AUSSIE OPEN TROPHIES IN AR
Bringing the Australian Open trophies, Norm and Daphne, to life in augmented reality for Chemist Warehouse, with social AR effects that let thousands of fans engage, interact and share.
Client: Chemist Warehouse, with TLA Australia
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
THE CHALLENGE
An AR fan experience for the 2024 Australian Open
Chemist Warehouse came to the 2024 Australian Open with an activation area in one of the busiest precincts in Australian sport, and a familiar problem: how do you turn passing foot traffic into fans who engage, interact and share?
Working with TLA Australia, the answer had to live where the fans already were. Not just in the precinct, but on their phones, inside the platforms they post to every day.
THE IMMERSIVE IDEA
Norm and Daphne, reimagined in augmented reality
The Australian Open has two icons that every fan wants to get close to: the trophies. The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, first awarded in 1934 and named for the Australian champion Sir Norman Brookes, and the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup, honouring the five-time singles champion Daphne Akhurst.
We brought Norm and Daphne to life through augmented reality, letting fans at the Chemist Warehouse activation get up close and personal with the silverware, put it in their own shot and share the moment.
WHY XR?
Turning an activation area into a content engine
A physical activation only reaches the people standing in it. Social AR travels: effects published on Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat go wherever fans take them, and every person who plays becomes a content creator for the brand.
AR is the bridge between the two. The activation gives fans the moment, the platforms give the moment reach, and the trophies give it meaning that no generic filter could match.
INSIDE THE EXPERIENCE
Digital silverware, faithful to the last detail
The Catalyst team created stunning digital versions of both trophies, faithful recreations of the real silverware, then built AR effects around them for each of the major social platforms.
At the activation, fans pointed their phones and the trophies appeared with them in frame, ready to be captured, posted and shared across Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
THE IMPACT
Thousands of fans, and their feeds
Thousands of fans engaged with the effects across the tournament, interacting with the trophies and creating their own content around them.
The activation extended Chemist Warehouse’s Australian Open presence far beyond its physical footprint, carried onto feeds and group chats by the fans themselves. Fun, innovation and shareable moments, doing exactly what they were designed to do.
Let’s Build Something Bold Together
At Catalyst VR, we specialise in helping organisations turn complex ideas into simple, unforgettable immersive experiences. Whether it’s engaging future engineers at an airshow or transforming your product into an interactive demo, our team is ready to bring your vision to life through expert Virtual Reality Development and strategic Virtual Reality Marketing.
Ready to explore what’s possible in VR?
Let’s talk.
