Netspend and Papa Johns have teamed up with Basketball Legend Shaquille O’Neal to promote his Shaq’s Fun House event’s augmented reality (AR) experience ahead of Super Bowl LVII Sunday.
O’Neal is set to post the promotion on his Instagram account on Friday, 10 February, revealing the world-first AR experience with technologies from tech partner VideoBomb.
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Fans can access the experiences by scanning a physical one-dollar bill to activate content from Netspend and Papa Johns. The first 5,000 buyers will receive a $10 USD eGift card at Papa Johns locations.
Shaquille O’Neal, a board member of Papa Johns, said in a statement:
“There’s nothing like seeing two partners join forces. I’m ready to team up with Papa Johns and Netspend to bring Shaq’s Fun House presented by Netspend to my people at home for the Big Game Weekend”
The seven-foot-one-inch-tall sports star has played basketball for the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Cleaveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, and Boston Celtics. He has become a household name across sports, advertising, film, sports analysis, and music across his 31-year career in professional sports.
Papa Johns is the fourth-largest chain in the United States. The company made headlines in May 2010 after the first-ever bitcoin transaction took place between Laszlo Hanyecz and Jeremy Sturdivant.
The two Bitcoin holders exchanged 10,000 bitcoins for two large Papa Johns Pizzas, sparking a historic surge in interest in Web3 and blockchain technologies.
Netspend is a leading payments and financial solutions provider for both enterprises and consumers. The fintech firm connects users and brands via its open technologies to provide payment services such as prepaid, paycard, and debit solutions. Disadvantaged users can use the payment solutions across 100,000 locations and online via its mobile apps.
VideoBomb is a WebAR startup backed by a stellar lineup from Project Music. Companies such as Google, Digital Entertainment Ventures (DEC), Universal Music, the Country Music Association (CMA), and many others have backed the immersive firm. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company develops app-free creative content on any static image to boost engagement and conversion rates.
Augmenting the Customer Experience
XR Today reached out to Laura Hutfless, Co-Founder of FlyteVu, to discuss the creative process of using AR campaigns to boost brand engagement.
FlyteVu is a major entertainment marketing firm that has managed and launched Shaq’s Fun House along with event partner Medium Rare Live.
Hutfless explained that data showed the average attention span for consumers is “eight seconds.” For social media platforms like TikTok, brands must engage with consumers in the first two seconds or “they will swipe to the next video,” she said.
She continued: “In a world with unlimited content and choices, AR technology creates a more immersive experience, drawing consumers in and engaging them longer. Creative immersive experiences are the only way to cut through swipe culture.”
Regarding the reactions of celebrities working with immersive technologies, she said that most celebrities wanted to collaborate with the top creatives, coolest brands, and most innovative tools.
She concluded: “Artists and musicians, especially, are excited about innovative technologies that help them reach new fans and provide first-of-their-kind experiences for fans. Everyone wants to be positioned at the forefront of culture.”
Super Bowl LVII and Shaq’s Fun House
Netspend is the presenting partner for Shaq’s Fun House 2023, a massive festival of performances taking place on the sidelines of the Super Bowl annually.
Launched in 2018, this year’s event will host a huge lineup of circus, stage, and musical acts. Major artists including Hip Hop superstar and metaverse enthusiast Snoop Dogg, veteran musician DIPLO, Shaquille O’Neil as DJ Diesel, and his son, television personality, DJ, and musician, Myles O’Neil, will join the lineup of entertainment for the festival.
Along with Medium Rare, Shaq’s Fun House works in partnership with Authentic Entertainment. The Super Bowl LVII, taking place on 12 February, will host its annual Big Game Weekend. The most viewed sporting event in the US, last year’s Super Bowl attracted over 100 million viewers and is often seen as the top event for product advertising, often hosting the most unique adverts from across verticals.
XR Drives New Verticals for Entertainment
Immersive firms have partnered with entertainment companies, artists, and events worldwide to deliver the massive potential of extended reality (XR) use cases. the industry has received an unprecedented surge in interest in a lineup of campaigns across virtual, augmented, and mixed reality (VR/AR/MR).
Along with Snoop Dogg, major artists such as Dave Guetta, Steve Aoki, MUSE, Ariana Grande, BLACKPINK, Eminem, and others have seen major successes with immersive entertainment events.
The MTV Video Music Awards also hosted the world’s first category for metaverse performances to promote the rise of the XR entertainment industry.
Snoop Dogg and Eminem performed a critically-acclaimed collaboration at the awards ceremony in late August with their Bored Ape Yacht Club avatars and real-time 3D (RT3D) motion capture tools.
Regarding sports, cryptocurrency platform OKX partnered with Manchester City FC to deliver a first-rate immersive experience in early February for football fans.
The initiative allowed fans to learn the daily workout routines of their favourite star athletes, earn non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and follow event updates.
