PT Sportsuite And Mlr Launch AR Brand Activations

Major League Rugby and PT SportSuite have launched a new suite of AR Brand Activations as part of the rights holder’s digital fan engagement strategy for 2021.

The move follows the release of the official League App in March after the pair first partnered in February. The app now features the newly released AR SCAN functionality – allowing MLR fans to scan team logos to unlock ‘hidden’ video content and special offers that reward fans for scanning.

The campaign officially kicks off a long-term league strategy to position the MLR App as a ‘preferred destination’ for digital engagement between fans, MLR, and its sponsors, giving the league a chance to create digital-first opportunities for ‘the stay-at-home fan’. 

“It’s great to see our technology being used to encourage engagement, achieve brand activation and reward fans in a fun and exciting way on mobile,” said Nick van Rensburg, Engagement Director, PT SportSuite – an Official Partner of the Sport Industry Awards 2021. 

“This is the launch of an exciting feature for fans of all ages to scan, collect and share MLR team logos with friends.”

The launch phase will invite fans to scan MLR and team logos, but the pair say it is envisioned that AR scanning will provide an additional digital resource for official MLR sponsors to engage directly with fans by making exclusive branded content, competitions, and promotions available by augmenting branded collateral on the MLR App.  

“Major League Rugby is continuing to prioritise digital evolution to increase accessibility for our fans,” said MLR Commissioner George Killebrew. 

“The MLR app is an important piece of that to ensure our fans have creative ways to engage with the League.”

In the final phase of the MLR App rollout, the rights holder says fans can look forward to a dedicated in-app Fan Zone, which will ask users to take on incentivised Fan Media Challenges. The move will aim to transform MLR ‘Super Fans’ into content contributors for the league as well as uncovering ‘genuine behind-the-scenes fan stories’.