‘Bob’ makes virtual return to St James’ Park Stadium

MILTON KEYNES, UK, 13 March 2014 – If you embark upon a tour of Newcastle United’s St James’ Park Stadium any time soon, you may be forgiven for thinking that one of the Club’s most famous captains has returned to the ground.

Tensator, the world leader in customer journey management, has helped to enhance the Club’s stadium tours with the introduction of a Virtual Assistant, which has been designed to create the illusion of ex-captain, Bob Moncur.

The Tensator Virtual Assistant is a next generation digital signage solution, which uses cutting-edge technology to project an image that creates the illusion of a real person. ‘Bob’ is situated at the starting point of the tour to greet visitors and imparts key information about the itinerary and the club’s 122-year history.

Considered by many as one of Newcastle’s finest ever captains, Moncur made his debut at the club in 1963 and played 361 games before joining Sunderland in 1974.  He is probably best remembered for the hat trick of goals he scored in the 1969 Fairs Cup Final, which helped to secure the trophy for United.

Ajay Joshi, head of media at Tensator, said: “Newcastle United Football Club is the first UK club to introduce a Virtual Assistant and the feedback from the fans has been extremely positive. ‘Bob’ is helping to bring the club’s messages to life and is really engaging with fans to enhance the tour experience.”

During the stadium tour, supporters are taken to the highest point of the stadium where they have a magpie’s view of St James’ Park. The tour also includes a visit to the home dressing room, media suite and the dugouts, as well as other areas of interest.

Gill Hillary Stadium Tours Controller at Newcastle Football Club said: “The Virtual Assistant is a massive hit with our visitors.  From the young to the old, everyone is amazed when watching the image. This is an excellent way to get information across because it is so unusual that everyone is engrossed in it. Using the Virtual Assistant at the beginning of the tour has been a huge success as it gets the tour off to a perfect start.”

The versatile Tensator Virtual Assistant Ultra has a footprint of just 50cm x 50cm and can be easily moved to almost any position throughout the stadium.  Completely customisable, it can be designed to fit any brand image and messaging.

Other recent high profile Tensator Virtual Assistant installations include Heathrow Terminal 4’s security area and King’s Cross Station.  BMW specialist, Sytner, also recently utilised a Virtual Assistant to help with the launch of the new BMW i3 in London.

For more on the Tensator Virtual Assistant Ultra, visit www.tensatorgroup.com.