Originally Released On

PRNewswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo
pr@stagwellglobal.com 

Originally Released On

PR Newswire

CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo
pr@stagwellglobal.com 

ARound App Adds New Features Including Immersive, Real-Time Player and Team Data Visualizations to Enhance the Twins’ In-Ballpark Experience

NEW YORK and MINNEAPOLIS, July 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Continuing to deliver groundbreaking fan experiences, the Minnesota Twins today announced a continued partnership with ARound, the cutting-edge, smartphone-based shared augmented reality (AR) platform that is part of the Stagwell Marketing Cloud. Building on the success of the initial August 2022 in-ballpark pilot, the second iteration of the ARound app adds new features including immersive, real-time player and team data visualizations, along with in-ballpark AR games. This pilot app expands and enhances the Twins fan experience at Target Field.

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Sarah Arvizo

pr@stagwellglobal.com 

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Talent in the Metaverse 

What’s next in connection, community, and commerce for avatars, athletes and artists? Hear from Tracy Benson, CEO and Founder of Obsesh, Nova Han of Nova Han Productions, and Helix Wolfson, President of Metaverse Operations at Infinite Reality. Stream the episode.

Creator Economy and the Metaverse

How are creators and platforms envisioning the future of fandom and engagement in the metaverse and other immersive realities? Maggie Malek, CEO, MMI and John Rough, SVP, Enterprise for Untied Masters, discuss. Stream the episode.

Fandom, Music, and Metaverse 

VentureBeat’s Dean Takahashi, Jonathan Vlassopulos, CEO of Napster, and Animal Concerts Executive Producer, Music, Anthony Mazzo discuss how brands can connect with artists, music, platforms and communities in the metaverse. Stream the episode.

Inclusivity in the Metaverse 

AFROPUNK founder Jocelyn Cooper and Shelby Larkin, Director, Global Partnership development at SoFi Stadium and Hollywood Park discuss diverse communities can benefit from the Metaverse. Stream the episode. 

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking (fielded Jan. 27-29):

ECONOMIC WORRIES MIXED:

Today, 87% of Americans are concerned about the economy and inflation – up 1 point from last week and up from 82% in December.

• 82% worry about a potential U.S. recession (down 1 point)
• 81% about U.S. crime rates (up 1 point)
• 75% about political divisiveness (up 4 points)
• 69% about the War on Ukraine (up 1 point)
• 66% about affording their living expenses (down 5 points)
• 58% about a new COVID-19 variant (down 2 points)
• 42% about losing their jobs (down 7 points)

PARENTS WANT CHILDCARE SUPPORT AT WORK:

Parents increasingly feel unsupported in the workplace and expect more childcare support from employers and the government, based on our new Parent Confidence Report with KinderCare.

• 61% of working parents say there is a disconnect between the level of support they need and the benefits their employer provides.
• Childcare benefits are the second most important reason for parents staying at their current job – with 18% ranking them as the most crucial benefit – behind health insurance.
• More than half of working parents would stay at their current job if their employer provided childcare benefits, such as pre-tax benefits, emergency/backup childcare and on-site childcare.
• 70% of parents say childcare is at a crisis point in terms of accessibility and affordability.
• 66% believe the government should offer universal childcare to all children, from birth to kindergarten.

1 IN 10 LOOKING FOR NEW HOME, BUT WITH UNREALISTIC PRICE EXPECTATIONS:

For the fifth year in a row, most Americans (83%) say buying a home is a priority. Yet, in our latest survey with NerdWallet, high mortgage rates and a seller-friendly housing market prove to be obstacles – along with unrealistic home price expectations.

• 11% of Americans say they plan to buy a home in the next year.
• Prospective buyers hope to spend $269,200 on average. This is significantly lower than the typical home price of $379,100.
• 32% of Americans feel worse about their ability to purchase a home in 2023 than in 2022 (a 7-point increase from last year).
• The top reasons for the more negative outlook include a worsening economy (58%), higher mortgage rates (57%) and higher home prices (57%).
• 67% of Americans say a housing market crash is imminent in the next three years.

INVESTORS RETHINK RETIREMENT PLANS:

Turbulent market conditions and rampant inflation have forced investors to consider working after retirement, based on our survey with Nationwide.

• 69% of non-retired investors say post-retirement employment could lie ahead.
• 44% of these investors inclined to keep working say they’ll have to supplement their retirement savings or income out of necessity.
• 40% of non-retired investors plan to move to a different city or region after retiring, with the most common reasonings being lower cost of living (43%) and lower taxes (34%) – far ahead of being closer to family (22%).
• 49% of non-retired investors with a financial advisor are “very nervous” about spending down their retirement savings in today’s current market environment.

LACK OF TRUST OVERSHADOWS NEW AI TOOLS:

Businesses might need to slow their roll when it comes to adopting AI tools like ChatGPT and DALL-E2, according to our latest study with AdAge.

