Our Work
Sea World’s Splash Blast
Background
Sea World Adventure Parks are internationally famous vacation destinations. Busch Entertainment approached Buddy Media with the task of increasing brand recognition for Sea World Adventure Parks, by driving user social engagements on a Facebook application. Busch supplied Buddy Media with a pre-existing asset, a casual game called “Splash Blast,” that highlighted the Sea World brand and the sea creatures that populate its parks. Buddy Media was contracted to leverage the existing game on Facebook, integrating the AceBucks loyalty program to encourage repeat interactions. As users played the application, they accumulated AceBucks in reward for superior game performance. Subsequently, users could user their AceBucks to bid on items on the AceBucks Auction, as well as purchase items from the AceBucks Store.
Objectives
- Leverage existing Splash Blast game to Facebook to support Busch Entertainment advertising initiative
- Integrate the AceBucks loyalty platform into the Splash Blast application
- Drive unique installs of the Splash Blast application
- Increase theme park trial and awareness by offering auctions of Sea World VIP passes on the AceBucks Loyalty platform
Solution
Splash Blast was the first Flash game successfully ported to the Facebook Social Network. Once the application was deployed, Buddy Media integrated the AceBucks Loyalty Program into the application, so users could be rewarded for installing the application, referring friends, and performing well within the game
Buddy Media was tasked with driving user installs during the course of the campaign. Through the existing community of more than nine million Buddy Media application users, Buddy Media overdelivered the install goal. In addition, the viral nature of the application led to rapid dispersal across the social graph.
Buddy Media developed an innovative marketing strategy that would keep users engaged with the Sea World brand beyond their gaming experiences. Sea World placed VIP tickets to its theme parks on the AceBucks Auctions page, which enabled users to play the Sea World game and receive tickets to the parks for their performance. This marketing strategy kept the Sea World brand within the user’s scope from application install to the Adventure Park gates.
