SI Swimsuit spices up the mix with virtual reality

Sports Illustrated is embracing virtual reality for this week’s release of its 52nd annual Swimsuit issue.

In a seemingly natural marriage between the white-hot virtual reality space and one of SI’s biggest annual franchises, the magazine has developed more than a dozen virtual reality segments that will be accessible through a companion Swimsuit mobile application being released on the Apple iOS and Android platforms.

This year’s issue features three covers, including one with plus-size model Ashley Graham (left. Fan festivals in New York and Miami will celebrate the launch.

Existing SI subscribers also will receive a code for the full version of the mobile application but must supply their own virtual reality glasses.

“People have always wanted to go on an SI Swimsuit photo shoot,” said Brendan Ripp, SI group publisher. “Now we can offer the experience of what that is like. This is a very big, very exciting step for us into this space.”

SI’s push into virtual reality extends an ongoing, multiyear push to turn the annual Swimsuit issue into a broader, more experiential event. SI this week will hold two separate fan festivals, one in New York and another in Miami, seeking to build upon the 65,000 total people attending Swimsuit events last year in New York and Nashville.

The Swimsuit issue itself will be 212 total pages, down from 224 last year. Ripp said ad sales declined by a single-digit percentage but were countered by growth in event and experiential-based revenue.

Official marketing partners for this year’s Swimsuit edition include Lexus, Smith & Forge Hard Cider, Lane Bryant, Schick, Diageo’s Ciroc Vodka brand, Edge Shave Gel, boutique hotel brand 1 Hotel, online gaming outfit Kizzang, and Fox Sports, which will cover the two Swimsuit fan festivals across digital, social and TV platforms.

The set of Swimsuit covers were set to be revealed this past weekend in a one-hour special on TNT that followed the cable network’s coverage of NBA All-Star Saturday Night. The special built on prior televised Swimsuit issue cover reveal efforts on late-night talk shows and smaller cable channels. It also represented something of a surprise collaboration between SI and Turner Sports given the pair’s failed digital alliance earlier this decade.

“The past is the past. We’re all adults, and this opportunity made a lot of sense,” Ripp said. “It’s a new day, and we’re open to partnering with anyone where it makes sense.”

The trio of Swimsuit covers makes history on several fronts. This is the first time SI has done multiple Swimsuit covers in a single year. Graham represents the first plus-size model on the cover. And Rousey is the first active athlete featured on the cover. Former tennis player Anna Kournikova was on the 2004 cover as an inset, shortly after she retired from competitive play.

Sports Illustrated’s own promotional efforts around the Swimsuit issue will include expanded alignments with social media platforms Snapchat, Twitter and Vine. Ripp, who is shifting to a broader role leading sales efforts in the technology and telecommunications categories for all of parent company Time Inc., also said an unprecedented level of cross-promotion will occur with other Time Inc. titles such as Entertainment Weekly, People and InStyle.

SI likened the heavy corporatewide push around Swimsuit to how all of Comcast and NBCUniversal rally around NBC Sports’ coverage of the Olympics.

In addition to Rousey, athletes featured in this year’s Swimsuit edition include tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, also back for a second straight year, along with skier Lindsey Vonn.