BENNETTS REVS UP BIKER FANS WITH FIRST VIRAL GAME
23 May 2004 - Bennetts

Bennetts, one of the UK’s major players specialising in motorcycle insurance, has revved up bikers with a risqué game to raise brand awareness.

Neil Hodgson’s Super Jump, designed by marketing communications agency Dig For Fire, has been played [over 20 million] times by [400,000] people since it launched on 22 March on Motorcycle News and Bennetts’ website (www.bennetts.co.uk).

Players of the game, which runs with the tagline “You can’t beat a good jump”, are encouraged to clear a line of buses and random people - including The Beatles on Abbey Road! - by the ‘Bennetts Babes’, who pass saucy caustic comment and remove clothing as longer distances are jumped.

The game is supported by real time reporting and at its height was attracting 100 players a minute. So far, over [28,000] players have emailed the game to their friends and colleagues and over [22,000] have entered the £250 prize draw.

Nigel Wood, creative director at Dig For Fire, said: “Many of Bennetts’ customers and prospects use the internet – the key was to find a simple but cheeky way to exploit this interactivity.

“Within a relatively short space of time the game has proved to be extremely cost effective in reaching hundreds of thousands of customers and prospects.

“Due to its singular content and because we’ve tapped into peoples’ natural competitiveness, the game is attracting over 100,000 new players every week. Many are opting in to marketing and disclosing their renewal dates, which will be used in follow up campaigns this year.”

In February 2002, the agency was appointed by the Budget Group, which owns Bennetts, to manage the overhaul of its Budget brand and develop a series of integrated response-driven campaigns. Dig For Fire has also created DRTV ads for Budget and the company’s Dial Direct brand.

Matthew Gledhill, [Bennetts’ Managing Director], said: “The Super Jump game has proved that highly targeted viral marketing to our core audience is a powerful brand-building and list-building tool for us.

“This year we’ll be looking into how further viral campaigns can help us to grow market share in what is a very competitive bike insurance market.”

Dig For Fire, which is one of the UK’s largest independent marketing agencies outside London, has designed viral games for a number of well-known brands including [HSBC] and [First Direct].

The agency, which has 75 employees and billings in excess of £33 million, also handles direct marketing, advertising and digital media campaigns for Tesco, Little Chef, Budget Group and Express by Holiday Inn.

www.bennetts.co.uk

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