OSV & WWP-Group Premiere Virtual Advertising At World Cup Finals

The Alpine ski season ended with an innovation: after a two-year planning phase, the Austrian Ski Association and the sports marketing agency Weirather Wenzel & Partner (WWP-Group), in collaboration with the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) and the service provider Supponor, presented the successful implementation of virtual advertising for the first time. Graphic advertising elements were implemented into the national live signal along the route produced by ORF under the direction of Michael Kögler instead of physical advertising media.

"It seemed sensible and necessary to us to invest in this new technology in order to continue to provide top-level sporting events for television viewers". said Christian Scherer, ÖSV General Secretary

With this successful premiere, the four stakeholders are taking on a pioneering role in winter sports when it comes to professionalizing partner presentations. Virtual advertising in alpine skiing was designed with the aim of making the sport safer for its athletes and acting more sustainably. The new technology also offers many advantages for sponsors and partners from business and advertising. Virtual advertising allows partners to react flexibly to different weather situations. In addition, partners incur lower production costs in the production of carrier materials and travel expenses are optimized.

"Two years ago we started the process of making skiing safer, more environmentally friendly and more flexible through virtual advertising. Virtual advertising on the ski slopes creates space for creative and innovative ideas and concepts" said Philipp Radel, Co-CEO of the WWP Group

VOICES:

• Christian Scherer, ÖSV General Secretary: “It seemed sensible and necessary to us to invest in this new technology in order to continue to enable top-level sporting events for television viewers. I am pleased to be working with our partners to advance this development in order to make the sport even safer and more environmentally friendly."
• Philipp Radel , Co-CEO of the WWP Group: “Two years ago we started the process of making skiing safer, more environmentally friendly and more flexible through virtual advertising. Virtual advertising on the ski slopes creates space for creative and innovative ideas and concepts. We are therefore looking forward to the coming season, which will bring many opportunities for skiing thanks to the new technology.”
• Massimo Magri , Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Supponor: “The introduction of virtual advertising by SupponorAIR at the World Cup finals in Saalbach was a big milestone for us and the entire sports industry. This is the result of years of technology development into a fully software-based solution that can be flexibly and seamlessly integrated into any environment and landscape. We would like to thank our partners WWP, ÖSV and ORF for their trust and look forward to the next winter season to take virtual advertising to the next level together."