Brands, charities heading to Habbo, Poptropica et al
By Simon Fuller. Virtually young. Forget Second Life. Brands are increasingly turning to virtual worlds aimed at younger consumers.
One of the most active of these sites is surely Habbo, the hotel-themed virtual world which has played host to a raft of integrated campaigns for brands and charities, featuring everything from treasure hunts to branded discos.
Perhaps one of the more unusual campaigns involved the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and its annual Earth Hour event. Habbo incorporated Earth Hour into its environment, representing the themes of the event – which aims to raise awareness of climate change – by dimming the lights of the hotel, encouraging users to get involved in the process.
“It was more than a gesture,” says Oisin Lunny, UK country manager at Habbo. “[We drove] 12 million users to the Earth Hour website. At one point we were the sixth biggest online driver to the Earth Hour website.”
And virtual world Poptropica, which pulls in some 13 million users a month, has teamed with United Media and web cartoon destination Comics.com to add an island themed around the comic strip Big Nate to the Poptropica destination. In its first week, the island – where users are challenged to help the titular character find a time capsule – drew 2.2 million visitors, according to Poptropica and United Media.
The Poptropica site, which features various levels built around specific themes, offers brands a chance to get involved in more traditional advertising, with the world incorporating banners for items such as Disney DVDs into backdrops.
Kids’ virtual world Club Penguin, where users control, you guessed it, a penguin avatar, operates a strict no third-party adverting policy, but while some brands may miss out, charities such as War Child and Free the Children still received the benefits last year thanks to the site’s Coins for Change campaign.
The campaign, which ran in December 2008, saw Club Penguin users donating the virtual coins earned within the game world to one of four real-world charities featured in the appeal. The New Horizon Foundation, created by those behind Club Penguin, then counted the coins donated – all three billion of them – to decide how much of the $1 million kitty should go to each charity.
“The 2008 Coins for Change campaign was a huge success, with two-and-a-half million players donating… to help real world causes,” says Karen Mason, communications manager for Club Penguin. “It was the second year for Coins for Change and once again, the Club Penguin player community really embraced the opportunity to do their part to help other children and families around the world.
“Giving back is a big part of the Club Penguin philosophy and we work hard to encourage a spirit of philanthropy both in the company and in the virtual world,” Mason continues. “A portion of the proceeds from every subscription membership purchased on Club Penguin goes to organizations that are dedicated to helping children and families and we have supported a wide range or organizations and programs.”
With these sites continuing to draw millions of young consumers, and new sites often growing sharply in popularity after launching, it seems it’s a part of the sector that’s worth brands and charities keeping a keen eye on.
