Australian company BankWest has created a new marketing campaign and initiative dedicated to providing people with a “Happy Banking” experience.
The campaign includes several interviews and the Singing Kittens experiment, which hypothesizes that kittens reduce stress and will therefore make you happy. To test out the theory, fill out the form entering in your name and sex, and wait for three little fluffy kittens to pop up on the screen and serenade you.
I have to say, the little furballs are so cute I want to just tuck them away in my pocket and carry them around with me… But, I was definitely expecting the kitten’s voice to sound a little more like Pikachu and a little less like a dirty old man. I still have to give BankWest credit for trying something creative and new and doing something guaranteed to make people smile.
Now if only I can get a lower annual interest rate on my credit card…
(As a side note, 4 different coworkers have stopped at my desk in the last 15 minutes to laugh about the video and to ask what it was for… talk about viral marketing!)
Meaty Bone’s arcade-style online game, Mark Your Territory, is a classic example as to how companies can often add interactive features to their sites in order to drive traffic, yet fail to ask themselves “will consumers find any value in this?” or “how will this help drive sales or build loyalty to the brand?”
They’re taking the piss if they really think this is “The Greatest Game in the History of Dogs. Ever.” Oh, but wait… they really are taking a piss! On boots, picnic baskets, tents… just make sure to aim away from the cat or you’ll lose half of your points!
Granted, I marked my territory about three times, trying to hit the bone, but lost interest pretty quickly. To top it off, I had no interest whatsoever in buying any Meaty Bone products or clicking through / returning to the site.
Sites such as these have to give visitors a reason to keep coming back to play. Why not offer someone incentive for all that time they just pissed away? I know I’d be more apt to return, if my top score meant getting a bag of free Meaty Bone treats in the mail. To this day, I still use my free “Got Milk?” glass from Milk’s “Get the Glass” campaign.
Here’s to hoping that Meaty Bone will figure this out soon and prove that you really can teach old dog new tricks.
New Years Eve 2008, match.com launched a UK-based advertising campaign with a Web 2.0 twist. The clever campaign uses viral videos and an online game to encourage people to get up and “make love happen” on match.com instead of sitting around relying on Cupid and Fate to help them find love.
CupidandFate.com hosts some great rich media content, all starring two time-wasting Brits – Cupid, a hairy overweight angel and Fate, a lazy cape-wearing narcissist. On the site you can Muck About with Cupid and Fate, dodging all things love-related and earning points for collecting video game, beer and fast food (the antithesis of romance). The campaign message is clear, when at the end of the game you receive the message “Game Over! You just wasted X minutes and Y seconds, when you could have been finding love at match.com.”
CupidandFate.com also has short viral videos, showing Cupid and Fate hanging out, discussing beauty advice and drinking beers – doing just about everything but helping you with your love life. Although the campaign does a decent job convincing people to “stop playing around with Cupid and Fate,” the overly dramatic sense of urgency and guarantee that you will find love in 6 months is somewhat unrealistic.
On the other hand, if the mere image of a jazzercising angel with hairy man boobs isn’t incentive enough to persuade you to take control of your love life… I don’t know what is.
If there is one way to get people excited about an upcoming movie, it’s through Web 2.0. April 26th, AOL, Dreamworks and Mark Burnett Productions launched an online interactive game site promoting Shrek the Third. In Ye Olde Shrek the Third Royal Tournament, New and Old Shrek Characters are brought to life, welcoming you to participate in the tournament games.
The tournament has a number of activities to choose from, ranging in skill level and appeal to different ages. A 7-year-old and 23-year-old alike (I admit it, I played a few times) can visit the Villains’ Action Stadium and compete in Dronkey Breath where you help the dragon-like donkeys save the land of Far Far Away. The graphics are great, there is little to no load time and the makers of the site have figured out ways to keep you coming back to play.
Every day, a new game or feature is added. Within each tournament area, a game menu shows a list of activities that are “coming soon.” Similar to Milk’s Get the Glass game, you also have chances to win free stuff. Example of a sweepstakes prize: 5 day/4 night trip for four to Los Angeles, a “behind-the-scenes” tour of DreamWorks and 4 tickets to Universal Studios Hollywood. Approximate Retail Value: $6,000. Definitely a little better than a glass.
I’m not going to lie, it is a little weird to see the words “GO MEAT” flash repeatedly at the top of the screen to promote Hillshire Farms, but I think the good out weighs the bad in this Web 2.0 campaign.
Uncle Ben’s Rice recently launched Unclebens.com, a newly redesigned web site that celebrates the age-old icon’s promotion to Chairman of the Board. By the way The New York Times described Uncle Ben’s recent makeover, I expected more from the site. When I went into the executive office, I expected to be greeted by a dignified and grandfatherly-looking Uncle Ben, similar to the way that I was welcomed into my new caveman buddy’s crib. We could have maybe played a game of chess, chatted about the best way to prepare paella or discussed one of these so-called grains of wisdom. No such luck – I was met with a text box and an arrow pointing to Ben’s desk saying “start here.”
I flipped through Ben’s planner and the letters on his desk, finding myself thoroughly disinterested in the imaginary schedule of a make-believe rice tycoon. I clicked on his computer, crossing my fingers that I would find something that would keep my attention on this “interactive” site. Good news: I found that I can chat with Uncle Ben through an instant messenger. Bad news: it’s about as cool as having a conversation with SmarterChild on AIM on a Saturday night.
I looked through a few recipes, checked out Ben’s bow tie collection and had a crash course in Rice 101 – sadly, these were some of the more interesting features of the site. Within the next few months, you will be able to listen to the chairman’s voice mail messages and will finally see “full-body digital versions of Uncle Ben.” I am so excited I can barely contain myself! (hint of sarcasm here)
What’s amazing to me is that Mars, a company that grosses over $19 Billion in annual sales (Forbes.com) and has launched successful sites like Planet M&M’s, would make such a disaster of a site. It’s PILAF-able… really.
If there is one way to get people excited about an upcoming movie, it’s through Web 2.0. April 26th, AOL, Dreamworks and Mark Burnett Productions launched an online interactive game site promoting Shrek the Third. In 
