The NRL showcases the ‘Mission Control Room’ ahead of the 2013 State of Origin Series via VML
The NRL’s partnership with VML has continued to push the digital game forward with their “Mission Control Room” for the 2013 State of Origin Series, making it one of the world’s biggest social media installations. Mission Control is a strategic play to track, engage, reward and amplify the conversation around Australia’s biggest sporting series.
The Pop-Up style command center known as “Mission Control” is manned by 20+ creative, strategy and social staff and backed by Facebook, Twitter, and both the NSW and QLD teams, delivering a unique platform for the most personalised fan engagement in Australian sport.
The NRL’s digital marketing manager, Matt Henry says it was a huge undertaking to deliver one of the world’s biggest and most successful real-time social tracking and response rooms.
Says Henry: “Mission Control has been an exciting leap forward on the NRL’s digital innovation path… For the first time, we’ve really been able to focus on amplifying the State of Origin conversation in new and entertaining ways. To engage with and reward our fans and influencers for their social participation during the game and to do so on a scale that rivals the best sporting codes around the world is really energizing.”
The social installation was powered from a high-tech control room at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium and Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, set-up specifically for each game and boasting its own private satellite internet connection and bank of ten 50-inch screens, aggregating and visualizing all the real-time social data from the game.
VML managing director Aden Hepburn noted that this is just the start of things to come:
“When we launched the first ‘Mission Control’ room for Gatorade in 2010, I’m not sure we really knew how it would evolve in the years to come. But what we’ve been able to achieve in partnering with the NRL here in Australia is an amazing feat, we are literally carving a whole new path towards the future of Australian digital sport.”
By the time the dust has settled on tonight’s game, the NRL’s Mission Control Room will have driven social media fan/follower increase of over 100,000 people across NSW, QLD and NRL accounts.
Along with covering a conversation of well over a billion State of Origin hashtag impressions on Twitter alone, and numerous single, viral Facebook posts that reached over 600,000 unique people in Australia per post, during the game.
Nick Bowditch from Facebook Australia: “At Facebook, we were really excited to be part of the NRL’s Mission Control Room. It is one of the most impressive integrations of social platforms that I have seen.”
VML & The NRL will be running their live Mission Control Room again tonight for the 2013 State of Origin Series decider, and fans can join the conversation on Facebook & Twitter with the #Origin hashtag.
13 Comments
Seriously, get out of your own arses. What’s the actual idea?
A case study about a room with some computers in it ?? What next, a case study about a server room? An edit suite?
Hey there hmm,
News flash for you, advertising isn’t just about broadcasting on traditional media anymore. Brands want to engage their customers and have a conversation with them. A bit like this blog we’re on! Go home and sit by the fire and listen to your radio Grandad.
Whilst you would reach around 4m people with a single TV commercial tonight. With twitter and Facebook, significantly fewer, around 600k, can be ‘uniquely engaged’ .
Brilliant. Media genius. I cannot wait for the case study on this.
Welcome to the 21st century – Is that you Aden?
@welcome to the 21st century
so you basically created a call centre, but on twitter. Well done.
I’ll go back to my fire now, don my slippers, and see if I can’t admire a couple of actual ideas.
Sadly even the grandad taunts from the social wankers don’t make sense… Go like yourself… Most overhyped phenomenon in the history of advertising.
Shit I may just watch the game… Good luck for those engaging with the community and all that bollocks
Did you guys hire the streaker?
Here is an idea for you hmm.
Let’s interrupt people with 30 seconds of moving pictures and audio.
To 21st Century Con – The article says that a single facebook post reached 600,000 unique people. Just one post. On one platform. For free. I’d guess the cost of your 30 sec ad just got trumped by a free tool that reaches many many millions over and over again. While you guys are in front of the fire coming up with ideas, feel free to fall in.
Watch out all you old folk looks like this social disease is contagious
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/state-of-origin-twitter-impressions-boosted-to-over-a-billion-by-football-loving-celebrities/story-e6frg6n6-1226681793283
@ Old Ad Guy… Ha. Nope not me, but I just read and did laugh a little!
These comments did not age well… Every company and government in the world has one of these rooms now. Lol ad agencies are old.