Quad/Graphics Goes Virtual to Bring Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue to Life

About 500,000 newsstand issues include the QVR Viewer.

SUSSEX, Wis. — February 18, 2016 — Printing and marketing services specialist Quad/Graphics announced the inclusion of its Quad Virtual Reality (QVR) Viewer in select copies of the 2016 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue that provides an all-access viewing experience of the magazine’s first-ever virtual reality videos. The QVR Viewer appears in about 500,000 special newsstand versions of the swimsuit issue.

According to Quad, the QVR Viewer is a more versatile, foldable headset that is much less expensive, lighter, thinner and more flexible than more widely known units such as Google Cardboard. Advertisers are able to brand and print four-color process on the unit’s outer shell for greater consumer recall and recognition. The viewers can be bound or stitched into magazines or catalogs, onserted into paper or polywrap, or placed in a carton or distributed as a stand-alone piece.

The 2016 edition of Sports Illustrated includes virtual reality viewers from Quad/Graphics.

“Publishers are looking for new and innovative ways to connect more with their readership,” said Joel Quadracci, chairman, president and CEO of Quad/Graphics. “The QVR Viewer allows them to provide enhanced digital experiences that complement and extend their brand, or advertisers’ brands, beyond traditional print or digital content.”

The headset can be bound or stitched into magazines.

The VR experience features behind-the-scenes content and what the magazine calls “intimate access” with five featured models. For the best visual experience, readers of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue download the SI Swim 2016 app, place their smartphones into the QVR Viewer and launch the app.

“Compared to other paper viewers, the QVR Viewer is an economical way to reach readers and consumers with a fully branded gateway to digital content,” Quadracci said.