• 52% don’t trust AI tech.
• 54% are familiar with generative AI tools, and nearly a fifth have used one.
• 67% of Americans are concerned about the safety of generative AI technology.
• Only 29% said they have not used generative AI nor are they interested in doing so.
• Less than half (44%) say that it is easy to tell the difference between something created by AI and something created by a human.
• 58% think things created by generative AI tools are less impressive than things created by people.

ICYMI:

In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• Five Things to Know About ChatGPT
• Generative AI – how marketers should navigate consumer distrust
• Augmented reality. The bright future of women’s sports. What Gen Z wants from work. Stagwell’s National Research Group explores all of these topics in a new premium magazine, Boundless.
• 20 brands gaining popularity with Gen Z
• About three-quarters of people who plan to watch the Super Bowl said they’re excited for the ads
• Big Tech’s Free Ride Is Coming to an End

As always, if helpful, we would be happy to provide more info on any of these data or insights. Please do not hesitate to reach out.

Thank you.

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LA Rams on Stadium-Sized Augmented Reality Experimentation

Los Angeles Rams Chief Commercial Officer Jennifer Prince

The Rams made history this Christmas with the world’s largest augmented reality snowball fight, presented in SoFi Stadium during the Rams-Raiders game. For the Rams, it’s all about innovation on an off the field – and how brand and technology partners can reinforce their exploration of new consumer experiences. Hear from Rams Chief Commercial Officer Jennifer Prince about how the team fuels its larger-than-life fan experiences. 

Minnesota Twins on Moving Baseball into the 21st Century 

Minnesota Twins Sr. Director, Brand Experience and Innovation, Chris Iles 

A baseball team with an innovation accelerator? Yep. The Minnesota Twins want to bring always-on experimentation to the stadium, to help bring baseball into the 21st century. Hear from Chris Iles on the Twins’ mission to be the most innovative team in sport – and their experiments in AR, embodied audio, and spatial computing. 

Samsung SVP and GM Harry Patz 

The Infinity Screen in SoFi Stadium is a behemoth 70,000 sq. foot digital display powered by Samsung – and just one of an array of dazzling digital out-of-home experiences Samsung helps support across sporting properties. Hear from Samsung’s Harry Patz about how advancements in screens are re-shaping in-stadium entertainment. 

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‘COME TOGETHER’ ISN’T JUST A BEATLES SONG – IT’S THE MISSION FOR BRAND ECOSYSTEM IN 2023 

More technology exists than ever before to ensure every digital touchpoint your consumer encounters conveys a consistent and authentic brand experience. Now it’s on CMOs and CTOs to collaborate closer than ever before, unleashing true connected brand experiences at scale. Wearable technology and ever-more-immersive entertainment experiences are opportunities to get this right – but challenges for brands who haven’t yet asked themselves: have you set a plan for unifying online and offline brand, marketing, product, and customer experiences? 

2023 IS THE YEAR FOR AI, BUT DON’T OVERDO IT

AI is the tech darling of 2023, and for good reason. We’ve quickly seen it evolve from basic communication and assistance on tasks to understanding your routine, predicting your behavior, and getting you a C+ on your English paper. OpenAI and other lay-consumer-friendly tools will power an AI-knowledge revolution in 2023. But while AI is great for providing creative activation energy and can get you 85% of the way there, the last 15% requires the near-impossible-to-duplicate human element.

Brands and agencies will need to responsibly blend talent + technology together in 2023 to make AI an effective addition to the marketing tech stack. 

‘COMMUNITY’ IS WHAT CONTENT WAS FOR BRANDS A DECADE AGO

From Stagwell’s own experiments in shared augmented reality, to new social platforms that let friends share content and buy and sell NFT art, brand experiences are starting to hinge on the ability to connect consumers to one another. Community is the new driver of commerce; look out for more brands using technology as a platform to create engaging, 3D and 360 marketing experience for more than one consumer. 

Live from the Stagwell Content Studio @ CES 2023

Stagwell’s Content Studio returned at CES, delivering behind-the-scenes interviews with C-Suite execs at the world’s most ambitious brands on the trends and transformations they’re tracking at CES.  

In this episode, Wells Enterprises Chief Commercial Officer Santhi Ramesh talks data anonymity, immersive experiences, and using robotics to drive automation with Stagwell President, Global Solutions, Julia Hammond.

Originally Released On

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CONTACT:

Sarah Arvizo
Stagwell
pr@stagwellglobal.com 

By

Maury Brown,
Forbes

Read this article on Forbes. 

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It largely flew under the radar on Monday when the Minnesota Twins announced that they had launched ARound – what is believed to be the first shared augmented reality application for live sports – for use at Target Field. While a first, the pilot app could open the door to either value-add traditional sponsorship deals, or open avenues for new sponsors. If the application gains traction, it could create a land rush for not just the other 29 clubs in Major League Baseball, but across the sports property landscape.

