Imagine having to sell play to kids.
It sounds ridiculous. But that's exactly the situation the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found themselves in five years ago as youth obesity was reaching epidemic proportions. So in 2001, we created Verb-- a brand and web-centered campaign dedicated to inspiring play.
Verb Yellowball is our most recent campaign effort.
The idea is simple. We're putting hundreds of thousands of yellow balls out into the world and encouraging kids to find them, play with them, then pass them on to another kid. In essence, creating an endless chain letter of play.
Each ball has a unique code number and instructions that send kids to this microsite where they can enter the code and blog what they did with the ball. This code also allows them to see who had the ball before them-- then continue to track their ball once they've passed it on.
The Yellowball microsite has become the hub of our program. It's the place where kids can tell their stories (over 9,000 blogs and counting), meet celebrities that touched the ball, enter contests, and even earn iTunes for passing the ball along. Kids waiting to receive a ball can mix their own Yellowball video, then pass it on to friends. In just a few short weeks, more than 10,000 videos have been created.
The simplicity of the Yellowball idea has allowed for a wide range of innovative and integrated marketing efforts.
We launched in November 2005 by recruiting almost 1,000 teens and tweens to distribute balls to peers, blog on "friendship" sites, and promote the program through instant messaging.
We also created intrigue around the program by placing interactive projections in malls and movie theaters. They were projected onto floors, and kids could kick, hit and pass Yellowball in a virtual game.
This past spring, we distributed 120,000 balls to 6,000 middle schools around the country. A teachers' guide delivered inspirational Yellowball games and challenged kids to invent their own. At the end of the program, schools were encouraged to pass a portion of their balls on to another school-- spreading the movement further.
Mobile efforts are also playing a key roll in this movement-- not just to distribute balls, but to show kids that the possibilities of play are endless. We've staged Yellowball street performances in key markets-- featuring acrobats, jugglers, streetballers and breakdancers.
Currently, six Verb Yellowball Experience vehicles are crossing the country all summer long, reaching kids "where they are"-- at summer camps, minor league baseball games, local festivals, et cetera. The experience features an obstacle course that can only be run with a Yellowball. Upon completing the course, kids pass their ball on to the next kid waiting.
At its core, Verb Yellowball works because it puts play into kids' hands and lets them decide what to do with it. How they play, what they blog, and whom they pass their balls to is entirely up to them. It's about creativity, empowerment, and getting active. When there's a bouncy ball in your hands, you can't not play.
-- William Rosen, chief creative officer North America, Arc Worldwide; Chris Cancilla, senior vice president and group creative director, Arc Worldwide
