In an effort to up the excitement around the 2005-2006 Volvo Ocean Race, Toronto-based interactive agency Mindblossom recreated the race online as a viral marketing initiative. An online racing game found at http://vor.volvogeneration.com invites visitors to sign in as the skipper of a three-person virtual boat, recruiting two other crew members to begin playing. ‘It’s a knowledge-based game, with videos, images and multiple choice questions about Volvo. So the whole time people are playing the game, they’re interacting with the brand and getting entertained. We’re taking the brand’s safety image to a more exciting level,’ says Vanessa Willacy, director of strategic planning at Mindblossom. The virtual boat that wins the final leg online will be awarded a trip for six to Göteborg, Sweden to be at the finish line when the real Volvo Ocean Race concludes in early June.
Willacy says there are now 1500 boats (each with three people) participating since the site’s launch in mid-November, and numbers are showing that more than 1000 people participating in the race are within Volvo’s 35+ age target. Other partners in the initiative were MSN Sympatico (which provided live Volvo Ocean race content on its site) and Canadian Yachting magazine (which provided editorial coverage).
