Principal sponsor Vodafone has combined with global fan engagement company Team Epic to deliver a fan first for New Zealand and the NRL for the Vodafone Warriors’ home game against Wests Tigers at Westpac Stadium in Wellington on Saturday (5.00pm kick-off).
As match day sponsor Vodafone has linked up with the Sydney based Team Epic sponsorship and commercial rights division to introduce ‘Fan Pic’ to Vodafone Warriors supporters, an ‘I was there’ fan engagement tool from Ireland-based company Huggity, a powerful digital engagement platform which has been used at many of the world’s premier sporting venues.
FanPic has previously featured at sporting events in Australia including the Ashes cricket series and the AFL as well as being used at last weekend’s Super Rugby clash between the Force and the Chiefs.
But on Saturday, Westpac Stadium will become the first venue anywhere in New Zealand or in the NRL to showcase it.
It will be used to capture New Zealand’s Biggest Air Guitar Band, Vodafone’s halftime match day promotion during the NRL encounter between the Vodafone Warriors and Wests Tigers.
Vodafone New Zealand’s consumer director Matt Williams said the company wanted to deliver a totally new experience for Vodafone Warriors members and fans at the game.
“FanPic is going to provide a match day experience everyone at the stadium will remember,” he said.
“Fan engagement is such an important part of big sporting events today and this is going to be a fantastic element of the day.”
Huggity CEO Mike Sikorski welcomed the breakthrough.
“We are excited to be showcasing FanPic for the first time in New Zealand and even more excited that the Vodafone Warriors will be the very first NRL FanPic,” he said.
“We know sport is a religion in New Zealand and how much Kiwis love their national teams, which makes this FanPic one of the most anticipated and exciting for the Huggity team.
“And what better way to showcase our first FanPic in New Zealand than with the mighty Vodafone Warriors against West Tigers in the nation’s capital.”
Sikorski said Huggity’s FanPic app is based on a 360-degree panoramic, multibillion pixel crowd image (36 billion pixels) taken at events. It allows fans to zoom, find themselves, tag their position and share it with their family and friends on Facebook.
Each tag made by a user is posted to their Facebook news feed and is visible on walls of all their friends, multiplying impressions in Facebook news feeds by a number of friends and thus extending the reach of promotional messages and engaging audiences who can’t attend the event.
Sikorski said Huggity FanPics have been used at some of the world’s biggest sporting events capturing the most passionate of supporters at Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City in the English Premier League, the 2013-14 Ashes cricket series in England and Australia, Champions League football matches, 6 Nations Rugby and Euro 2012 fan zones plus MTV music stages and many more.
“We can’t wait to be part of New Zealand’s Biggest Air Guitar Band on Saturday and we’re looking forward to capturing the wicked Side Kicks, Backhanders, Flammin’ Jimmis, Layback Low Lefts and the Windmill moves being cranked out by the fans,” said Sikorski.
To find out more about FanPic go to www.teamepic.com.au or www.huggity.com
If you haven’t secured tickets yet to the Vodafone Warriors’ tripleheader at Westpac Stadium on Saturday, buy your tickets now to join New Zealand’s Biggest Air Guitar Band and be part of the FanPic experience.
