As the way companies connect both with internal employees and external customers continues to evolve, telecom and media companies are increasingly working together to drive new modes of engagement and interaction. For many organisations, a successful transformation involves the use of innovative new technology, including extended reality.
Penske Corporation, a leader in global transportation solutions, recently discovered the benefits of XR technology for their Entertainment segment “Penske Entertainment”.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, the brand decided it needed a new way of engaging both partners and fans, with one-of-a-kind experiences. Leveraging the 5G potential of telecom company Verizon, and the power of augmented reality, Penske Entertainment created a new CX opportunity.
Verizon’s 5G technology paved the way for a new extended reality environment where Penske could more effectively reach its partners and fans, even during a time when face-to-face interactions were impossible.
Here’s how Verizon and Penske Entertainment worked together on XR innovation.
Empowering Penske Drivers and Employers
Penske Entertainment has worked hand-in-hand with Verizon to build agile solutions for employee empowerment and productivity for a number of years now. During the pandemic, the media brand was reliant on Verizon’s abilities as a telecommunications leader to keep employees connected and ensure customers could continue getting excellent support.
For over a decade, Verizon has given Penske the technological backbone it needs for security, mobility, and digital experience opportunities in a range of company operations.
The partnership between Verizon and Penske even has an impact on the Penske racing team “Team Penske”, which has been racing for 55 years in series events across the globe.
The ability to use data for making rapid decisions has always been crucial to Penske’s success on the racetrack, as well as the company’s success overall. Indeed, in preparation for previous races, Team Penske has relied on the 5G Ultra-Wideband network and intelligent 5G-connected cameras for analysis of the performance of drivers during practice runs. This analysis allowed teams to adjust in real-time to improve overall performance.
Before the 5G connections were possible, the team were required to analyse up to 7 hours of video in-depth after practice just to achieve similar insights. The low-latency and high bandwidth offered by the 5G Ultra-Wideband from Verizon eliminates this issue.
Verizon technology solutions are also critical to success for Penske off the racetrack. Partnering with Verizon has helped the company to deliver a host of best-in-class entertainment experiences for partners and fans.
Creating New Experiences with Verizon
One major racing event in the Penske Entertainment calendar is the Indy 500, which usually takes place in May. The pandemic upended this tradition this year, forcing the track to put the race on hold and look for alternative solutions, such as the first-ever virtual event hosted by the team.
The driver’s meeting each year is one of the ultimate fan experiences hosted by Penske, providing people with an opportunity to see all drivers gather in the Pagoda plaza and receive instructions.
It’s a chance for fans to really connect with the racing experience. To ensure fans could continue to enjoy this experience, the decision was made in August to switch to a virtual solution.
All the while, the Penske entertainment team were simultaneously shifting to a new era of remote work. In this new remote environment, technology was critical to the team’s ongoing continuity.
Employees began to adopt new solutions, like Verizon’s enterprise video conferencing and event platform, powered by BlueJeans, working internally with Verizon partners on a new strategy.
According to Executive VP for Penske, Jonathan Gibson, Verizon became a critical partner to what the whole company was doing from a technical perspective. When the company decided to make the shift into a remote and XR-focused future, it was an easy decision with Verizon on board.
Since the Indianapolis Motor Speedway already had access to 5G capabilities, Penske Entertainment decided to transform it into the operations centre for its first virtual driver’s meeting. Penske also used the BlueJeans platform to produce the show and worked alongside NBC sports to broadcast the whole experience using a 5G connected camera.
A 360-degree 5G AR camera created an even more immersive experience, where partners and fans could enter through AR, see different track views, and feel as though they were right on the front row of one of the biggest annual events.
Building Strong Connections with Fans and Partners
The augmented reality experience enabled by Verizon allowed the Penske team to approach partners and deliver a fantastic, world-class experience they could continue to enjoy, even when they couldn’t attend the event in person.
Verizon solutions also allowed Penske to build stronger connections with partners elsewhere too. Alongside the annual driver meeting, the company regularly holds corporate events throughout the year, with a partner summit at the end of each season.
While these events were traditionally held in Arizona and the Speedway, coordinating with the Indy 500 race, a virtual partnership event was created to replace these experiences during the pandemic. Penske was able to use BlueJeans to host 300 partners for a three-hour summit in VR.
According to the Penske Entertainment team, going forward into 2021, even when the company and its partners can reconnect in person, they’ll continue to use Verizon and the BlueJeans platform to deliver unique experiences for partners, because it allows them to include more people.
Via reliable network connectivity, low latency, and high bandwidth, Verizon has been able to enable the creation of amazing virtual events, providing a great show to over 25,000 people.
Looking forward, the team also wants to continue innovating and experimenting with new ways of doing business. Going forward, the team plans to take a more hybrid approach to events and partnership experiences, leveraging the extended reality experiences they’ve discovered already.
