Hyundai and National Geographic Launch "Outside Academy"

-- First-of-its-Kind Augmented Reality Educational Experience

-- Digital, Social Media and In-Person Immersive Content from Three National Parks

News provided by

Apr 28, 2021, 11:00 ET

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif., April 28, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Motor America and National Geographic are joining forces to create "Outside Academy," educational augmented reality (AR) experiences that empower families to explore iconic national parks, while inspiring them to create journeys of their own. The digital hub for "Outside Academy" can be experienced at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/outside-academy/ and will feature Zion, Yosemite and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks.

Hyundai and National Geographic are joining forces to create “Outside Academy,” educational augmented reality (AR) experiences that empower families to explore iconic national parks, while inspiring them to create journeys of their own. The digital hub for “Outside Academy” can be experienced at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/outside-academy/.

"Education for millions of students was disrupted this past year, so we partnered with National Geographic to create AR science, geography, and history lessons from three of America's most famous national parks," said Angela Zepeda, CMO, Hyundai Motor America. "Our passion for technology and more sustainable mobility made this a great opportunity to incorporate three of our adventure-ready electrified vehicles: The Santa Fe HEV, Tucson PHEV, and the all-electric Ioniq 5. Hyundai has the widest range of green vehicles, and we're proud to showcase how we're evolving the journey toward an all-electric future."

"Combining technology with creativity, we're bringing audiences immersive ways to explore some of the most awe-inspiring national parks – whether they're at home or visiting the locations in person – and seamlessly integrating Hyundai's vehicles into the experience," said Andrew Messina, Senior Vice President, Disney Advertising Sales. "We're proud to deepen our relationship with Hyundai and continue pushing the boundaries of advertising with this first-ever co-branded AR series and offering innovative solutions to engage consumers."

The "Outside Academy" has three main components:

NatGeo.com: The digital hub is an engaging destination, including 360-degree videos, interactive hotspots, video clips, custom articles and how-tos for the drivable experiences
Instagram: On Nat Geo's hero Instagram account, users can explore the parks in 360-degree AR
In-Person: Drivable, in-person experiences use AR animations, text and audio triggered by on-location items to create a more immersive experience

"Outside Academy" launched this week featuring Zion National Park with content from Yosemite National Park and Great Smoky Mountains National Park being released later in the year. It will also be promoted with a full page spread in the May print issue of National Geographic magazine.

"Outside Academy" was developed in collaboration with National Geographic CreativeWorks, Hyundai's agency of record, INNOCEAN USA and its media agency, Canvas.

National Geographic
National Geographic Partners LLC (NGP), a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium science, adventure and exploration content across an unrivaled portfolio of media assets. NGP combines the global National Geographic television channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD, Nat Geo MUNDO, Nat Geo PEOPLE) with National Geographic's media and consumer-oriented assets, including National Geographic magazines; National Geographic studios; related digital and social media platforms; books; maps; children's media; and ancillary activities that include travel, global experiences and events, archival sales, licensing and e-commerce businesses. Furthering knowledge and understanding of our world has been the core purpose of National Geographic for 133 years, and now we are committed to going deeper, pushing boundaries, going further for our consumers … and reaching millions of people around the world in 172 countries and 43 languages every month as we do it. NGP returns 27 percent of our proceeds to the nonprofit National Geographic Society to fund work in the areas of science, exploration, conservation and education. For more information visit natgeotv.com or nationalgeographic.com, or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

Hyundai Motor America
At Hyundai Motor America, we believe everyone deserves better. From the way we design and build our cars to the way we treat the people who drive them, making things better is at the heart of everything we do. Hyundai's technology-rich product lineup of cars, SUVs and alternative-powered electric and fuel cell vehicles is backed by Hyundai Assurance—our promise to create a better experience for customers. Hyundai vehicles are sold and serviced through more than 820 dealerships nationwide and nearly half of those sold in the U.S. are built at Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama. Hyundai Motor America is headquartered in Fountain Valley, California, and is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company of Korea.

Please visit our media website at www.HyundaiNews.com

Hyundai Motor America on Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram

SOURCE Hyundai Motor America