Overview of this campaign

The anniversary event had three objectives: Engage readers, increase brand awareness, and contribute to sales. In order to engage our readers we had to be relevant, so we chose to host our event on their turf - inside a game called Minecraft. This is one of the most popular games for children in our target group and is often used for educational purposes as well as after school activity. Hosting a gaming event was uncharted territory, so we partnered with Skogliv, the largest Minecraft community in Norway. Together we planned and designed activities and attractions for an Aftenposten Junior universe within Minecraft. We also rented a studio where we could stream a live broadcast with Afteponsten Junior’s editor and journalists on the day of our event.

We wanted to include our readers in the preparations for the event. We mobilized them through weekly assignments in the newspaper asking them to build assets for the Aftenposten Junior universe. On our open server we co-created with our readers, building excitement and expectations for the big day. The children’s creations were showcased both digitally and on print as we received them. Alongside, we marketed the event externally. Marketing aimed at children is not allowed in Norway so we targeted their parents. We emphasized that it was free and open to anyone who wanted to join. The objective of the campaign was to recruit guests, as well as gain public interest. This way we were able to use the newfound awareness to sell subscriptions through a sales campaign launched the day after our event.

Results for this campaign

During the five week period leading up to the event, our readers built 1000 creations for our Minecraft universe. We received pictures of their creations by email, and they used our server to chat and socialize with each other. We saw a new level of engagement rooted in this brand-new way of interacting with our audience. The event itself was closely connected to our brand. We made sure to include our most popular content in our digital universe, and thereby intertwined our brand with an environment that children love. It worked, we managed to bridge the paper and the game gaining results above our expectations: The event engaged 1708 unique users in Minecraft, and our livestream was sent to 1000 IP addresses. The children wrote a total of 14075 chat messages during our event, including questions, quiz-replies, and expressions of pure excitement to the events of the game. Overall, it clearly showed that our audience was involved and excited.

 

The sales campaign that was launched the following day sold a total of 1623 subscriptions, a 57% increase in sales compared to a similar campaign during the same period in 2021. It’s clear this is a result of the momentum built from the event. In summary, we hosted an event that engaged our readers in new ways, coherent with our brand, that resulted in boosted brand awareness and a successful sales campaign. We were definitely inspired by this project -  we hope it made you smile as well!

Contact

To contact a company representative about this campaign, click here for the INMA Member Directory