| Title | SURVIVAL BILLBOARD |
| Brand | MICROSOFT |
| Product/Service | XBOX / TOMB RAIDER |
| Category |
B13. Content Led Engagement & Marketing |
|
Entrant
|
McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Idea Creation
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McCANN LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Media Placement
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EMT/DENTSU AEGIS London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
PR
|
EDELMAN London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Production
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MOMENTUM WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Additional Company
|
MRM METEORITE London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Additional Company 2
|
HOTHOUSE IWG London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
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Additional Company 3
|
ATTENTION SEEKERS London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
|
Additional Company 4
|
CRAFT WORLDWIDE London, UNITED KINGDOM
|
Credits
| Rob Doubal |
McCann London |
Co-President & Chief Creative Officer |
| Laurence Thomson |
McCann London |
Co-President & Chief Creative Officer |
| Sanjiv Mistry |
McCann London |
EMEA Creative Director |
| Jamie Mietz |
McCann London |
EMEA Creative Director |
| Chad Warner |
McCann London |
Integrated Creative Director |
| Jim Nilsson |
McCann London |
Creative |
| Jacob Björdal |
McCann London |
Creative |
| Anja McGuiness |
McCann London |
Associate Legal Counsel |
| Sergio Lopez |
McCann London |
Head of Integrated Production |
| Michael Thomason |
McCann London |
Head of Art |
| Colin Lee |
McCann London |
Digital Designer |
| Danny Elliot |
McCann London |
Designer |
| Thomas Keane |
McCann London |
Planner |
| Clare Mann |
McCann London |
Senior Project Manager |
| Lois Newcombe |
McCann/Craft |
Producer |
| Chris Cartwright |
McCann London |
Senior TV Producer |
| Tom McLoughlin |
McCann/Craft |
Executive Producer |
| Sailesh Jani |
McCann London |
Business Director |
| AJ Coyne |
McCann London |
Account Director |
| Tom Oliver |
McCann London |
Account Manager |
| Charlotte Walters |
McCann London |
Account Executive |
| Ellis Faint |
McCann/Craft |
Studio Manager |
| Liam White |
McCann/Craft |
Print Producer |
| Andy Tusabe |
McCann/Craft |
Editor |
| Paul Jenkinson |
McCann/Craft |
Editor |
| Tim Sutton |
McCann/Craft |
Sound Engineer |
| Chris Gilbert |
McCann/Craft |
Sound Engineer |
| Robert Freeman |
McCann/Craft |
Artworker |
| Muhammad Qasim |
McCann/Craft |
Artworker |
| Ellis Faint |
McCann/Craft |
Studio Manager |
The Campaign
Xbox put its public at the heart of the idea. Survival Billboard was a stage in central London on which eight gamers stood in a test of Lara Croft-like inner grit, endurance and inner strength, to win a trip inspired by the game. The contestants faced blizzards, downpours, harsh wind and heat – all controlled by public participation via a live stream on a dedicated microsite.
Execution
Although taking place in a single central London location one day before Tomb Raider’s launch, Survival Billboard reached the world, as the action taking place on it was live streamed. The public gave up on sleep to watch the drama, to control the weather that the participants were enduring, as well as to support, discuss and speculate about alliances and romances. For the entire 22 grueling hours until someone won, gamers’ attention was on the toughness of Tomb Raider, and not on competitor games.
8 minutes average dwell time (vs. 8 seconds for a regular billboard)
£3.8 million in earned media
11000 viewers for 22 hours straight
1000 weather votes per hour
3.5 million views
32000 comments in 22 hours
The Situation
Lara Croft, the main character in the Tomb Raider games, had a reputation problem. She was still widely associated with being a big breasted video game pin-up from the 90s.
Yet in the new Tomb Raider reboot, she’s become seriously tough. The game is darker, grittier and more psychologically intense than ever.
Our solution bridged that gap. After engaging with Survival Billboard, after controlling the weather conditions, after being gripped by the tenacity and endurance of the contestants, the public understood that the new Lara Croft is tougher than ever before.
The Strategy
The aim was to target gamers who were otherwise distracted by the imminent launch of bigger games with bigger budgets, such as Fallout 4 and Star Wars Battlefront. Our approach was to create a single, interactive PR moment that tapped into the gamer mentality of total control in order to increase engagement levels. In essence, the strategic approach was to treat the communication for gamers as a game in itself.