Balloonacy

I loved the Orange Unlimited and never ending website that Poke created for them to help advertise their unlimited texts campaign. It was a simple but clever idea, beautifully executed, and certainly took up a number of hours of my time.

I think perhaps it was a bit of a decadent use of marketing funds, but I would imagine the 'engagement' box was well ticked with very long dwell times. (Though I'd like to see that stats on how it did in social media)

Well, I think they've surpassed themselves on the 'wish I'd done that' stakes. They've only gone and created a brand new concept:

The digital nomad.

The world's first internet balloon race. Choose a balloon animal (corresponding to one of their four 'segment' tariffs - camel, dolphin, racoon or canary, which are now being launched on pay as you go). Give it a name and a purpose and wait for the race to start. (22nd June)

So what happens?

You guide your balloon across the web - visiting different web sites and collecting points for its travels. There's some interaction as you get your mates to support you and give you a boost. And in Sonic the Hedgehog style, different websites have different power ups that earn you more points / distance. Each animal has different characteristics (temperament and speed) - though it's not clear how these will play out in the game.

A widget for your web site / favourite social networking site will give you updates and allow your friends to see how you're doing.

You can even submit your webpage / social media page for inclusion in the great web journey. So not only do you compete and interact - you get to help set the course as well.

The balloon that goes the furthest wins some big prizes. (Ibiza trip, reflecting the age group they're targeting). And there are daily prize draws for good performers. But with something as involving and potentially entertaining like this, it's not just the competing for the big prize that matters - it's the ability to get stats & feedback to compare with your mates for social kudos. (As well as look at the stats for numbers of visits to your web pages).

In fact, if I could make one suggestion to Poke, it would be to include the ability to set up mini-leagues with my mates so its easy for this group banter (perhaps using the social media widgets)

So it looks like a blast, and certainly deserves to have success in terms of likeability, WOM, and engagement. It also gives Orange a whole bunch of emails and data to play with for future nurture / prospecting and conversion.

I guess my only challenge to Poke is to keep the interest levels up in the lead up and during the actual race. They've sensibly restricted the fun to 7 days, and are now generating as much buzz as possible in the anticipation of the event. But having signed up today, I've only received a perfectly pleasant email. I want more!

Whether this will work in terms of PAYG sales, who knows. And in fact, I'm actually not a fan of Orange's overall strategy of taking their segmentation into full customer-facing marketing, but that's another post.

But great to see something brave, new and interesting.

(Thanks to Pete Petrella for pointing this out - a brilliant digital creative chap)