Whyville and Scion Get Kids Behind the Wheel

July 05, 2006 - iMediaConnection

In this week's Creative Showcase, Whyville's advergame adds to the cool factor of the Toyota Scion by taking kids on a virtual ride through an educational and community-building online town.

CAMPAIGN INSIGHT
An important dimension of the Scion brand is customization, to the point of personalization. This is not a straightforward principle to convey using ordinary advertising, which is typically passive and one directional. Fortunately, Scion doesn't do too much ordinary advertising.

Scion joined forces with Whyville, a virtual world for kids and young teenagers (8-15), to introduce the Scion brand and put a bright spotlight on the customization/personalization theme. The result is an interactive advergame, designed specifically for Scion and integrated into the Whyville world, leveraging a large part of the existing "city infrastructure." Users visit Club Scion, purchase a Scion xB using their hard earned virtual "clams" (the site's currency), customize it with real world and fantasy accessories and even spend time in a bumper sticker factory designing decals to apply to their xB. The car remains unmistakably a Scion xB, and the user emerges from this experience with an incredibly personalized virtual Scion that they can show off to their friends and drive around the virtual world (all the while, doing more advertising for Scion).

Within the first two weeks of the campaign's launch, every "citizen" of Whyville had directly experienced the Scion advergame, or was indirectly been exposed to Scion as a result of observing their virtual friend's cars throughout the site. One specific indication that the program is working: the term Scion was used in chat 78,000 times in the first 10 days alone, conceivably more than the term was used across the globe by the world's population during the same stretch.-- Jay Goss, chief operating officer, Numedeon, Inc.

THE PANEL
This is my first encounter with the Whyville site, and I am very impressed with its intent and its comprehensiveness. It is a virtual world that is clearly focused on introducing kids and preteens to many important social, financial and other situations that they will face as they get a bit older. It's the modern day equivalent of the game of Life-- only now they have virtual Scions to drive around, instead of those little chewable plastic cars from the board game.

Scion is one of several corporate sponsors of the site and, from my initial investigation, it is one of the most overt-- but not in an obnoxious way. The gamers earn "clams" (the reigning currency in Whyville) to purchase everything, including cars. At Club Scion, they can peruse the vehicles and options and then purchase and trick-out their favorite Scion to their little hearts' content. Also, in a move of economic implications that may eventually prove problematic in the real world (given today's increasingly debt-addled America), kids without enough clams will be able to finance their cars with the forthcoming Scion Solutions program.

Possible credit meltdown notwithstanding, my other concern is for the "legs" of this promotion. Will an eight-year-old exposed to the Scion brand today still have a lingering tie to the brand later in life when he or she has the actual "clams" to afford one? Heck, will anybody have the clams to afford a gallon of gas in ten years? Only time will tell…-- Jason Scheidt, director of marketing, EyeWonder, Inc.

A brave and successful effort by Scion/Whyville to engage the teen audience. After logging in, I found it very easy to find Club Scion. However, if I wasn't looking for it I'm not sure I would have noticed it in the menu. Scion appears to be the only car in this virtual world, so I suppose the viral aspect of this site got the word out pretty quick.

After entering the club, the Scion logo on the plasma screen helps keep the user focused on what they are here for-- to purchase a Scion and configure/personalize it. The configurator, which looks like a Scion in South Park, had a minimal number of options and colors. But the experience was concise and to the point.

Decal central, the area where the "personalization" comes into play, was easy to access and appropriate for the audience.

Scion did a great job by finding this niche audience and bringing their ride to Whyville before anyone else. Good job. -- James Goin, media supervisor, Black Bag Advertising