On Sunday the 16th March selected Man U fans from around the world were beamed to the front row of Old Trafford for the premiership match against Liverpool. In a world first, Manchester United partnered with Google + to enable 15-20 fans to show their support and have their video streams featured live on pitch-side digital hoardings.

Google+ and Manchester Utd football club worked with adam&eveDDB who helped devise the campaign and Grand Visual who provided production and creative technology. This ambitious event required a bespoke technology solution which incorporated chat between director and guests, live moderation, feed delay and live content capture and deployment to Manchester Utd perimeter boards.

It worked brilliantly. Man U fans from around the world could be seen reacting live to the match events with lots cheering and jubilation as well as tense faces during the penalties. The complex technical build successfully engaged international sports fans via the hashtag #MUFrontRow and allowed a select few to share in the heightened excitement of being at the game alongside the 75,000 ticket holders and in front of a 1 billion global TV audience.

Man Utd has partnered with Google in a new digital competition to give football fans the chance to appear pitch-side at Old Trafford on digital screens. Using Google+ Hangouts, selected fans will have their live video streams shown on the digital pitch-side hoardings during the United vs Liverpool match on 16 March. The initiative will give international fans the opportunity to sit in on match alongside the 75,000 physical fans present.

“Front Row” aims to inspire fans of the football team around the world to get involved and share their commitment to the team on Google+, using the hashtag #MUFrontRow for their chance to be featured on the perimeter video displays on the day. A handful of the best will be invited to participate in the real event, and will receive a professional photograph of their appearance and an official welcome in front of United’s 2m Google+ followers.

Adam & Eve/DDB helped to devise the campaign, Grand Visual provided production and technical build and Essence was the media agency.