Step Up
Issue 21 | December 2011
Agency
Saatchi & Saatchi Wellington
Creative Team
Creative Director: Scott Huebscher
Production Team
GAD: Elaine Bickell; Executive Digital Producer: Kevin Sherman; Digital Producer: Linda Krug
Other Credits
Client: Commander Nigel Philpott, Head Of Defence Recruiting
Date
August 2011
Background
Working with local partners RESN (interactive vendors), Paragon (mechanical engineers) and Kennedy (model makers) Saatchi & Saatchi created a unique interactive game for the Royal New Zealand Air Force’s 2011 recruitment campaign. Using ground-breaking technology, the game was hosted on a branded YouTube channel, “Step Up”.
Idea
Through a mix of 15 second TV spots and online promotions, viewers were drawn to “Step Up”, a dedicated RNZAF branded YouTube channel. In essence, this was an online flight simulator.
Visitors could choose which type of aircraft they wanted to fly and could then embark on a virtual mission, similar in nature to the real missions flown regularly by Air Force crews.
Once each user had completed the challenge, they received a video of their own performance to share on Facebook and Twitter.
Results
The YouTube channel grew 935% each month during the year’s campaign.
In just a couple of months it attracted more than 140,000 channel views, helping the Air Force attract the right number of quality recruits it needed.
Links to the project:
http://www.youtube.com/rnzaf
How to play:
http://youtu.be/-qxVk7PXiMQ
And a video showcasing the scale and detail of the actual models:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n5-5QB4Gac
Our Thoughts
This exactly is what I like to see in digital thinking. A solution that isn’t entirely produced using 1s and 0s. Too many digital teams keep all their thinking confined to what can be done via a keyboard. Here Saatchi & Saatchi has begun building the project in meatspace before moving into cyberspace, thus creating a unique and captivating experience that also has a great story to tell about its own creation.