If you survived the advergame Hotel 626 released by Doritos 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 of the new game is reinforced with the integration of Facebook and Tweeter features.
You get a flavor by watching the trailer.
KEY DIMENSIONS
Sources: Google.com, November 2009
- # of search results: Web: 37 100, Images: 2 970, Video: 20
- #of links pointing to the site: 8 750 (raw data)
- Period: September to November 2009
Asylum 626 vs Hotel 626 - Search results comparison
First 10 weeks after the launch (2009 vs 2008)
Main highlights
Asylum 626 has enjoyed a higher visibility after 10 weeks than Hotel 626. This result could be explained by the huge success of the Doritos’ advergame until now. A link leading to Asylum 626 is on the home page of the brand website and on the Hotel 626 mini-site.
The brand has used smartly product packaging and popular social media:
- The new game was announced on packaging of 2 products
- A trailer published on YouTube (on Sep. 15th) triggered really the Word of Mouth.
- A smart use of Twitter. 7 817 tweets for Asylum vs 1 138 for Hotel 626 (source: Topsy).
- Facebook support seems to be more limited as the Asylum application accounts for 132 fans vs 3 186 for Hotel 626 (…after 1 year). Doritos official page did not make a big event out of their new advergame.
It may have been supported by a specific PR campaign to blogs as this category represents a higher portion of search results compared to Hotel 626. Comments are generally extremely positive.
even if I am not convinced that the visibility of a viral campaign in professional blogs is the most pertinent tool for the end consumer target.
I could highlight some tips from the Doritos marketing approach:
- Establish connections across online and offline marketing channels
- Keep an excellent quality of execution
- Capitalize on a success but bring some novelty
- Smart usage of social media in tune with the brand’s audience
We would see in the coming weeks the development of the word-of-mouth. After the launch, it will be interesting to look at content generated by consumers. However, the main question remains if Doritos sold more crakers with this campaign
2 responses so far ↓
1 Manuel Donze // Nov 30, 2009 at 7:45 pm
the number of fan on Facebook is very low. Is it finally a tool not really used? (even the number of 3186 for Hotel 626 is low).
I am completely in line with your opinion: “even if I am not convinced that the visibility of a viral campaign in professional blogs is the most pertinent tool for the end consumer target.”.
I met this problem also in the watchmaking industry with the efforts to have articles in blogs for professionals or collectors. I was not sure also that it is the best way to reach final clients.
2 admin // Dec 1, 2009 at 10:52 am
Dear Manuel,
Thanks for your comment.
You are pointing the “Me Too” syndroma. Many brands and companies do things on Internet because it is trendy (e.g. Twitter) and/or because competitors are doing it. As you have highlighted, the final client is the most important and we should use marketing channels and tools which are relevant for them. If Facebook or Twitter are used by them…Perfect. If not, let’s try something else.
In the meantime, it is always difficult to get on board opinion leaders (press, bloggers…). However, if there is a real news and not only a generic press release then they should be interested
Have a nice day
Frederic
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