This campaign was a true example of "turning marketing on its head".
The interactive game launched in November 2001, just as the Survivor: Africa series was reaching its conclusion, pushing the Survivor phenomenon to new heights.
With a massive quantity release planned for the interactive game, but a limited marketing budget, it was clear that we had to be creative. Had we chosen to take the TV advertising route within the Survivor finale - our budget would have only bought us two 30 second spots. Blink and you'd miss it!
So instead, we decided to throw 70% of the entire budget into PR, leveraging the rare opportunity of cheap celebrity appearances to drive product sales at retail.
This campaign was another great example of integrated marketing. There were so many elements in the campaign that the sum of the whole campaign was exponentially greater than the parts that made it up. Using Survivor cast offs for a satellite media tour, for appearances on the CBS Early Show and for countless other broadcast opportunities as well as scattered promotions at retail across the country led to enormous press for the game. Most importantly it ensured that the impressions achieved were top quality - real life Survivors explaining the ins and outs of playing the Interactive game.
The campaign apex was a massive celebrity premier in Manhattan where the
Survivor cast members were out in force - not to mention TV crews from all
the major entertainment broadcast and print outlets.
The marketing campaign for this game was considered an enormous success.
In comparison to the budget spent, the advertising equivalency of impressions
garnered was close to a 10 to 1 return.
