The First-Ever, Active Virtual Reality Tennis Experience.
Ever wonder if you could return the serve of one of the world’s greatest tennis players?
We gave fans the chance to find out by grabbing a haptic racket, and stepping into a the bleeding edge of virtual gaming to see if they could rally with Maria Sharapova, and return her infamous 105 mph serve.
CHALLENGE:
Driven by the passionate personality of its New York audience, lightning- fast hard courts and intense competition,
the US Open is considered one of the most electric events in all of sports. So how do you bring fans closer to the game than they've ever been before?
You give them the chance to face one of the biggest names in tennis.
IDEA:
The highlight of American Express’ onsite Fan Experience was ‘You vs. Sharapova,’ - the first-ever interactive virtual reality tennis game.
At the cutting edge of VR technology, we worked with RealFX and HTC Vive to enable fans to hit with Maria Sharapova,
moving around a virtual tennis court as they moved in our VR bays - returning baselines, volleys, lobs, and even
attempting to return Maria's 100mph blistering serve.
RESULTS:
Over 1 Billion media impressions— exceeding all projections.
2016 / Grand Ex Award Winner (Best in Show) - American Express 2015 US Open Activation
2016 / Ex Award Winner – Best Sports Activation / American Express 2015 US Open Activation
2016 / One Show Awards / Merit Award / Responsive Environnments: Innovation – Use of Technology / Amex “You VS Sharapova”
2016 / One Show Awards /Merit Award / Branded Entertainment: Other Branded Content – Live Event / Amex “You VS Sharapova”
2015 Event Marketer: Experience Design Awards / Best Single Technology Interactive / Experience Design Award Winner / “American Express “You VS Sharapova”
Tons of press leading up to the US Open, throughout the entire two weeks, and beyond.
Adweek . Mashable . ESPN . Forbes . Aol . Engadget . Wall Street Journal . Tennis.com
Daily Mail . Tech Times . VRScout