MLB sponsor Esurance has developed a VR Experience featuring its endorser, Giants C Buster Posey, for the All-Star Game FanFest that allows fans to "'catch' fastballs, curveballs and sliders from a generic pitcher at velocities ranging from 86-93 mph," according to Ronald Blum of the AP. The experience was developed by GMR Marketing. Esurance became a sponsor of MLB in '15 and signed Posey as a brand ambassador. The company "had a 180-degree photo experience" at the '15 FanFest in Cincinnati, then "provided 360-degree videos of fans taking swings last year in San Diego." In a dual setup this year in Miami, people "get to signal for three pitches over about 90 seconds as Posey's recorded voice offers tips." They can "choose the pitch type by pointing their glove toward an icon on the screen, triggering a sensor." When a pitch is "successfully caught, the person hears and feels the mitt snap." Commercial and social media content was "shot over two days" during Spring Training in Scottsdale, where the Giants train. Posey's voice-over was "recorded after the season started." Several thousand fans were "expected to put on the electronic 'tools of ignorance' over the five days" (AP, 7/10).
