ARound Uses AR To Bring Live Events to Life
Imagine sitting in a stadium, watching your favorite sports team compete when suddenly the whole place is transformed into an Alaskan wilderness. That actually happened during a Rams game in SoFi Stadium earlier in the fall when ARound created one of its shared experiences.
The augmented reality company owned by Stagwell, combines broadcast and mobile AR to immerse fans in dynamic, interactive moments. The company also created Disneyland’s “Firework Fantasy,” on Sept. 22 as Sleeping Beauty’s Castle emerged at midfield, and Rams fans popped virtual balloons during a grand fireworks finale.
Fans also joined the action with an Uber Eats challenge on Oct. 6, competing to “Pack the Bag” with virtual food items. The experience appeared on the SoFi Infinity Screen and fans’ phones in real time, turning the entire stadium into a shared competitive game.
Josh Beatty is Founder and CEO at Stagwell’s ARound. He sat down with StreetFight to talk more about the branded potential of AR technology.
How do fans activate the experiences?
Fans activate ARound experiences by scanning the field with their smartphone cameras, where they are brought into a shared, localized AR experience to interact with the environment and other fans around them. This experience is also synchronized with the videoboard, ensuring fans who don’t have their phones out can still enjoy the spectacle, fostering a shared, stadium-wide moment.
How can brands get in on ARound from a marketing opportunity?
ARound works directly with teams to elevate their brand-partner activations, offering a new form of immersive, interactive entertainment. By creating gamified, AR-enhanced experiences, incredible brands like Uber Eats and Target have used ARound to turn passive impressions into high-value, engaging fan interactions. These activations offer unique storytelling opportunities while delivering measurable and meaningful rewards to fans.
Will ARound eventually offer individual AR experiences to fans within the venue?
ARound’s Anywhere AR technology already allows for quick activation at any baseball, football, or soccer stadium worldwide, creating localized experiences for fans. While the current focus is on stadium-wide shared experiences, the technology is evolving to offer more personalized AR opportunities tailored to individual fan preferences and locations.
Aren’t these distracting from the games themselves?
On the contrary, ARound enhances the fan experience by turning the smartphone from a distraction into a tool for interaction. Fans use their phones to engage with the game itself, whether they’re popping virtual balloons during a break or participating in a gamified challenge tied to the live action. ARound ensures activations align with the flow of the game, adding to the energy without detracting from it.
How have the MLB experiences differed from those offered at MLS venues or NBA venues?
In MLB, ARound integrates with the centralized Ballpark App, which provides a uniform platform for activations across teams. In MLS and other sports, ARound works more closely with individual teams to tailor experiences to their unique goals and fanbase, offering more flexibility and customization in those environments.
What are the challenges brands must consider when creating these AR experiences?
A clear call to action is key—fans need to instantly know how to join. The activation should flow naturally with the game, adding to the excitement, not distracting. By combining broadcast and mobile AR, we transform past challenges into opportunities for massive impressions and dynamic fan interactions.
What kind of data can brands hope to gather and execute on at a later date?
Brands can gather data on fan participation rates, dwell time within the experience, engagement patterns, and real-time conversion metrics (e.g., redemptions for in-stadium offers). This data can inform future marketing strategies, tailoring activations to maximize fan interaction and ROI.
ARound enables brands to extend engagement beyond the game day with rewards and exclusive content delivered through the AR platform. This keeps fans engaged with the brand well after the event and from game to game.
Who developed the ARound suite of software? How did the idea come up?
I envisioned a shared AR platform that could connect fans at live events. The platform was developed by a diverse team of engineers, creatives, and AR specialists. The idea came from a desire to bridge the physical and digital worlds, enhancing live sports with interactive technology.
Can it be deployed at other events, for example, political conventions, concerts, Broadway plays, etc?
Yes, ARound’s platform is versatile and can be adapted for various events. Concerts can use AR for interactive visuals during performances, while conventions or Broadway plays could integrate AR for storytelling, immersive branding, or audience participation.
Which brands are the best fit for this type of AR experience?
Brands with a strong storytelling element or those seeking high audience engagement are ideal. In-stadium food delivery services like Uber Eats, commerce companies like Target, and entertainment brands like Princess Cruises have all seen success with ARound by blending immersive storytelling with interactive fan experiences.
When did Stagwell acquire ARound?
ARound was the 2021 winner of Stagwell’s Internal Innovation Competition, a program that invests in new product ideas from the network’s 13,000+ employees. This recognition and investment propelled ARound to become a pioneering spatial platform. Today, ARound operates independently within Stagwell’s Marketing Cloud, a premier portfolio of research, communication, and media products designed for the agentic age.
