THE FILM

The Seeker: Dark is Rising was an adaptation of a Walden Books children's fantasy series.  On his 14th birthday Will Stanton finds out that he is the last of a group of warriors – The Light – who have spent their lives fighting against evil – The Dark. Will travels through time to track down the signs that will enable him to confront the evil forces. The Dark is personified by The Rider.

THE IDEA

WildTangent looked no further than Artix Entertainment's AdventureQuest, a fantasy themed episodic on-line role playing game attracting millions of monthly players in the 9-14 age range.  Artix introduced a character named "Ballyhoo" into the game and it was made known to players that Ballyhoo would give them treasures and quests courtesy of sponsors. 

During the week before the movie premiere, Ballyhoo unveiled a new quest to players which wove The Seeker plot into the AdventureQuest world.  Players were told about The Dark and were encouraged to come back every day to collect one of 5 signs that would give them special powers in the game that day.  Ultimately, when all 5 signs were collected, players would have the power necessary to square off against The Dark in battle.

After being introduced to the mini-quest opportunity, 1.2 million players watched the Dark Is Rising trailer. Only by watching the movie trailer could players collect the 5 signs and fight the Dark. Players who collected the Six Signs were able to summon a unique weapon to defeat the movie’s major villain, the Rider. At the end of the battle, The Dark Is Rising branding was reemphasized and players were once again given a prompt to visit the movie website.

RESULTS

-Over 1.2 million players watched the Dark Is Rising trailer
-Around 85% of players who watched the trailer went on to participate in the custom quest
-Over 30 percent of players who participated in the branded quest went on to visit the movie site
-The campaign won an OMMA award for "Best Interactive Movie Application" Back To Client Showcase>