Southampton FC has signed a revolutionary deal enabling different adverts to be displayed on perimeter hoardings depending which country the viewer is in.
The Premier League football club’s deal with ADI has seen it deploy its virtual hybrid perimeter LED tech, which has been developed in partnership with Supponor.
BusinessCloud was given a demonstration of the technology, which has been used at Real Madrid and Barcelona away matches for some time, at the Soccerex convention last year.
The augmented reality tech layers on-screen advertising on top of the boards which looks exactly as it would if it were displayed for real inside the stadium – responding to changes in light and being obscured by passing players, for example.
The Virtual Hybrid system means the club can commercialise the same sponsorship space multiple times with content tailored for that particular region.
“We’re excited to be one of the first clubs in English football to have a fully functioning Virtual Hybrid system,” said Saints commercial director David Thomas.
“Following a competitive selection process we chose ADI because of the functionality and quality of their technology.
“The market is clearly heading towards the adoption of virtual advertising, and there is definitely demand from sponsors. The ability to combine that functionality with a system that is UEFA compliant is extremely appealing to us.”
ADI CEO Geraint Williams said: “We’ve worked with Southampton for a number of years and they’ve always displayed huge ambition.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to help the club realise some of that ambition by taking their commercial platform to the next level.
“We’re entering a new era in the way clubs activate commercial partnerships.
“Sponsors are demanding greater value and more opportunities to reach their audiences, and virtual advertising certainly offers a platform through which to achieve that.”