Remembrance Island - A Living Memorial to Canada’s Fallen

Background

Over 100 years had passed since the signing of the Armistice brought a stop to fighting between Allied and German forces and an end to WWI. And with so much time passed, it was no surprise that the reason to honour Remembrance Day with a minute’s silence at 11am had become lost in history, especially to younger generations.

Idea

To reach young people on their native turf, the Royal Canadian Legion created Remembrance Island, a custom memorial to veterans inside Fortnite. Featuring WWI trenches, D-Day beaches, a cemetery for the fallen, a cenotaph and more, there was no battle within this part of the game. No fighting, no weapons, no damage. Only respect for the sacrifices of Canada’s fallen soldiers. Unlike standard Fortnite gameplay, the objective for gamers on Remembrance Island was to discover the 30 museumlike information plaques that told the story of Canadian forces’ involvement in various conflicts. By following the poppy strewn path, players arrived at a memorial cenotaph at a central point of the map, designed to mimic the look of the actual Vimy Ridge Memorial in France.

Fortnite players were encouraged to gather at the cenotaph at 11am on November 11th for their own moment of silence and to share images or streams using the hashtag #SaluteThePoppy.

Results

Remembrance Island struck exactly the kind of chord the Legion was looking for with both the press and gamers. Although detailed visitor statistics were not available from Fortnite, gameplay videos on YouTube and Twitch showed gamers exploring the Island in awe of its detail, stopping at each landmark to read about its historical significance and using their Salute emote to mark a moment of silence.

Notable press coverage included a frontpage article in the print and online editions of Canada’s most respected national newspaper, The Globe & Mail, and television news segments on both the CBC and CTV networks. Add in social mentions and Remembrance Island collected over 42 million potential earned media impressions.

Our Thoughts

It was at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918 that the guns fell silent in France and World War I ended. Every year since then the people of all the Commonwealth countries have paused to remember the sacrifices of previous generations.

This idea isn’t just about the events of a century ago but a reminder that The Legion is still caring for Canadians who fought in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan and the Gulf War.

Like the work for Kids Helpline on pages 46-47, this campaign offers advice to brand marketers trying to get in front of Gen Z.

You have to go where they go and do what they do. And since 23 million Canadians are gamers, more per capita than anywhere else in the world, that means you go gaming.