This September, Nickelodeon re-launched the iconic “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" as a new animated TV series. In anticipation of the launch, Nickelodeon’s marketing team was tasked with coming up with an on-the-ground campaign to execute at San Diego Comic-Con, to increase awareness and excitement for the new series. To do this, we applied the classic comic book motif of good versus evil to our campaign: “Turtles vs. Foot." A mobile experience at TurtlesvsFoot .com asked fans to join the battle for Comic-Con by pledging their allegiance to the heroic Ninja Turtles or their evil arch nemisis, The Foot Clan. With a combination of clever guerilla marketing, one-of-a-kind prizes and some friendly competition, our “Turtles vs. Foot" campaign brought the new series to life on the streets of San Diego.Nickelodeon’s “Turtles vs. Foot" deserves to win the Shorty Award for Best Use of Social Media IRL because our campaign cut through the clutter of Comic-Con with an exciting, unique approach powered by social media. To successfully cut through the clutter of Comic-Con, we decided to take our experience out of the crowded convention center and instead, onto the streets of San Diego. We wanted to create an experience geared to a fan on-the-go -- so we built a mobile-friendly campaign with a real-life experiential extension. From the moment fans arrived in San Diego, they were urged to join the battle for Comic-Con by pledging their loyalty to the Turtles or Foot Clan. Our mobile web app at TurtlesvsFoot .com let fans choose a side, complete missions and win swag. Fans were recruited to join right from the airport, where street teams handed out propaganda encouraging them to join in. Around the convention, fans were drawn in by wild postings featuring Leonardo and The Shredder, chalk art on the sidewalks and video projections on key hotels and buildings. Geo-fenced mobile ads targeted fans who were in an 8 block radius of the convention center. Over at the Nickelodeon booth, a recruitment video urged fans to choose a side, and streamed a real-time social feed of fans who were joining the Turtles or the Foot Clan. After joining a side at TurtlesvsFoot .com and sharing it, fans were rewarded with a physical badge -- either a Turtles or Foot hat -- from our branded TMNT truck located just outside the convention. By wearing the hat, fans were eligible to get surprised with a prize-pack full of collectibles from TMNT co-creator Kevin Eastman’s collection. Fans could also enter their number to receive a call from Splinter or Shredder, and sign up for access to the latest TMNT content. Over 20,000 fans joined the battle in 3 days. Fans everywhere were wearing their hats in the hopes of getting surprised with exclusive Turtles swag. Fans on opposing sides were spotted yelling things like, “Hail Shredder!" or “Turtle Power!" on the streets. The campaign proved to be a successful, exciting way to debut the new series to Comic-Con. After building this momentum leading into premiere month, the September 29th premiere ranked as the week’s top telecast with kids 2-11 and boys 6-11 across broadcast and cable TV, and the number-one kids program on basic cable with total viewers (drawing 3.9 million) for the week.
Check out the case study video: https://vimeo.com/59770307, password = nick "TMNT Renewed by Nickelodeon for Second Season; Premiere is Number 1 Kids Program on Basic Cable" via TVbythenumbers http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2012/10/02/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-renewed-by-nickelodeon-for-second-season-premiere-is-number-1-kids-program-on-basic-cable/151241/ "Nickelodeon Launches Turtles vs. Foot App for Comic-Con" via LostRemote http://lostremote.com/nickelodeon-launches-turtles-vs-foot-app-for-comic-con_b31800
