AgencyNet skillfully integrates traditional and new media, featuring a cacophony of illustration, sounds, green-screen video, 3D characters and stop-motion animation to create a quirky and irreverent interactive world, chock full of choice.
Teens are perhaps the savviest users on the Web. They have short attention spans, jumping feverishly from one site to the next while tuning-out information they consider irrelevant. Sadly, this tends to be true for information that is meant to help them absorb some of life?s most important lessons. In this challenging landscape, tobacco education campaigns run the risk of falling on deaf ears.
Simple things such as what to wear or what song to download are part of the myriad of choices teens face every day, competing with potentially life-changing decisions. Smoking is a particularly daunting one, further complicated by peer-pressure and the need for social acceptance.
Welcome to C-Ville, population 3,329 (and counting)
A collaboration between interactive powerhouse AgencyNet and Cactus, the innovative Colorado-based branding agency, ownyourC.com is an immersive, engaging and viral destination. Based on the premise that every choice in life defines a person and has its own set of consequences, the site capitalizes on the individual customization only the Web can provide. Visitors are presented with choices immediately upon arrival by a quirky, talking ?sun? (green-screen video) with a contagious accent that interacts with users as they navigate through their unique site experience.
Visitors can customize C-Ville at any point during the site experience by selecting weather (rain, snow or sun) and ambiance (romance vs. monsters) options. Hidden ?Easter Eggs? throughout the site capture users? attention, keeping them searching for more and ultimately increasing site stickiness.
The Park, one of C-Ville?s three main areas, features the dynamic Cootie Catcher ? an interactive version of the paper origami ?fortune tellers? we (adults) remember from our youth. Used as a mechanism to enhance the power of decision making in life, the Cootie Catcher takes the user through a series of choices and their consequences, starting with teens? interests and leading to the ultimate result?a potential career path.
Downtown C-Ville is where a lot of the action takes place. Users can find out about upcoming events, enter contests (coming soon), and also watch the witty and innovative ?ownyourC? television commercials created by Cactus. ?Teens are watching TV more selectively, so ownyourC.com might very well be the first place where they experience the campaign?s TV spots,? says Richard Lent, AgencyNet founder and CEO. ?The media paradigm is shifting,? adds Lent.
Well-aware of current trends and teens? insatiable appetite for pervasive, cross-platform content and instant gratification, the site is complete with downloadable iron-ons (coming soon), AIM and MySpace buddy icons, wallpapers, ring-tones and other portable goodies that ultimately extend the brand experience. Most are free, while others are unlocked via C-Ville ?currency,? available to C-Ville ?citizens? (registered users).
Unlike other ?educational? websites, ownyourC.com doesn?t bombard the user with dry facts upfront. Rather, visitors to C-Ville?s very own Drive-in Theater can interact with valuable information such as tobacco and marketing trends, as well as the reality of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and nicotine addiction.
The Forum section of the site capitalizes on the community-centric nature of the Web and encourages users to post comments and assist one another with life?s tough choices. The forums cover topics that are relevant to today?s youth such as relationships, school, pressure & stress, music, fashion and sports. ownyourC.com also capitalizes on the global nature of the Web by showcasing work from artists from around the world, depicting what "owning your C" means to them.
A partnership made in C-Ville heaven
Colorado Tobacco Education & Prevention Partnership challenged Cactus with the task of communicating its smoke-free message to teens, and the agency?regarded for its keen strategic insight?immediately identified the Web as a key ?battleground.? Cactus approached AgencyNet after witnessing the South Florida-based shop?s groundbreaking work for brands such as The Golf Channel, Motorola, Ford, MLB, NASCAR, and the Howard Stern Show. ?AgencyNet has developed a wide ranging portfolio of interactive experiences that is unlike anything else out there,? comments Norm Shearer, partner and creative director of Cactus. ?They proved to be the ideal partner in our search to bring the concept of choice to life in the interactive medium,? adds Shearer.
The site was a true collaboration between AgencyNet and the Cactus team that resulted in a revolutionary combination of traditional and new media. Betsy DiCarlo, AgencyNet Senior Project manager on the account, explains: ?The project started with sketch development, and then proceeded into the physical ?set? design for C-Ville utilizing raw materials and found objects such as papier m?ch?, wire, popsicle sticks, tree branches, screws, chicken wire, newspaper, yarn, wood, rocks, foam, and cloth. We coupled these very real elements, with cutting edge technologies such as green-screen video, stop-motion animation, streaming video, custom audio, Adobe Flash and After Effects animation, and user customization,? concludes DiCarlo.
Other components of ownyourC.com include a robust Content Management System (CMS) tool, a search engine-optimized XHTML-only site, a dynamic event calendar, a Customer Relationship Management system, and exploratory navigation with accompanying unique ?Floating C? navigation.
About AgencyNet
AgencyNet is an award-winning a full-service strategic interactive solutions firm with a 12-year track record of creating immersive brand experiences for some of the world?s most recognizable brands. AgencyNet delivers interactive experiences including website development, viral marketing campaigns, adver-games, micro-sites, bannerSites? and business-to-business tools. Its clients of record include Bacardi, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, Ford Motorola, BBC America, The Golf Channel, Oxygen, Bombay Sapphire, iN DEMAND PPV, and many others. Additionally, AgencyNet has been awarded over 75 high-profile Internet awards such as an Interactive Emmy, FWA (Favorite Web Site Awards) Top 20 agency sites in history, Web Marketing Association?s Best Interactive Service Web Site, and Ultrashock?s Bombshock Award. For more information, please visit http://www.agencynet.com
About Cactus
Founded in 1990, Cactus is a full-service branding agency that builds brands through advertising, design, interactive, public relations and media services. To learn more, please visit http://www.sharpideas.com.
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