The lowdown
Digital engagement agency Fanscape created a Twitter campaign for Japanese anime show Naruto. Fanscape set up a week-long contest in which more than 3,400 Twitter users collected answers to clues issued by Tweet-A-Prize. The answers to the clues were found on various pages of Naruto.com and in streaming episodes of the show. As of May 7, the last day of the contest, Tweet-A-Prize’s tracking showed over 1,280 clicks to the various pages on Naruto.com.
Luke Bailey-Wong, EVP, executive creative director, Draftfcb New York
Is Twitter a good sales tool? Yes, it can be. An audience will engage quickly if there is real value in the offer.
I’m assuming there is a huge fan base that is crazy for this Naruto character, so prizes, and games connected to it, are going to score well.
Twitter-a-Prize enables the fans to get clues in real time and get updates on the fly, which enhance the overall experience. It’s simple, fun and engaging. For this target, I see it being bang on.
It also offers possibilities to expand the program into more engaging content and conversations with the users.
Overall, the question always is whether there is real value that is relevant to the brand and user. In this case, there is.
This idea is a bit like a Japanese game show: colorful, whacky, engaging — but it works.
Alan Gilleo, creative director, LeapFrog Interactive
We live in a world driven, even owned, by technology. Add to that the fact that technology changes and morphs at an astounding rate and there becomes a proclivity to use it because it’s “cool” or because there is buzz and hype surrounding it and brands want to get in on the action.
Is this always bad? No. While integrating or using technology in any creative concept or any brand should be a decision that is about driving results, it can still be very successful. We all know it is important for brands to try new things – it can re-invigorate an existing customer base or appeal to a completely new audience previously untapped.
Twitter is one of those new technologies that enjoy a large amount of hype and PR right now. The Tweet-A-Prize contest was a very creative way of using technology to promote the Naruto brand and products. Piggy-backing off of Twitter’s recent rise to fame, they were able to use part of that momentum to generate interest in the contest. While to some the numbers may seem low, having 3,400 people interact with your brand for an entire week is a marketer’s dream.
This is a great example of where the technology itself was actually part of the creative idea and the execution strategy. Now I need to go check my Twitter account to see if I’ve won anything!
The Upshot
Our reviewers both think this campaign represents a great use of Twitter, with the technology serving as part of the creative idea and providing real value to the audience. So, what do you think?
