Crane Blue Book: 2011 IMA Award Winner

Posted on by Chief Marketer Staff

IMA award logoCATEGORY: Best Use of Branded Web Game(s)
AGENCY: Crane
CLIENT: Crane Blue Book

As far back as the American Revolution, Crane’s paper has been used to print Congressional bills, U.S. treaties, invitations to the White House and even money. But while that might impress historians, it gets a big yawn from today’s digitally savvy consumer. Crane’s products include cards and stationery, are premium-priced and, until recently, were available only in fine paper stores.

Rosetta built the company a Facebook page, but it needed a hook to draw friends and likes. Buyers of paper stationery and cards were the target, or affluent suburban and urban adult women, ages 25 to 54, who were on Facebook but were not yet connected to the brand.

“Our objective was not only to make Crane relevant to the digital audience, but also to make the brand useful and extend its etiquette authority online,” says Gary Scheiner, chief creative officer of Rosetta. An app, it was decided, would provide the fun and enjoyment of a game.

The game was designed around Crane’s Blue Book of Stationery – The Styles and Etiquette of Letters, Notes and Invitations. For decades, the book has provided people with advice on how to write perfect messages. The game would tie the old with the new in a fun, entertaining way.

The Blue Book app, hosted at the Facebook page, attracted 60,506 monthly active users and increased Facebook likes by 147%, to 8,495.

“We started to think about what writing is today—blogging, tweeting, texting—and how there is no etiquette,” Scheiner says. “People use emoticons, abbreviations and all caps, and they constantly misspell words. This was an opportunity to take the DNA of the company and apply it to the online world.”

When launched, the app opened a pop-up screen and simultaneously pulled up a live feed of a person’s friends and what they were talking about in that moment. Then the participant (or player) could take different icons and apply them to their friends’ comments. For instance, if someone was getting too personal, the “oversharing” icon, with its headphones graphic, could be dragged and dropped onto the comment. A note would appear saying, “Writing more than the world needs to know.” Another labeled someone affectionately as a “sweet pea,” while a third, called a CAPS bomb, gently teased people who always write in all-caps.

“Each icon is a picture of the Blue Book of Etiquette, which allows you to make a game out of literally throwing the book at someone,” Scheiner says.

The person receiving the icon would also get a longer explanation of what they wrote that was not proper etiquette for the digital world. For example, for over-sharers, “Remember that Facebook is a public place and you don’t have to tell every little detail” would appear.

“It’s all done in a very charming and very ‘Crane’ way,” Scheiner says.

The app also provided users with a Blue Book tip of the day and kept track of all the books users threw at their friends.

Views increased 409% (by 37,127) and feedback increased more than 300% during the campaign period (October to December 2010) compared to the prior two months.

“It worked because it made sense,” Scheiner says. “People use caps, overshare and do silly things, so Crane addressed it—slapping people on the wrist, if you will—in a very tongue-in-cheek, non-offensive, charming way. I think that is what people were attracted to. And for people who didn’t know the brand, it gave them a great introduction.”

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