Saatchi London & Mattessons Get Their Game On

The next issue of shots magazine, issue 153, is a gaming special where we take a look at the growing collaboration between brands and games and this new campaign for Mattessons Fridge Raiders, from Saatchi & Saatchi London, is a case in point. 

Enlisting the help of established YouTuber and gaming expert Ali-A, Saatchi's has created a campaign which introduces Frhank, a gaming robot which, with the help of Ali-A's subscribers will develp as a gaming character over the coming months and help define the direction of the campaign.

Initial videos were placed on Ali-A's YouTube channel, as above, with further videos set to be made as the campaign progresses. Rob Potts [below left] and Andy Jex [below right], executive creative directors at Saatchi & Saatchi London, explain a bit more about Frhank, how he came to be and why gaming is the new advertising frontier.

Can you explain a bit about the brief for this project?

Our research showed one third of all teenagers play games when they get home from school – and that they snack while they play. This gave Mattessons Fridge Raiders the opportunity to take crisps on as the snack of choice by creating something that engaged this community on their own terms.

How did the idea for Frhank come about?

Last year, we launched the MMM3000 campaign – a co-created helmet that teenagers could wear while gaming to help them snack hands-free. It was such a success with the target market that it was a natural progression to launch another co-created project, this time a robot whose intelligence and look could be designed by the gaming community.

How long will the campaign run for and what can people expect from the campaign as it progresses?

The campaign will run until April, and you can expect to see the robot change over that time, developing a personality and gaming skills with the help of the community, who can program his intelligence via the microsite www.frhank.com. The idea is that he'll grow into the ultimate gaming buddy, he'll learn all the community's tricks, slang and gaming knowledge. Ali-A will film his progress and post the videos to his site.

You had already worked with Mattessons on a game-based campaign before this one; did the success of that mean that another game-based campaign was an obvious choice?

Yes – MMM3000 established Fridge Raiders with this audience, so we were always going to build on that with the next phase. The results for MMM3000 were also really compelling – ROI of £4.71 for every £1 spent and sales of the product rose 20 per cent, so we knew we were on to a good thing.

Why did you choose Ali-A to front this campaign and what did he/does he bring to it?

Ali-A has an audience of 4.7 million gamers, all of whom are exactly within our target audience. By engaging him to become part of the development of this campaign, we've also engaged his fan base. Ali is upbeat, lively and his fans love him, he's also a gaming master and a natural on camera.

What was the hardest part of putting this campaign together?

The hardest thing about this campaign is also the most fun: you have to get over the fear of the unknown and get used to the fact that you're not in control. Ad agencies don't make robots so this is all new. Also, getting Frhank to walk upstairs was pretty hard.

With gaming such a popular entertainment platform do you think more brands will look to tie up with video games in some way?

Brands already do quite a lot of gaming tie-ups, but often it's just through a straightforward sponsorship. This is different because you get so much more back if you can involve the gamers in something. Also we've found that if you get it right, this audience is very accepting of this kind of thing - there's very little trolling about the fact that this is a brand campaign. 

Are there more plans for Mattessons to tie in with other gaming brands/personalities?

Yes, we'll definitely be doing more with gaming in future.