocks are used within college and minor league games to limit the amount of time a pitcher takes to throw the ball to the hitter. Similarly in American football, play clocks are used to speed up the pace of the game, by limiting the time permitted to put the ball in play.
Additional information could be displayed for sports such as tennis (serve speeds in either kilometers or miles per hour depending on the destination of the feed) or even in athletics for length, height, distance, and speed stats in different events.
As we can see, in terms of potential applications for virtual advertising technology, there is still a lot to be explored. If the above ideas have stimulated your imagination or if you’re simply looking for a virtual advertising solution for your next event, we’d love to talk to you. Get in touch with the team by clicking the button below.
Interested in learning more about virtual advertising? Get in touch with the team.