NBC’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is a must-watch TV event for families around the country. In 2018, NBC and Verizon partnered together to livestream the parade in 360, giving viewers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to watch the parade as if they were actually there.

Verizon 360 Live transformed a mere viewing experience into a new dimension of entertainment. People could look left, right, up, down and through history. The Throwback Thanksgiving addition to the livestream incorporated Augmented Reality balloons from past parades—a first! The AR balloons took viewers back in time to see iconic characters from the parade’s 92-year history.

The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade dates back to 1924, a time before live television broadcasting. Not until decades later did viewers around the country get to welcome this grand tradition into their homes.

To continue moving this long-standing tradition forward, we set out to change the parade viewing experience once again. Instead of just watching it, we gave fans control of their views.

A unique partnership between NBC and Verizon provided a virtual experience that inspired viewers to be immersed in the parade.

But giving viewers the parade in 360 wasn’t enough. We introduced first-time viewers to the parades of the past while bringing nostalgia to those who grew up with the holiday spectacle. We utilized augmented reality to populate the experience with some of the most iconic balloons in the parade’s history. This ability to view the parade in the present and in the past further implemented a true co-viewing experience.

Through the use of streaming live 4k video from eight 360 cameras throughout the parade route, we complemented the traditional TV experience. Viewers were invited to use their phones to be transported to the 360 livestream. And once there, they could experience it from every angle.

The holiday season is a key sales period for wireless carriers. And that season kicks off with the arrival of Santa Claus during the Thanksgiving Day Parade. The challenge is creating differentiation for Verizon during a season when multiple wireless competitors bombard consumers with offers for the latest technology. We realized that while technology changes so much of what’s around us, what’s important stays the same: history, tradition, friends and loved ones.

Our strategy was to serve up content and experiences that people want, inject some humor and fun into the process, and ultimately make it easier and less stressful for people to decide on a carrier. This experience cut through the seasonal clutter, taking advantage of America’s kick off to the Holiday Season while leveraging the 3rd highest rated special of the year to do so.

A live, 360 4K stream was the ideal execution to show why Verizon is New York’s top carrier network. This gave the viewer first-hand exposure to Verizon’s fast network streaming by incorporating the high quality, 4K video and seamless AR. For the first time, you could control your views and feel the true magnificence of the parade as if you were there. With cameras planted all along the parade route, the livestream made the broadcast interactive and immersive as people at home could see it all form the various vantage points.

It all came to (virtual) life when the viewer entered via YouTube.com or a QR code airing during the television broadcast. Hosts of the live stream welcomed viewers and guided them along the parade route, inspiring them to fully take advantage of the live, 360 4K streaming.

Though we created a complete virtual experience, our strategy paid off in a very real way. The 2018 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade on NBC garnered a massive audience of 23.5 million viewers, making it the number 1 Special in 4Q 2018. Verizon 360 Live: Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade garnered an incredible 11.5 million streams, up from 3MM in 2017, or a 283% increase year over year.