SMG is doing its part to foster an online community among long-time client Lego’s target of boys 6-11. As part of an awareness strategy for the toymaker’s new Bionicle action figure line, the agency created integrated advertorial within YTV.com and an online badge-earning promo within Bolt.com. On YTV’s site, a leaderboard ad bearing the creative for Piraka (the Bionicle ‘gang’ name) blasts a hole in a game button within the site. Click on the button and you’re redirected to the Lego Bionicle site. ‘The banner interacts directly with the content,’ says Kevin Hung, supervisor at Toronto-based SMG. ‘And we’ve received positive feedback and a general sales lift for Bionicle.’
On social networking site Bolt.com last week, SMG released a five-week online badge program whereby kids earn a different badge each week (to customize their Bolt.com profile page) if they correctly answer questions about the Piraka gang. Of course, to answer correctly, they must visit the Bionicles site to find out more about the characters, creating a dialogue between brand and demo, says Hung. In the first 12 hours, the Bionicle campaign on Bolt.com experienced a 54% user participation. Creative and media were handled by SMG.
