What if there were an AI Avatar that looked exactly like sports star Lee Kang-in?

About

Sports fans want to communicate more closely with their favorite players, but opportunities to actually talk or interact directly with them are extremely limited. In particular, for players active overseas, points of contact with fans inevitably become even fewer, creating structural limitations in deepening the fan experience.

To create a special fan experience, the IP of Lee Kang-in, a global star representing K-sports, met Perso Interactive’s unparalleled AI technology. Through collaboration with the popular sports media channel 'Shoot for Love,' we created an AI Avatar that faithfully reproduces Lee Kang-in’s appearance and manner of speaking. As a result, content combining the sports star IP and AI technology drew a strong response from fans, leading to viral spread across social media and securing a meaningful reference that confirmed the potential for using AI Avatars in sports entertainment.

Background

Lee Kang-in is a sports star with high recognition and a strong fan base both in Korea and abroad, so fan demand for communication was high, but because he plays in an overseas league, direct touchpoints with domestic fans were limited. Existing sports marketing remained focused on one-way video delivery, merchandise sales, and interviews, and there were not enough structural touchpoints for fans to participate.

The project began with the question, “Could an AI that embodies a star’s persona without physical constraints enable fans to talk directly with the star and become the protagonists who participate anytime, anywhere?” In planning fan-participation content using sports star IP, Shoot for Love needed a new approach that would go beyond simple video content and provide an immersive experience that made it feel as though fans were directly interacting with the player.

Solution

Using Perso Interactive AI technology, we created an AI Avatar that precisely reproduces Lee Kang-in’s actual appearance, voice, and manner of speaking. Going beyond simple image compositing or dubbing, it delivers a high level of immersion by reproducing natural facial expressions and responses based on the actual player’s data. Demonstrated on the set of Shoot for Love media content, this system went beyond simple information responses and showcased hyper-precise interaction in which AI Lee Kang-in responded to content-related questions with natural expressions and manner of speaking.

Content was produced that captured the immersive experience of communicating directly with AI through free-form conversation, as if talking to the player in real life. By combining the star IP with advanced Perso Interactive AI technology, it gave fans a strong sense of interacting with the actual player while building an online/offline virtuous cycle that connects the atmosphere of an on-site experience to the digital space.

Results

After the solution was introduced, the AI Lee Kang-in interaction content released through the Shoot for Love channel drew an explosive response from fans. Moving away from the existing passive, viewing-centered fan experience, the new content format incorporating AI technology led to voluntary sharing and comment reactions from fans, generating a natural social media viral effect.

Above all, the content experience was transformed through conversations with an AI based on the player, moving beyond the existing passive fan experience. It established itself as an effective means of enhancing the quality of the fan experience while strengthening the brand value of the club and the star. In particular, the vivid reactions on site spread naturally through social media, leading to online viral effects for the content and establishing a reference point for the new possibilities of AI fan entertainment using sports star IP.

Recommended for

If you are responsible for sports club and fan marketing, a content planner using sports star IP, or a sports media professional looking to introduce fan-participation interactive experiences, this case will be a valuable reference. It is especially suitable for those who want to move beyond one-off event-based fan communication and strengthen relationships with fans through ongoing interaction. It can also be effectively used when you want to expand the fan experience through AI-based interaction and design new revenue models and marketing strategies based on fan participation data.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Can it be deployed on-site right away without installation or separate development?

A. Yes. Perso Interactive AI can be deployed on-site immediately without separate development or infrastructure setup. However, if additional information or customizations are needed, we proceed with the desired development through prior consultation. After development, a station (kiosk) device can be installed and operated on-site right away.

Q. How similar is the AI Avatar to the actual player?

A. Perso Interactive precisely reproduces the actual player's appearance, voice, manner of speaking, and expressions. Because it is created based on real data rather than simple image compositing, fans can experience a high level of immersion, as if they are talking to the actual player.

Q. How long does content production and operation take?

A. Prior preparation is required, including IP data collection, AI Avatar production, and content design, and the specific schedule varies depending on the project’s scale and requirements. If you are considering adoption, we will coordinate the schedule and scope together through prior consultation.