How do you please hardcore fans and reward the most dedicated, when you’re about to release a groundbreaking game, that will turn some things upside down? Together with Jung Relations, we helped Microsoft in the Swedish release of Halo 4, where both a digital platform and physical events worked together in building a campaign that was seen around the world. Soon the fans would have to ask themselves: am I worthy?
The Halo franchise has a long history, and is built up around a large fanbase, that has created huge collections of data and a lore that can keep you entertained for quite some time. There are even an encyclopedia that has all the facts in one place, printed and sold worldwide! These fans know what they’re talking about, and we knew from the beginning that everything had to be perfect, when creating the campaign, since fact-errors would not be accepted.
First step was setting the mood. We made a short teaser video, where a captain of the “Corbulo Academy of Military Science” (look it up - it exists… in Halo) are welcoming all new recruits (you, that is). The same captain would later appear in the release event. This video was also used as the intro to the campaignsite, tying together the site and the event.
The target was to build an interactive quiz, with different kind of questions and ways to answer. We came up with a framework for creating a database of over 70 questions, including customized interactions and imagery. Through reading up on some not so easily acquired facts, we designed a quiz that was so hard that we didn’t even pass it ourselves - the questions were that hard! You had to answer ten randomized questions correct, in order for a chance to win.
We built an immersive interface, true to the visual heritage of the Halo universe, complete with a detailed HUD that gave you a feeling of being inside a console-game. When you entered the quiz, the site would load up a satellites view of our galaxy. While answering the questions, you would close in on the earth, and eventually end up with an overview of Stockholm. Finally the location of the event would be revealed only to the ones who passed the test.
The winners would get a ticket to an event, and we only had 250 tickets to release. So to keep the campaign interesting and give everyone a chance, we released one ticket per half an hour. This way we would have a steady stream of visitors, and everyone would get their chance… But not everyone would have the right answers!
Finally come the day of the release, and our lucky winners came to the event in a church in central Stockholm, at the location that was pointed out on the campaignsite. We closed down the quiz and put up a livestream of the event - for those who didn’t win a ticket. There was a choir that sang hymns from the soundtrack, and a monologue from the captain that was in the teaser-film. The epic performance ended with the appearance of the Master chief - the hero of the franchise, that had returned from the dead!
The site made a lot of noise, being posted in forums and blogs by fans. The campaign was for the Swedish market, but fans from all around the world praised the production and the attention that was given to details in this praise to the whole Halo universe.
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