Jen Quinlan

Give Me a Peanut Please

I grew up in the DC Metro area. I can count on one hand the major sporting events I went to as a kid - two Orioles games, a Redskins game, Capitols, and The Bullets (the last game in fact before they became the Wizards).

While I was a tom boy for an awkward time period (Sambas, Umbro shoes, polos, short skater chick hair), I was not a passionate fan of sporting events. So my experience highlights included eating peanuts, trying to convince my dad to buy me something, or doing the wave… maybe seeing a Hogette if I was lucky!

Meet MegaPhone Labs

Earlier this year the Springbox team leveraged MegaPhone Labs technology to create a group gaming experience at our SXSW party. We had a blast building the game, and our guests enjoyed playing it too. That same technology is behind a recent interactive window display we launched in our office’s front windows at 708 Congress Avenue. This experience lets guests dial in to create a snowflake set against a wintry backdrop via their mobile device. 

FITC 2010 Demo: Audience-Controlled Pong Game

I love this example by MegaPhone Labs at FITC 2010. Front End Platform Architect, Colin Moock, walks the audience through a group game experience playing a round of Atari classic Pong:

Possibilities
Ballparks are already using this technology primarily for voting. Audience can be quizzed on trivia questions and utilize their phones to dial in and provide a response. I recommend checking out MegaPhone Labs’ demo reel to see some additional possibilities on how to connect with their technology:

• Audience at a rock concert have to scream into phone to make the largest avatar character on a screen
• Play against a virtual tennis pro
• Group sports - call-in to be a player on a virtual hockey team via a lobby screen

Considerations
Questions a marketer would need to ask themselves when considering whether to create this type of stadium audience experience:

• Wireless Network Access
  Will have dedicated internet connectivity with all these people in one place?
  If this is a concern, what are costs to bring in temporary dedicated wireless network for 20K+ users?
• Audience Profile
  Will most of your audience be in a demographic that will have smartphones?
  If not, determine ways you can build a feature phone experience as well.
• Intuitive
  Experience should be intuitive for users of all ages.
  If instructional copy is needed, there are options ranging from voice instructions on the phone, leveraging large digital signage at events, or even consider seat wraps on the chairs in front of where the user is sitting. 
• Multi-Users & Gameplay
  Does your gameplay scenario make sense for several thousand of people to play?
  It would be a poor user experience to have thousands of cars racing on one large digital display at a football event. However, you can break out audience into larger groups (home team vs. visitor team / left site vs. right side) to have them as a group control characters or elements of a game.