The first challenge for us was to design a projection-mapped experience that could be somehow extended throughout the day. With the whole event being based around soccer, it seemed natural to create something revolving around goal scoring. The client was MSL ALL Starts, so we started brainstorming ways we could fully integrate the brand into the experience instead of simply wrapping the brand colours over something. 

Out of the brainstorming session came one lead idea that sounded amazing but also presented our second big challenge. “Could we really set this up in a way that allowed members of the general public to kick a professional soccer ball directly at $200,000 worth of LED wall? The idea was a big hit with the client when we pitched the concept, so that’s when we started an in-depth R&D session to see if we could make it work. 

Initially, the first designs meant the LED wall would be around 10ft behind the goal mouth, behind the netting of a full-sized goal, which completely blew the illusion and felt pointless. 

Our next iteration meant building the goal posts into the LED wall truss design for stability, which left the goal mouth just 2ft in front of the LED wall – a much more realistic feel to the experience. The final challenge was to design a way to secure the goal netting onto the mouth of the goal in a way that could stop a professional soccer ball from being kicked at full force before it reached the LED wall. In the end, Go2 managed to overcome all challenges, and the whole activation was packed solid all day long, with children and adults of all ages taking part in the challenge.

The Results:

The interactive soccer game had a constant lineup of guests ready to take part, with a permanent crowd of people around the activation cheering on each participant. Once night fell, we selected one of the top players to take part in a special Light It Up ceremony, where they kicked the ball at a special target that triggered the 23-storey projection-mapped experience on the iconic Tribune Tower. From that point on, every shot that was taken on the ground translated into a projection-mapped HIT or MISS animation on the building, all consistent with the brand.

Return on Investment (ROI):

Despite no pre-promotion as a result of the City of Chicago regulations on this activation space, the event garnered the following results:

• Over 23,000 people attended the event over the course of the day.
• Approx. 3000 people were in attendance during the projection hour, with an additional estimated 20,000 impressions based on perfect sightlines down the Chicago River.
• Over 500 participants took part in the Penalty Kick Shootout experience.
• Social conversation overall about the MLS All-Star Game drove 6.5K mentions and 159M impressions, with a positive +80 net sentiment.