By Blandine Lebourg
Content Curation Manager - Evénementiel Editorial Manager Plaine Images
"The theories of the conspiracy being rare about the Covid-19 epidemic, here is one: the virus was spread on earth by football supporters to remind that, without them, sport is emptied of its substance . "In an article last May, the world was rightly noted that" today, in sport, the presence of the public and performance of athletes are interdependent ".
While the competitions have taken up behind closed doors and many sporting events promise to be without the presence of the public for the weeks, even the coming months, certain players in the sports sector, or linked to sporting events, quickly pivoted to try to fill the vacuum leaving by the spectators in the stadiums. And creativity & video games are never far from initiatives!
How to reach her audience for sports enthusiasts when there are no more sporting events? Long before the resumption of camera, Adidas turned to the video game to find this usual audience. In Turkey, with Wunderman Thompson , the brand has "recreated" the European championship ... in FIFA 20! UNCANCELED CUP consists of 51 matches (as in the regular tournament) broadcast on the brand's media (Turkish Facebook channels Live, YouTube Live and IGTV). The final could even be broadcast on a local TV channel. This agreement between Electronic Arts (FIFA publisher) and Adidas goes beyond brand content, e-commerce that is an integral part of the strategy implemented. And the game should remain a priority for Adidas ... These kinds of initiatives could not be launched by many brands when faced with a high cost but it remains interesting in the way the brand has redesigned its strategy to reach an audience to which it n 'had more access.
With the resumption of sporting events behind closed doors, the questions of the Fan Experience as well as the commitment of athletes in competitions in empty and strangely silent stadiums ... Watch a football match with only the sound issued by the coaches and Players can indeed appear slightly flat and very little immersive. What would the Liverpool FC be without its famous " You'll Never Walk Alone " ?
Elias Andersen, a young Canadian who created a tech company for sport 2 years ago ( Champtrax ), quickly pivoted in March to launch Hear Me Cheer . This solution makes sport to camera more engaging by broadcasting the encouragement of fans live during the television retransmission. In a few words, in front of his TV, the supporter can connect to the match of his choice and express his passion vocally. His voice will then be "aggregated and mixed" to the other voices of viewers via an algorithm, whose sound of supporters will come out, audible both in stadium and on TV. Several broadcasters, such as Eleven Sports or ESPN, have already tested Hear Me Cheer and discussions are underway with other actors.
And if not, to find the sound of fans in the stadiums, some leagues turned to ... video games! Electronic Art thus provided his bookstore of sounds (songs of supporters, crowd noises, etc.) from FIFA with the Spanish Liga and the English Premier.
And to go beyond the simple sound atmosphere while waiting for the return of fans, engaging fans like players, while generating new income for stadiums: cardboard fans! They invaded the stadiums of Germany, Sweden, China, Serbia, Russia ... It is in Germany that it all started but there are now several startups that offer fans the opportunity to print their photo on a box which will be installed in the stands for around 20 euros. My fan Seats , fan in the stand , fans at the game … allow stages to draw income to compensate for part of the losses related to the absence of ticket office and fans to support their clubs.
An Icelandic startup, Oz Sports , goes further by offering the projection of fans in augmented reality in the stadiums. In Denmark, a team brought together 10,000 fans in the stadium via Zoom. In South Korea, a team replaced its fans with sex dolls but there, it did not go very well and the club received a fine ...
Like sport, many sectors are brought to reinvent itself. However difficult it may be, this period can generate new models. And creative industries, creative technologies and imagination are at the heart of new solutions. Creative thought can generate many positive changes.
