During the winter, residents of the northern American states long to escape the cold and snowy winters and travel south to Florida for fun in the sun, and a beach experience
Create an interactive marketing platform that uses body gestures of participants to navigate Sandy the Pelican’s south bound flight for the winter.
A video screen was installed at high foot traffic areas in the Chicago mall and O’Hare Airport to entice people to “Win a Trip to Fort Myers Beach, Florida”.
As the principle designer and art director on the project, my goal was to create an experience that was engaging and immersive for players. This takes into account gameplay, style of animation and illustration, as well as interactivity. Once an illustration partner was selected we were able to focus on character design. After preliminary sketching and storyboarding I dove into game flow environments, obstacles, art direction, and collaborated with the illustrator to build the 2D characters and animation states.
The primary function of the design is to be able to manipulate a powerful subtractive filter. Starting with Party Size, selecting that option alone eliminates model types that you should not consider as it will not accommodate your family and friends sleeping requirements.
Gameplay screen sketch (left)
Gameplay screen produced (Right)
It was important in the gameplay experience for users to be reminded of their quest to reach Florida in real life. In the journey from Chicago to Fort Myers, the gameplay included hints throughout, a blimp with a Florida hashtag, clouds that took the shape of dreamy Florida icons and animals, crows carrying sand pails and umbrellas. You could also find Santa propelling his sleigh with Florida dolphins if that wasn’t evidence enough that everyone wants to go to Florida for vacation.
Along side illustration was wireframe development for the interface. It was all about immediacy. On an idle screen you were greeted with an invitation to read the premise of the gameplay. You were invited to enter your information for a chance to win the Florida trip.
You use your body to control the flight of Sandy. While the screen tracks downward, obstacles come into your path. Move your body and arms left and right to help the pelican avoid deterrents in the air. Once gameplay is complete, you entered your email address and took a postcard selfie. This would be followed by email reminders about your experience and reminders about sunny Fort Myers Beach in the middle of a cold Chicago winter.
Wireframes of the interface
I collaborated with the illustrator closely to ensure that Sandy, the lead character, was friendly and approachable. I wanted to make sure the Chicago winter was portrayed as cold and inhospitable to give the participant a reminder that it would be great to leave the cold. I made sure Florida was portrayed as warm and inviting. Particular attention was paid to the environments for Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island, to highlight the activities of swimming, fishing and overall relaxing.
Sanibel Island Environment (left), Fort Myers Beach (right)
The kiosk was placed in a high-traffic area called “The Shops” in Downtown Chicago for 5-weeks, plus two-weeks at O’Hare International Airport. Over 10,000 people played the game and took flight with Sandy The Pelican. Using geofencing techniques within a five-mile radius, Chicagoans were targeted nearby with marketing messages that guided them to play the game and enter the sweepstakes.
The campaign received average weekly initial activations of over 1,600 which surpassed comparable campaigns by at least 100 percent.
