For Immediate Release
U.S. ARMY, AIR FORCE ENLIST AUGMENTED REALITY FROM
TOTAL IMMERSION TO ATTRACT, ENGAGE NEW RECRUITS
Experiential Marketing Campaigns at NASCAR, Indy 500, Other High Profile Events
Drive Home the Power of AR to Enlighten – and Even Train
LOS ANGELES (June 8, 2010) – G.I. Joe has nothing on the real thing. Especially when the armed forces go reality one better.
Taking their recruiting efforts to a new level via two distinct experimental marketing initiatives, the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force have embraced augmented reality, deployed by Total Immersion (www.t-immersion.com), the global leader in AR – solutions that educate and motivate as they engage. The Army campaign was created by Momentum Worldwide’s Chicago-based team and TimeZoneOne, also of Chicago, while
GSD&M Idea City of Austin, Texas developed the Air Force campaign.
The U.S. Army’s “Race for Strength Challenge” pits a fully tricked out, Army-sponsored NASCAR vehicle – Ryan Newman's #39 Army Chevrolet Impala – against the Army’s high-tech fleet, placing potential recruits into the action, via the Web (www.goarmy.com/raceforstrength) and through kiosks installed at select NASCAR events. At the kiosks and online, players can race against MRAP and Stryker armored vehicles, through various (sometimes treacherous) environments. Players control vehicles by means of a card or printout featuring a tracked image and a steering wheel. The game is featured in the billboard promo loop on the goarmy.com homepage.
This racing game is an extension of the U.S. Army's continuing effort to showcase its high-tech skills training and the various options and career opportunities it offers.
"Army - Race for Strength," the newest element in the interactive, participatory Strength in Action Zone exhibit at major NASCAR and NHRA races, made its debut simultaneously in four locations: at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla., during Speed Week preceding NASCAR's Daytona 500; at Auto Club Raceway in Pomona, Calif., as part of festivities surrounding the NHRA's Kragen O'Reilly Winternationals; at McCormick Place at the Chicago International Automobile Show; and online.
At the same time, the U.S. Air Force has kicked off “Command Center Alpha,” its newest mobile marketing tour (http://www.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123201086). Command Center Alpha is an AR mobile tour experience that immerses visitors in the "sci-fi" world of the Air Force. The interactive tour includes 3-D computer graphics, videos, educational kiosks, digital downloads and a full-size F-16 Thunderbird display. Visitors use handheld devices, which rely on natural image tracking, enabling them to experience augmented reality in the form of 3-D animations and video.
The mobile marketing tour is an extension of the Air Force's sci-fi advertising campaign, which showcases technology that was once regarded as science fiction, but that the Air Force is actually deploying today. Against that backdrop, Command Center Alpha highlights the variety of job opportunities the Air Force offers. The mobile tour got under way at the Suwannee River Jam in Live Oak, Fla. on April 21, and will include stops at major events and venues throughout the summer.
Calendar: Air Force Command Center Alpha Tour Dates, June-July 2010
June 10-13
Nashville, Tennessee
CMA Music Festival
June 19-20
St. Louis, Missouri
MLB Baseball St. Louis Cardinals Home Game
June 25
Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio
AFMC Freedom's Call Tattoo
July 1-4
Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek Balloon Festival
July 15-18
Belmont, Ohio
Jamboree in the Hills
July 23-25
Peoria, Illinois
Prairie Air Show
“As many young Americans are not aware of the wide variety of opportunities available to them in the U.S. Army, we found that through an augmented reality experience, we could give them a true taste of the elite technology and training used to develop the Army Strong Soldier and help our client, the U.S. Army, really resonate,” said Chris Weil, Chairman and CEO of Momentum Worldwide. “In our search for the best vendor, we landed on Total Immersion without one single reservation and they have delivered the very best, and simply the coolest live mobile tour experience for our client and the visitors to our interactive areas just love it.”
"We are excited to be using this new form of technology to inspire and educate the American public about the United States Air Force," said Col. Michael Tillema, Air Force Recruiting Service's Strategic Marketing and Communications Division chief. "Technology changes the way we fly, fight and win, and by using cutting-edge technology like augmented reality, the Command Center Alpha tour is able to illustrate the high-tech nature of the Air Force."
“As the military’s installations demonstrate, AR provides a diverse playing field for engagement – one that is evolving beyond digital marketing at a rapid pace,” said Bruno Uzzan, CEO and co-founder, Total Immersion. “In deploying AR, the Army and the Air Force are making powerful, complementary statements about the role of technology in the military, as well as about AR’s ability to enlighten. The common thread linking these scenarios is the intersection of real and non-real elements, which come together and transform the immediate reality, and to present prospective recruits with a different kind of experience – educational and involving, every step of the way.”
Total Immersion (www.t-immersion.com) is the global leader in augmented reality. Through its patented D’Fusion® technology, Total Immersion blurs the line between the virtual world and the real world by integrating real time interactive 3D graphics into a live video stream. Leading the augmented reality category since 1999, the company maintains offices in Europe (France and UK), Asia, and North America. Total Immersion supports the world’s largest AR Partner network, with a diversified portfolio of best-of-breed solutions providers worldwide. Find the latest news about Total Immersion at: http://augmented-reality-news.com.
Media Contact:
Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
818/990-5001
[email protected]
