Etihad Airways raises the roof on Manchester City opening home match

To celebrate Manchester City’s first home game of this year’s English Premier League (EPL) season, Etihad Airways—the official shirt and stadium sponsor of Manchester City—seized the opportunity to create an unforgettable fan experience and drive engagement using the power of augmented reality (AR).

Etihad Airways worked hand-in-hand with Snapchat and its regional Lens Studio Partner, Tactical, to conceptualize and produce the campaign—titled The AR Fly-By. The world’s first AR fly-by, the Lens campaign featured an Etihad A380 roaring over the Etihad Stadium whilst Manchester City’s iconic blue moon was rising on the horizon. The stunt was activated via a Snapcode promoted at the Etihad Stadium, including displays on the megatron, and was also distributed by on-site Etihad Cabin Crew.

The entire campaign was conceptualized and produced within just a week’s time. Etihad Airways and Snapchat are already looking at how to expand the Lens and run similar activations during key matches coming up later this fall.

Oliver Turkel, Regional Director MENA, City Football Group commented: “The Lens was a great use of technology to augment our fans’ matchday experience at the Etihad Stadium and we were pleased to hear such positive responses to the activity. As a club we welcome innovation and new technology so it’s great to work with our partner Etihad Airways to push boundaries and try something new.”

Snapchat recently announced Lens 2.1, a new update to its free desktop app Lens Studio, making it even easier for anyone to build Snap Lenses for 2D, 3D and even the most advanced experiences.