challenge
Still in 2006, we designed an internet platform game - Orbitek 2D - that was created for the needs of the first edition of orbitek.pl website. Already at that point we could sense it had the potential to fascinate children and become a real internet hit.
Two years later we were trusted with a task challenging indeed. Namely, we were to organise and conduct a contest for internet users to persuade the youngest of them to observe the rules of oral cavity hygiene, whose indispensable element was Orbit chewing gum for children.
methods
As the target group was relatively young, we decided to appeal to the customers through sheer fun. The character of Orbitek, who had already been introduced to school children when the Dentibus programme was taking place, inspired us to create a comic strip about the adventures of Orbitek, a super-hero fighting the oral cavity bacteria. The cartoon developed into an interactive platform game, where the players had to face Professor Evil and the Acid Shark to save their teeth from cavities.
The contest had two stages, each with an episode of the game being launched. The plots of the episodes were different, rich in exciting solutions promoting the player to the next level. The campaign had extensive otdoor and TV support. We also produced demo CDs with the game to give the children an opportunity to try themselves out at the dedicated game spots installed in the multiplex cinemas all over the country.
Every month, we would award the first hundred of the best players. The prizes - Wii and Playstation consoles, iPods, PC games and Orbitek USB bands turned out to be a valuable loot for the contestants.
results
The game grew popular with users beyond our every expectation. For the two months of contest, more than 65 000 players were registered. In that period, the site was visited by 800 000 users who generated nearly 5 000 000 visits.
In the long run, owing to the success of the contest, the popularity of Orbitek site for children rose by 600 percent.
