Fandango Gets in on The Game…
Fandango, the nation's largest movie ticketing service, sells tickets to approximately
15,000 screens and 1,300 theaters. One of the Web's top movie destinations (according
to Nielsen//NetRatings), Fandango entertains and informs moviegoers with reviews,
commentaries and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan
where and when to see it, and buy tickets up to 45 days in advance.
Fandango was looking to create a micro site at www.FandangoFun.com that would contain games and activities
that were relevant to the company’s offerings and the movie/entertainment industry.
They wanted this site to include games and also be interactive through community
elements such as challenge a friend, trophies and contests. The ultimate goal was
to keep people interacting on the site for longer periods of time, provide viral
tools so that visitors would recommend the site to friends and provide reasons for
users to visit the Fandango.com over and over again.
Arkadium and Fandango Work Together to Make Fandango Fun… A
Lot of Fun!
Fandango turned to casual game developer Arkadium to help with the development of
games and interactive elements for the site. The two teams worked together to launch
Fandangofun.com, which included addictive casual games, an interactive Bag Puppet
application, weekly giveaways of free movie tickets and a spot for production houses
to upload film-specific games.
One of Arkadium’s first recommendations was that some of the traditional casual
games planned for the site should be re-skinned to match the Fandango brand. Additional
games such as Concession Obsession, Ultimate Speed Trivia and Popcorn Blaster were
added to the mix and branded Fandango. This helped to reinforce the Fandango brand
as site visitors addictively play the on-site games.
Arkadium recommended a different approach for The Ultimate Speed Trivia game. Of
course the game included difficult movie trivia questions, but with the addition
of user-generated features the game became the first of its kind to integrate game
play with user contribution. Users can create their own questions and include pictures,
which helps to personalize the experience. A viral element is also a key factor
in this game as it allows players to email their creations to friends, hence driving
increased traffic.
The “Bag Puppet Creator” lets site visitors to create their own Fandango Bag Puppet
with customized hair, eyes, nose, mouth, clothing and accessories. This game encourages
creativity and hands on interaction with the Fandango brand “mascot”. Viral elements
are also part of the “Bag Puppet Creator”. After creating a bag puppet, users email
their creation to friends and upload to a gallery where other site visitors vote
on the best of the best.
In addition to Fandango branded games, the site also includes a section for games
created for upcoming and previously released films. This helps to keep content on
the site fresh and drives repeat visits and increased interaction times.
Short Time Frame and Great Success…
Arkadium was challenged with delivering the site for Fandango in short order. To
ensure that www.fandangofun.com
was up and running for the summer movie season, production time, from conceptualization
to development and launch, Arkadium delivered the site in less than 3 months.
The site has exceeded Fandango’s expectations. The games and other interactive and
viral applications are helping to drive increased interaction times on the site.
The Bag Puppet Creator has been a big success with thousands of puppets created
and added to user profiles in just a few short months.
Arkadium’s recommendation on community elements and Fandango’s creativity and brand
have all contributed to the site's ongoing success.
