One of the highlights of this year was the Olympic Winter Games. Millions of people around the globe were excited to witness the world’s best athletes compete for glory in PyeongChang, South Korea. On Monday, February 5th, the New York Times added to the Winter Olympics excitement by releasing its first Augmented Reality experience. New York Times app users received a close look at four top Olympians participating in the games: US figure skater, Nathan Chen, US speed skater J.R. Celski, US hockey goalie Alex Rigsby and Austrian snowboarder Anna Gasser.
Source: Mac Stories.net
The New York Times thrilled app users with an innovative, three dimensional, interactive experience a move the media brand described as “leaning into the future of storytelling”.
The company delivered a timely push messaging campaign to educate and encourage users to use the exciting new AR feature days before the opening ceremony.
The theme of innovation and experimentation continued throughout the winter games as the New York Times tested a new way to follow the Olympics. They created an opt-in push experience to allow their app users to feel closer to the games by receiving real-time updates from Sam Manchester, a journalist, who was on the ground in PyeongChang. A large percentage of users opted into this experience, proving that live messaging paired with behind-the-scenes content is a winning formula for highly engaged app users.
Mobile has transformed the world of media and entertainment. Consumers crave ‘behind the scenes’ content that humanizes a brand and forms deep, meaningful connections between athletes, spectators and the multitude of brands that bring the Olympic Games to life.
The New York Times stood out during the Winter Olympics for all the right reasons by delighting app users with interactive news experiences, relevant and timely messaging, and a user-friendly app. We’re excited to see what the New York Times has in-store for app users in 2019!