Samsung uses VR headsets to host Sir Steve Redgrave live interview from Rio Olympics
The Drum was transported to Rio de Janeiro earlier this week for a press conference with Olympic legend Sir Steve Redgrave, but not by plane.
We were invited to M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment's office in London and presented with Samsung Gear VR headsets in order to interview Redgrave in real time. The 360 VR made it seem as if we were sat directly in front of the retired athlete at British House in Rio, while he watched us on a screen that broadcast a stream of the room in Soho.
It was the third in a series of VR-led interviews hosted by Samsung as part of its Step Into Rio campaign. last weekend sessions were conducted with rower Helen Glover and cyclist Bradley Wiggins, both of whom also feature in the tech brand’s School of Rio campaign fronted by Jack Whitehall.
The brand has hailed the experiences as the world’s first live VR press conferences, combining live streaming with the immersive aspect of virtual reality (we could turn our heads and look around the room in Rio while carrying on the chat).
The conversational element is a new approach to VR: Samsung stated in a release that ‘all 360 live video streaming to date has been based around the consumption of content, rather than a two-way interaction.’ More members of London’s press will be offered the chance to jump 5,761 miles and talk to Olympic hopefuls throughout the week.
The year of VR
The experience forms just one part of Samsung’s VR push this year. Last week (12 August) saw the brand release a 360 tour of British House on the Oculus Store, Facebook and YouTube, while its large scale Hypercube experience with Biffy Clyro launched at Boardmasters festival in Cornwall last weekend.
Samsung also went to town on pushing its Gear VR headset experiences to the creative industries at Cannes Lions in June, with a pop-up interactive space and a town-wide, colourful OOH campaign.
“This has been the year of VR for us,” James Coyle, senior PR manager at Samsung, told The Drum. “We launched our S7 device at Mobile World Congress with Mark Zuckerberg with the VR headsets on, we’re using it as part of our Olympic campaign here in the UK and across the world, and we’re driving the market.
“We’re trying to find ways of producing content that people want to engage with. I think that’s our challenge; to keep coming up with new, exciting and different ways of using VR content so more people can experience it.”
As for our interview with Sir Steve, we decided to park questions about his relationship with John Inverdale and ask him whether he thinks was right to call Team GB a brand. He said: “To move on as a sport you need to have sponsorship, you need to have advertising and you need to have a brand. The British Olympic Association is a hugely successful organization and Team GB is part of that. As a marketing tool, it’s so important.”
Other episodes in the series
Episode 1
Cadbury unleashes the moo of its animatronic cow to promote bovine adoption promo
Cadbury Dairy Milk took to the ever-popular activation spot of the Southbank this week with an animatronic cow in order to promote its Buttons brand’s bovine adoption scheme.
Episode 2
‘Alexa, order me a cocktail’: Diageo and Dentsu Aegis test voice activation in the connected bar
Connected devices, the internet of things and voice activation: all innovations the modern marketer usually confines to the bounds of the home. But in Cannes this year Diageo has teamed up with Dentsu Aegis agencies Isobar and iProspect to bring these technologies into a new consumer market: the bar.
Episode 3
Welcome to the mind of Mark Denton: a look at the work in his Art Mart gallery
The extraordinary creative mind that is Mark Denton has his own art gallery – a grocery shop styled show in Shoreditch, London.
Episode 4
Inside the San Miguel Experience: why the brand is investing in immersive events
San Miguel launched its Rich List campaign earlier this year in a bid to celebrate individuals who have dedicated their lives to seeking our new experiences. Now the beer purveyor is turning to live events to help recruit applicants.
Episode 5
‘It’s not a political statement’: why Publicis is celebrating immigration through artwork
Visit Publicis’ London office on Baker Street throughout August and you’ll find yourself in the midst of an art gallery curated to celebrate the creative lifeblood that immigrants – and the children of immigrants – bring to British culture. However the show should not be read as a political statement, according to the agency’s chief executive.
Episode 6
New York's window displays reviewed by Deutsch head of design Roger Bova
Holiday window displays by big retailers make the season sparkle, with shoppers mesmerized by the shiny details that go into each exhibit.
Episode 7
Behind the scenes of EasyJet's last minute Christmas campaign
On a snowy December morning outside of Terminal One of Gatwick Airport, Santa was seen clambering up and down an escalator without a reindeer close by.
Episode 8
ABB on why its title sponsorship of Formula E is as much about brand reputation as awareness
Tech company ABB hopes its title sponsorship of Formula E will finally make it a global name. But the deal is also fuelled by an authentic support of the race’s underlying philosophy – in spite of its political and sporting controversies.
Episode 9
#TrumpBaby takes flight – and proves the brand-building case for crowdfunding
Today (13 July) saw a rotund orange pocket of air fly above London’s Parliament Square in protest of Donald Trump’s visit to the UK. The huge media interest in the event has proven that crowdfunding a creative idea can not only work but can build a solid brand for the project in the process.
Episode 10
Panasonic wants consumers to adopt a ‘buy less, respect more’ approach to tech
Panasonic Design’s dark but calming installation at the London Design Biennale encapsulates the brand’s refreshed approach to tech – one that connects less with 20th century consumerism and more with the Japanese approach to care and respect.