News Corp Australia launches News Alive AR experience for the BBL season via Plattar
To celebrate the Big Bash League season News Corp Australia in partnership with Plattar has unveiled News Alive, a new augmented reality experience on iPhone.
News Alive further demonstrates News Corp Australia’s ability to creatively amplify Foxtel’s cricket broadcasting rights, delivering ‘cricket like never before’ this summer.
No third party application is needed to access this technology. To see News Corp Australia’s metro masthead BBL cricket coverage come alive, simply:
– Open the iPhone app of any News Corp Australia metro masthead
– Click All Sections
– Select News Alive
– Scan marked photos in the newspaper with an iPhone camera to activate the content.
Says Zac Skulander, head of content innovation and strategic partnerships, News Corp Australia: “Our new AR product, News Alive, takes the consumer experience of reading the cricket news in our newspapers to a new level.
“We are effectively bringing the cricket coverage in our printed newspapers to life through AR. Consumers will have special access to video content, match highlights and updates on BBL matches by scanning selected images in our newspapers through any of the four metro masthead apps. This will also be extended to Test Matches, ODIs and T20s.
“Particularly important with cricket, the news will be updated throughout the day, so cricket fans will have the latest information jumping off their pages.”
Bringing the company’s cricket coverage to life through print is just the start.
In the coming months, Skulander said there are plans to commercialise the product by bringing client ads to life, in addition to using AR with selected news stories.
Says Skulander: “We see News Alive as furthering the newspaper experience. It will add another dimension to stories, giving our editors and journalists an opportunity to explain what happened behind the scenes or provide breaking news updates.
“For clients, it will be an opportunity to use 3D holograms to showcase their car, hotel, home, or lounge suite.”
Says Rupert Deans, CEO, Plattar: “The team at Plattar is thrilled to see News Alive launched across the News Corp Australia metro mastheads. Augmented reality is moving to the mainstream. With Plattar we can offer a unique approach to engaging customers with rich personalisation of content, which is fast becoming an expected media language for entertainment experiences. This current campaign is only a small snippet of what is to come.”