BT Sport introduces interactive beer mats and beer towels
BT Sport is to introduce special beer mats, beer towels and posters, all of which can be scanned with a smartphone to activate video content including sporting highlight clips.
The items will all use Blippar technology and will be available from the start of the season.
In addition to sporting highlights, users will also be able to vote on the big sporting issues of the moment, research game stats, enter competitions and share content via social media.
BT Sport has started to send welcome packs to the thousands of pubs, bars and hotels that have already signed up for the channels. However, full launch packs will be sent from late July, which include traditional wipeable fixture posters, window stickers and 10 foot banners, as well as the interactive beer mats, fixture posters and bar towels.
All the material features the BT Sport strapline "Great Sport Happens Here". Barclays Premier League stars Robin van Persie and Joe Hart star in the posters, along with Aviva Premiership Rugby heroes like Owen Farrell and Manu Tuilagi.
Bruce Cuthbert, director of commercial customers at BT Sport, said: "We want to bring a few innovations to our offer to pubs and clubs. We think it is going to be great that your beer mat can be scanned to deliver some fantastic sporting action clips to your smartphone, instead of merely soaking up spillages.
"What better way to while away a few moments while you wait for your friends, than by enjoying a few action clips or sharing your views about a controversial incident in a game.
"We hope that this is going to add a bit of extra spice and interest to pub banter around the fantastic line up of sports, including exclusively live Premier League football, FA Cup, Europa League, as well as Aviva Premiership rugby.
"The beer mat has come a long way since the days when the most interesting thing you could do with it was see how many times you could flip it up in the air and catch it."
BT Sport will also be supporting publicans and the owners and managers of commercial premises via the web site www.BTSportbusiness.com which will contain helpful content to drive more customers into the business, including downloadable fixture posters and digital images and videos to help with social media outreach.
BT Sport will be available to businesses in standard and high definition from 1 August. It will be delivered via satellite technology, so that any business with Sky equipment will be able to sign up.
BT's market research suggest that there are around 75,000 pubs and clubs in the UK and that just under 50% of these are showing free-to-air sport only - almost 1.5 times the number that subscribe to Sky.
