Hotel 626 is an advergame launched by Doritos in October 2008. It is a First Person game where the player is visiting a haunted house. Its interactivity is based on webcam, microphone and mobile phone. The branding is limited.
KEY DIMENSIONS
Sources: Search results on Google.com and Google Insights
- # of search results: Web 75 100, Images 6 210, Video & News 147
- 26 000 links pointing to Hotel626 website
- Period: October 2008 to February 2009
MAIN HIGHLIGHTS
Hotel626 seems to have generated the highest levels of Word of Mouth (WoM) amongst 2 communities: Video Gamers and Web design/advertising. The WoM was concentrated during the 2 months following the launch. USA was the main regional area exposed but other English speaking parts of the world generated traffic to the website.
Most of the comments posted in forums and blogs are very positive highlighting the unique and high quality experience supported by the genuine fear generated by the game. Doritos brand name does not appear often in comments published amongst Gamers community.
The experience did trigger involvement from players. One of them developed a popular walkthrough guide and several videos of people in action were posted as teasers on internet social networks (thanks to the webcam) .
I think that the game was able to generate traffic/buzz, interactions and involvement from visitors. It is in tune with current trends amongs young people who like gore and horror movies and video games. Hotel 626 appears to be an important block of Doritos’ interactive marketing platform. The role of the game is likely to develop proximity with the target (snacking moments) while creating an emotional connection. A more direct attribution to the brand would be achieved through other complementary programs (e.g. Crash the Super Bowl, Doritos the Quest).
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1 Doritos and Buzz Marketing – Asylum 626 vs Hotel 626…Which one does generate more buzz? | Buzz Mag // Jun 6, 2010 at 10:45 am
[...] in 2008, you may want to test your mental sanity with their new opus: Asylum 626. I published a post earlier this year which illustrated the momentum built by Hotel 626 over the months. The interactivity (webcam, [...]
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