WarnerMedia's Rooster Teeth offers AR experience for virtual fan event

Brief:

Rooster Teeth created an augmented reality (AR) experience to welcome fans of its shows to its RTX at Home conference. The experience features virtual fan art based on its popular anime series "RWBY," including a collaborative AR mural wall at the AT&T Discovery District entertainment plaza in Dallas, per an announcement emailed to Mobile Marketer.
Rooster Teeth worked with parent company AT&T, Samsung and Ericsson on the "RWBY" experience for fans at home and people who attended in person. Attendees use social AR app Mark to add their designs to the collaborative artwork using AT&T's 5G service, Ericsson’s 5G network infrastructure and a Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra 5G device.
Participants can step into the "RWBY" AR world that uses computer-generated images as backdrops and share the experience on Twitter using the hashtag #RWBYxMARK. The AR content allows fans to interact with RTX at Home, the entertainment company's yearly event that has gone virtual due to the pandemic and runs Sept. 15-25.

Insight:

Rooster Teeth's reimagined live event shows how companies can incorporate a variety of mobile technologies to create engaging experiences for consumers amid the disruptions of the coronavirus pandemic on live events. Its flagship RTX convention was first held in 2011 and last year drew more than 65,000 fans of science fiction, gaming and animation to Austin, Texas. Following the onset of the pandemic, Rooster Teeth delayed RTX from July to September, and later canceled those plans after local health officials ruled that the event couldn't be held at the Austin Convention Center, Variety reported.

In reimagining the annual convention, Rooster Teeth created experiences that fans could enjoy at home or in an outdoor setting like AT&T Discovery District in Dallas, where the telecommunications company is headquartered. Users of the AT&T 5G network can see better graphics and high-resolution video, and play cloud-based games with improved connectivity, per Rooster Teeth. The in-person experiences follow safety guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including social distancing and sanitizing electronics devices.

Through the collaboration with AT&T, which indirectly owns Rooster Teeth through WarnerMedia's Otter Media unit, the companies can demonstrate how content and connectivity work together on a 5G network that has the potential to be 10 times faster than home Wi-Fi. AT&T is gradually expanding its 5G footprint throughout the U.S., and showcasing faster service for more immersive content like AR experiences can help give consumers a reason to upgrade.

While 5G adoption has lagged, Apple's expected introduction of a 5G iPhone this fall may help to drive an upgrade cycle, though AT&T CEO John Stankey this month tempered expectations for a surge in demand for next-generation phones. Many consumers won't immediately see a big improvement in speed, and economic weakness may dissuade them from buying a more expensive smartphone, he said in an interview with Bloomberg News. 5G service initially will be stronger in densely populated urban centers, he said.