Chewits signals online intent with web games
Sweets brand Chewits has launched a series of digital games as it looks to move away from traditional advertising and concentrate on online marketing.
The games, designed by retained creative design agency, Tayburn, and Glasgow agency Chunk, are designed to engage with what the brand calls its "growing online fanbase of tweens and nostalgics".
Chewits said it has decided to change its advertising strategy, and make the web its priority, after enjoying success with fan-based campaigns on social networking sites in the last year.
In 2009 a campaign led by fans encouraged Chewits to revive its Ice Cream flavour and this year fans backed the brand to launch its new Cola flavour. Both web campaigns led to "a direct impact on product sales", Chewits claims.
Chewits' marketing manager, Tim Boote, said the brand had to stay relevant and remain "in tune" with its target audience.
He said: "When we originally decided to engage in conversations with our fans on social networking sites, we also knew we wanted to give people the chance to influence what happens next, and to share in the brand’s development.
"It’s proved to be the most efficient and effective marketing tool for the brand to date, and will be where we’ll be focusing the majority of the marketing spend going forward.”
The online adventure games feature the brand's dinosaur character, Chewie, getting into a spot of bother in a castle and a spaceship. To help him escape players have to complete a series of tasks testing their reasoning skills.
Michael Salmon, head of digital at Edinburgh-based Tayburn, said: "Chewie has over 15,000 fans on Facebook so there’s clearly an appetite for his antics. The games were a logical step for the audience of Chewits and they clearly illustrate Chewie’s active lifestyle and personality.”