ARound is part of Stagwell, a publicly traded high-tech company, that will allow fans to aim their phones at Target Field during lulls in the action, and play games with others at the ballpark. Targeted largely to a younger audience, the concept is not too dissimilar from augmented reality games you may have seen at the movie theater before the previews as part of Noovie. The difference here is it’s not just a single user, but many within Target Field. Apps that will be made available include as BatterUp, Blockbuster, which the Twins and the developers showed me as users throwing digital items at towers and knocking them down, and a game called Fishing Frenzy. Josh Beatty, the founder and CEO of ARound as well as Chris Iles, the Twins’ senior director of brand experience & Innovation talked to me about the rollout that has been in the works for a little over a year.

“What I think Josh has built has some real power and some real legs, because it is able to be aware of everyone around you that is using the app at the same time, creating a shared experience and creating some context around an event that frankly has never been done before,” said Ilse. So that excited me and the Twins as it had never been done before.”

Beatty informed that no user data is collected. No one goes through a sign-up process to use the app. And that the infrastructure is large enough to support tens of thousands of users.

Which gets one thinking? Besides entertaining kids with games and keeping them in their seats, what other value does the app have from a business perspective?

For one, the idea that other types of use cases could be created within the platform. Both Iles and Beatty mentioned that it’s possible to create an experience in which player stats could hover over a player in real-time or other ways to engage the dedicated baseball fan in attendance.

But what seems most intriguing from a business standpoint is that while the initial rollout is skinned as just gameplay for a younger demo, it is fully capable of having the games be skinned in a way that monetizes it.

Ilse and the Twins see the platform as a way to create closer connections to the people and places. “One thing we realized is that you kind of have to have a big audience to make that happen,” said Iles adding that the Twins were receptive from the first conversation, understanding that this is a technology that has a place as value to be added to the ballpark experience.

“To the teams, the fans, and the sponsors,” it adds to sports entertainment.

It’s here that Twins may be hitting on something that is more than just adding to the game experience, but opening up new avenues to the bottom line: sponsors.

The initial rollout is not skinned with any sponsors, but Beatty said that the design of the apps for the Twins takes that in mind.

“I would say [the platform] is tailor-made for sponsorship,” said Iles. “We are launching this sponsor agnostic because we do want to have a clean test of the technology to see how fans interact with it. I’ve always thought that before you can add the sponsorship component you need to show it as it is and let potential sponsors see it the same way. So, we need to prove this thing out. But we feel that it will work well for our sponsors.”

Likely, a shared AR app at the ballpark is not going to garner huge returns in the sponsorship space initially. But it largely depends on other applications that are developed in the future. It either becomes an additional way to activate sponsorship in a larger deal for a client, or brings in new sponsors. Either way, the Twins are hitting on an untapped revenue stream.

For Stagwell, the technology isn’t limited to just at the ballpark. After all, games can be watched through traditional television and streaming.

“Not only are we looking to enhance the in-stadium experience, but with our technology, we can actually bridge this to the at-home viewer as well,” said Sarah Arvizo of Stagwell. “We can bring all the things that are happening with the AR platform in the stadium to their coffee table. And so as they are watching a game, they can have that energy and excitement that is in the stadium, but take that with them wherever they go.”

By

Gita Sitaramiah,
Star Tribune

Read this article in The Star Tribune.

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There will soon be one more reason to check your smartphone between pitches at Minnesota Twins games.

The Twins are introducing an app called ARound that will depict promotions and games to smartphone users at Target Field. The effort is believed to be the first use of augmented reality at a live sports venue.

Major League Baseball teams, including the Twins, have been upping the promotions and experiences in recent years as they face dwindling attention spans for the average three-hour games.

“We know the die-hard fans are buying their tickets and we know they’re bringing younger fans with them that are not necessarily following every pitch, every stat,” said Chris Iles, senior director of brand experience and innovation for the Twins.

“This is one of the latest iterations that we’re using to really attract that younger, more diverse fan and bring them into baseball,” he said.

Unlike virtual reality, which creates a totally artificial environment, augmented reality users experience a real-world environment with generated perceptual information overlaid on top of it.

ARound, part of the New York-based Stagwell digital marketing company, uses 3-D spatial computing to localize content to individual users throughout the venue, enabling Target Field attendees to see the same real-time 3-D effects and participate in shared experiences.

Using the ARound app, fans point their smartphone at the field to open up a universe of multi-user augmented reality games such as BatterUp, Blockbuster, and Fishing Frenzy — all designed to be played by interfacing with the physical ballpark and fans in real time.

The Twins aren’t initially paying for the app. Both the Twins and ARound see potential for sponsorship and add-on opportunities to generate revenue.

“People are coming to the ballpark to feel closer to the game, to other fans, to the players, and what we’re doing is removing all the barriers where people can interact with fellow fans, with the produced experiences by the Twins, see the player become larger than life, see relevant statistics,” said Josh Beatty, founder and chief executive of ARound.

Initially, the app will be more geared to the casual fan. Future versions will be aimed at avid baseball enthusiasts.

Iles said what really intrigued him about the ARound app is that it creates a shared experience.