Gamification stuff we love: Halloween cheese
With Halloween taking commercial grip in a lot of countries, the makers of the little round cheese Babybel have invented and augmented reality Halloween game to go with their Halloween cheese wrapping in the UK.
Babybel consumers will have the option to download a brand-new augmented reality and gaming app, highlighted on each limited edition net of Mini Babybel. By scanning their individual wrappers, consumers can enjoy a special augmented reality experience featuring one of the six Mini Babybel Halloween characters.
Introducing the public to the characters is a Halloween edition of the Babybel Buddies Bowling game, which is available via the App Store and Google Play Store, which sees players challenged to stop a gang of ravenous rodents tricking them out of their treats and eating all of the world’s cheese.
By collecting nutritious food such as fruit and milk players can unlock new levels integrating a healthy eating message. The Halloween game will be followed by a winter edition, timed to coincide with Christmas, which will also launch the characters on TV. The Babybel Buddies platform is due to extend further into 2015, with new features such as in-game personalisation of the characters set to be added.
Babybel characters will also feature on the Babybel YouTube channel in animated graphic novels which are currently being created in collaboration with child literacy experts and designers are hopeful that Babybel will roll out the content platform into other markets in the not too distant future.
It is interesting to see how advertising and marketing are taking the concept of advergaming to the next level. Who would have thought your cheese would provide free fun with a healthy food message? In any case the gamification elements is to make this campaign interactive and involve the whole family. The food itself is regularly seen in lunch boxes for 6 to 12 year olds (although older than this will still enjoy the cheese), the game is targeted at the children in primary school.
The nice side is that it is voluntary and inclusive for all those with smartphones. It still has an underlying healthy eating message and the game is engaging. The plans to extend into toys, books and youtube clips is an added extension to encourage interaction.What is interesting is that a game is driving the other traditional tools. In my view this approach is taking advergaming to the next level of engagement and is looking to introduce very young players to a brand and make them loyal to fun cheese.
Here is a taste of the game, will you play it?
[video_player type=”embed” width=”640″ height=”360″ align=”center” margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”20″]
[/video_player]
