Late on September 29, as The Edge’s amplifier roared with the opening riff of ‘Zoo Station’, Las Vegas officially unveiled the Spheres groundbreaking concert venue poised to revolutionize the entertainment industry. After four years of construction and a $2.3 billion investment, the Sphere boasts the world’s largest LED interior, spanning 15,000 square metres with 16K resolution. Its 54,000-square-metre exterior is also adorned with LED screens.
But it does not end there – equipped with 167,000 speakers, even embedded in the floor, Sphere can accommodate over 18,000 attendees.
“The best visual and auditory experience there is”
This miracle of technology opens with a residency of 25 concerts by U2, a band that over the last 30 years, has always pushed the boundaries of technology and set even higher standards each time, with each new tour.
If you own a mobile phone and a profile on one of the social networks, the chances that you have not seen at least a few seconds of the show currently taking place in the Sphere are equal to zero. AVClub thus comments that with the first concerts in the Sphere, humanity reached its peak, Rolling Stone writes that this is a quantum step forward for the concert industry, while The Telegraph states that it is the best visual and sound experience you could see or hear in your life.
In addition to forever changing the way the entertainment industry will think, Sphere also represents a huge step forward in DOOH (digital – out of home) advertising. Namely, after the first time the outdoor LED screens were turned on, the hall became the biggest visual attraction in Las Vegas, and perhaps in the world.
The NBA as the first buyer of advertising space
This was quickly detected by the advertising industry, so Sphere transformed into a basket ball a few weeks ago. It was the NBA that first recognized the potential that lies in the largest spherical object on the planet.
– Sphere is first of its kind and it naturally catches the eye of anyone who comes across it. f you compare it to various outdoor media opportunities, it definitely is a highly visible, unique way to break through the clutter– explained Tammy Henault, NBA Chief Marketing Officer, in an interview for Digiday.
– It is a huge opportunity to create something of a great spectacle and not to think in two dimensions, not to think of it being simple messaging as this is a chance to be interactive. We’re beginning to understand the huge possibilities for brands, but it’s about spectacle and it’s those things that brands can really lean into”, said Guy Barnett, Vice President of Brand Strategy and Creative Development at Sphere Entertainment.
How much will the lease of Sphere exactly cost is yet unknown, but it will certainly vary depending on the time of day, seasonality and the duration of the content that will be shown. What is certain is that brands will have to think in three dimensions.
– “We’re going to see how [this] evolves, whether it’s some of the tech companies or brands. What might a car company, airline, or an insurance company do? How might they tell a story on a canvas that size with so much attention focused on it– explained David Hopkinson, president of MGS Sports, the sister company that owns Sphere.
True evolution in the consumerism capital
– Unlike most advertising campaigns where a consumer sees it when it’s displayed, we believe that a lot of the advertising power that Sphere represents will be when those ads are amplified socially and the better the creative is, the greater the amplification will be – said Hopkinson.
Alejandro Donzis, co-owner of Beeyond Media, agrees with him. “The Las Vegas Sphere represents an evolutionary step in how we perceive and interact with advertising,” said Alejandro Donzis, CEO and co-founder of Beeyond Media. “It’s not just about grabbing attention anymore, but about creating meaningful, engaging, and dynamic experiences for audiences.”
– Everyone’s going to be taking a picture of this and sharing it on social media, and brands who do it right will benefit exponentially from the social exposure,” said Anna Bager, president and CEO of Outdoor Advertising Association of America.
If we look at scenes from U2’s performances or the thousands of photos and videos that random passers-by have captured on the streets of Las Vegas over the past few weeks, it is actually quite logical that the evolution of DOOH advertising took place precisely in the capital of capitalism and consumerism.
Sphere is thus a sort of a roadmap for the direction in which outdoor advertising will develop, and that direction is the one of spectacle and glitz that have never been seen before. And this, according to the owners of Sphere, is just the beginning – their long-term plan is to build such facilities all over the world.
