Sports and entertainment marketing agency Octagon reached out to Groove Jones to develop the “Putt Around the World” concept to life for their client MasterCard and their partner American Airlines. This golf-inspired promotion was activated inside of airport terminals and allowed travelers to try their hand in an MR (Mixed Reality) game of golf within miniature courses. These courses featured travel destinations that American Airlines had a direct flight from the airport that the activation was installed.

Airport Terminals Made For Great Crowd Attention Grabbing

The terminals were great locations due to the amount of time people had on their hands, waiting for their flight. Since the goal of the activation is to get travelers to sign up for the MasterCard Aviator card, the experience generated a lot of attention.

Courses Designed with Direct Flights from JFK to London, Miami, and Rome in Mind

The initial installation appeared in New York’s JFK airport in the American Airlines terminal. After the success of the JFK launch, the installation made its way to DFW in Dallas, TX and then LAX in Los Angeles, CA. The travel destinations were then updated to match the direct flights available at the airport.

Multiple courses were designed for the experience. From miniaturized double-decker buses and marching Beefeater soldiers for London to Vespa inspired scooters speeding around the Colosseum in Rome. Special attention was made to include interesting and recognizable sights as wells as sounds to the worlds.

London Course

Miami Course

Rome Course

Designed From the Ground Up

The experience utilized HTC Vive Pro headsets that showcased the miniaturized world where the gameplay took place. Golf putting courses were designed along the recognizable destination structures. Outside of the 3d CGI gameplay zone, players could see the airport terminals with fellow travelers watching the action.

Players used HTC Vive controllers to hit the CGI ball through the course.

Groove Jones worked with the Octagon team on the technical requirements for the space, which consisted of an oversized putting green and a large monitor that displayed the golf action.

Kicking Off the Activation

For the launch of the activation on August 27, 2018, professional golfer Anirban Lahiri attends a kickoff event at JFK International Airport in New York City.