How a food manufacturer used gaming to reignite awareness of its products to students returning to school post-pandemic

Prominent food and drink manufacturer KDD, a leading provider in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries,  needed an awareness and engagement drive that reminded students of their drinks and snacks when they returned to school after a year out because of COVID-19. 

Enter digital experience studio and connected brand experience specialist Appetite Creative with a multi-level experience of 2D and augmented reality (AR) games, with AR filters activated through QR codes to encourage sharing on social media.

The challenge

One of KDD’s core activities is the distribution and marketing of milk ice cream and juice drinks, particularly for children. Faced with a core part of their audience being out of school for more than a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, KDD wanted to find an interactive  way to remind young students of their products as a nutritious snack when they returned to school grounds, engaging with them further through their milk and juice drink products.

The solution

With a brief of going beyond the physical product, Appetite Creative created a multi-stage gaming experience. The first level was a 2D racing game where players drove to school in a car monikered on their favourite KDD flavour, avoiding obstacles but collecting boosting ingredients to complete the game faster and achieve a better score on the ‘leaderboard’.

When they finished the game, users were treated to “What’s In My Lunchbox?” – an unlocked AR game that could be accessed through a smartphone camera. Items, including KDD products and fruit, were thrown from a lunchbox into a 3D space, and players cut them up as quickly as possible with a pre-selected 3D character over three levels.

If they completed both games, users were asked to share results on social media to increase their chance of winning prizes, using AR selfie filters created by Appetite Creative specifically for KDD products. 

Results

More than 96,000 scans were recorded in the first three months, with the games being played more than 191,000 times at an average session duration of two minutes, 39 seconds. 

The bounce rate hit just 1.09% and almost 10,000 users entered their data to appear on the leaderboard, meaning effective data capture for KDD. An effective call to action to encourage sharing on social media meant that the game was shared more than 2,600 times on WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook.

What KDD said

“We’re incredibly pleased with the bright, engaging, and fun connected AR experience developed by Appetite Creative. We’re confident young people and parents alike are going to enjoy sharing selfies and playing brilliant games while enjoying their KDD drinks in lunchboxes and on the go.”