How the Carolina Panthers mixed reality fan experience works.
Image source: Carolina Panthers website
Augmented reality… mixed reality… virtual reality… All exciting tech with implications for fan experience but ones that never cut to the heart of what technology really exists for. Technology should and can deliver deep personal engagement, excitement, and a new world of connection. When building next-generation, exhilarating fan experiences, the wow factor has never been more important.
The Carolina Panthers Mixed and Augmented Reality experience in late 2021 was a perfect fusion of how tech can build on game-day experience, integrating television audiences, sponsors, fans on each side of the aisle and generate a great viral buzz around a beloved sports team. Who doesn’t want to see their favourite team mascot come to life and roam their stadium prowling on the other team’s flag!
In the following article, we’ll break down exactly how it worked, why it worked, what it means for fan engagement in 2021 and beyond..
Video source: Carolina Panthers Youtube channel
Wait?! How is a giant virtual panther roaming the Bank of America stadium?
We’ve all seen the video, and we all went WTF?! Truth is the illusion is a clever mix of some 3D tech but the reality is actually much simpler and designed to be a cost-effective way to explode game day for fans and TV alike.
First up, the panther is a 3D character, animated to appear to walk to the stadium. Its path is fixed because it’s using a virtual version of the stadium as a base. It’s effectively walking on a virtual skeleton of the stadium we never see. Throw all this over a live camera feed and you have an incredible sensation that the panther is climbing the walls.
The reality is that no one saw the panther other than within a feed on a jumbotron, or live on TV through the same video feed? Does it matter? No… Because it happened. Just more in a type of metaverse rather than in front of 10000s of people directly, and wow’d everyone on tv, in-stadium, and beyond despite all of it.
Image source: Carolina Panthers Twitter Account
Okay.. But why am I so excited about it?
For the same reasons we love Hollywood, for the same reasons we love a firework display. Our eyes feast on spectacle, uniqueness and things that make us believe in magic. In many ways the entire mixed reality event for the North Carolina Panthers was like watching a live-action movie in an instant. The camera angles, the way the camera zoomed, it was a rolling Michael Bay action thriller… Transformers gone wild.
The North Carolina Panthers mixed reality transformed a predominantly 2D experience into a 3D spectacular. It represented how the future of the game day experience can look, how TV audiences can feel even more part of the game day action. It gave sponsors a new avenue to explore, one in which they knew they’d be commanding much more attention than with just their conventional TV spot playback.
Image source: Carolina Panthers website
So… What is in it for me and where do I sign?
Like all good immersive experiences, it was built to engage and entertain people first and foremost. But the best news of all about this technology is that it’s readily accessible for every stadium on earth. It is easy to commission, easy to execute, and relies on a relatively conventional audio visual technology that is plumbed into stadiums across America. To build an equivalent North Carolina Panthers mixed reality experience the lead time can be as little as 8 weeks depending on how much content you’d like to create. Installation and mapping of the stadium can be done in days. Most amazingly, once installed the system can be remotely loaded with new content, for new game days, or even custom content for special events. Custom sponsor based content can be included and removed regularly.
Image source: Carolina Panthers website
This is a game changer? Or is it the same game changing?
Mixed Reality in fan engagement represents an evolution in how existing technologies can be adapted to provide huge opportunities for teams to engage and entertain crowds and TV audiences alike. The technology exists, it fits directly with existing technical and commercial frameworks. But most importantly of all, it shows that with a fan-first approach to tech implementation we can build amazing experiences for all.
Interested in Augmented Reality for future projects or would like to learn more? Get in touch!