Winner: Business Software Alliance & Mindshare Interactive
Campaign: BSA Cyber Tree House
The Mission:
The Business Software Alliance, an international advocacy group that sets out to prevent software piracy, already had a Web site to educate students and teachers about piracy
dangers, but it overlooked a key audience necessary to achieve its awareness goals: kids age eight to 13. Thus, the BSA, along with Mindshare Interactive, needed to launch a kid-
friendly site with a very adult message: Internet corruption is dangerous.
The Hook:
Kids may be well versed in the Internet, but software piracy probably isn't on their list of most-searched terms. To ignite interest, the team built a "Cyber Tree House" Web
site to play on a metaphor and have kids "climb" through the multiple levels that make up cyber safety. The interactive interface included animation, sound effects and
"surprises" that awarded kids on their progress and kept their attention.
It's All Fun and Games ...
The fun Web site with a serious message turned out to be a hit among minors across America, in turn grooming a generation that does not engage in software piracy. To date, the
site has received more than 15,000 page views, and has delivered a 400% ROI since its inception.
Best Practices
The Mindshare-BSA team executed a successful campaign based on the following tactics and strategies:
- Know your audience in terms of attention span and consumption habits before building a plan;
- When targeting young audiences, remember that cyberspace is a playground, and the site with the shiniest toys wins. This means using flashy graphics and pop-ups - elements
that are usually nixed by older audiences; and,
- Instant gratification is key for kids. They won't hang around an educational site long if they don't feel like they are being rewarded for their progress. PRN