Playland
"Playland Hot Seat"
Playland is open from May to October, but July to August are the make-it-or-break-it months. Parks like Playland can become a bit of an institution, although people can be a bit complacent and some think that they've already experienced everything it has to offer.
Having seen an eight percent decline in attendance from 2011 to 2012, Playland had no new attractions to generate fresh interest, and so Rethink needed to revive Playland's appeal among teens and young adults in the Vancouver area by creating a relevant connection.
A place like Playland is all about adrenaline, but talking about adrenaline is nothing like feeling adrenaline. Rather than describe the feeling, the agency decided to demonstrate it. The idea was the "Playland Hot Seat," an adrenalin-inducing live-streamed event connecting youth across the Vancouver area with actual park visitors. It was Playland's most ambitious social project ever.
The campaign had two phases. First, the agency staged an online competition to select eight winners who got to go to Playland for free. It then dared people to see if they were brave enough to sign up for the Hot Seat, and then narrowed it down to 30 contenders. From there, the final eight "lucky" winners were chosen.
Next, the winners went to the park. The only catch was that they weren't the ones who decided which rides they would go on, or what their park experience would be like. That task went to the online audience. The winners were kitted with GoPro cameras, a heart rate monitor and a live-streaming device which allowed the brand to share their experience in real-time on Playlandhotseat.com, a fully responsive site that gave the audience total control of the Hot Seater's every move.
On Facebook, content was posted sharing the experience of the Hot Seat and the amusement park. By engaging with the site and content on Facebook, fans could choose what ride was next, answer park-related trivia for prizes, and even decide how many mini-donuts the Hot Seater would eat.
The Hot Seat campaign generated both attention and attendance. The campaign reversed 2012's business decline by helping to generate 5.5% more park visits. On Twitter, the brand reached 69,000 users and generated 235,000 impressions. On Facebook, it reached a total of 267,000 people, generated 567,000 impressions and engaged 29,000 fans.
