See How LG Used Appliances to Engage Final Four Fans

The N.C.A.A. partner entertained and educated more than 20,000 basketball fans.

April 25, 2017

For its activation at the N.C.A.A. Final Four Fan Fest, LG Electronics USA, an official N.C.A.A. partner, wanted to create an experience that would allow fans to see and touch its newest products while also having fun. Working with its brand sponsorship agency, Advantage, LG invited fans inside the Phoenix Convention Center to play a variety of games that each integrated LG products into the experience.

“How do I take a refrigerator, how do I take a washer and dryer and make them relevant to basketball fans and make them fun and engaging experiences? Those were the challenges we were tasked with,” said Chris Krupp, LG’s account manager at Advantage.

In collaboration with Jack Morton Worldwide on the exhibit fabrication and Next/Now on the technology, Advantage designed three games using LG televisions, refrigerators, and washers and dryers. More than 20,000 fans participated in LG’s activities during the four-day fan fest. Here's a look inside the games.

To introduce fans to LG’s new TwinWash system, organizers built a mini basketball court with LED LG logos embedded in the floor. As the logos illuminated, fans had to run to those spots and then throw T-shirts into the LG front-load or SideKick mini washer to earn points.

Photo: Courtesy of LG

LG’s activation covered nearly 5,000 square feet inside the Phoenix Convention Center, home of the Final Four Fan Fest. Upon entering, fans were invited to enter their contact information into a registration system for a chance to win one of LG’s newest 65-inch TVs.

Photo: Courtesy of LG

In the Let’s Make a Deal-style game, LG demonstrated its new InstaView refrigerators, which have a glass window on the door that illuminates when touched. Fans could opt to turn in their LG lanyard for a chance to knock on the refrigerator door and reveal a prize inside, which ranged from water bottles and sunglasses to big items such as TVs.

Photo: Courtesy of LG

To showcase the color and clarity of LG’s new OLED TVs, Advantage created a motion-sensor-based slam-dunk simulator. Fans built their avatar on an LG G Pad tablet and then demonstrated their ball-handling skills in front of the stacked TVs. The motion-sensor technology, created by Next/Now, picked up those movements, and the avatar on the screens replicated them.

Photo: Courtesy of LG

Each of the four days, LG created what appeared to be a spontaneous celebration, complete with a marching band and cheerleaders, to award one random fan a new TV.

Photo: Courtesy of LG

To encourage fans to share photos on social media, Advantage used the Social Slots game from EventsTag. As fans posted a photo one of LG’s hashtags, it caused the virtual slot machine displayed on an LG TV to spin and award a prize.

Photo: Courtesy of LG