Mirage Studios (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)
CRT/tanaka worked with Mirage Studios, creators and owners of the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles brand, to develop and maintain the official Web site of the TMNT 25th Anniversary “Shell-ebration.” Working closely with Peppercom Strategic Communications, the agency in charge of public relations activities for the 25th Anniversary Shell-ebration, CRT/tanaka developed a Web site designed to drive sales, media and publicity, as well as connect with fans from events across the country. The site included features such as flash animation, an interactive road tour map and historical timeline, a blog, personality quiz, avatar builder, multimedia news room and a branded video player where users could watch hours of TMNT-related video content. Within its first six months, the site received more than 76,000 visitors from 154 different countries, and registered more than 8,200 visitors in its promotional database.
CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF EVOLVING “TURTLE POWER”
Challenge
In 2009, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle property turned 25, marking a quarter century of evolving “Turtle Power.” Although brand owners Mirage Studios and 4Kids Entertainment had planned numerous events throughout the year to celebrate the milestone, they wanted an interactive element that would engage fans immediately and remain the backbone of the campaign. Mirage and 4Kids turned to CRT/tanaka to develop an official TMNT 25th Anniversary Web site that would attract both new and old fans to join in the “Shell-ebration” and be a crucial tool for driving sales, media and publicity, as well as connecting with fans from events around the country.
Solution
CRT/tanaka developed a highly interactive Web site that combined original TMNT artwork with features that would engage users, drive them to spread word-of-mouth about the “Shell-ebration” and return to the site. Highlights included:
- An interactive tour map, where fans could follow the Cowabunga Van tour as it traveled across the U.S. Mobile tour team members could upload photos and videos from tour stops along the way, and Michelangelo himself blogged from the road.
- “Turtle TV” – a section where users could watch hours of TMNT-related video content like episodes of the original animated series, old TV commercials and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the studios of Mirage and 4Kids.
- “Get Turtle-ized,” where fans could take a personality quiz to determine which TMNT character they most resemble, then choose from 2,700 combinations of exclusive artwork to create their personal TMNT avatar, which they could save to the site or download.
- A Flash-animated interactive timeline tracing 25 years of Turtle history.
- A multimedia newsroom featuring video clips, media materials and more.
- “Michelangelo’s Blog,” featuring posts from Mikey and his fellow Turtles as well as guests such as Mirage and 4Kids artists, executives and TMNT fans.
Users could also download exclusive TMNT wallpapers and podcasts, sign up for contests and purchase gear from retail partners.
Results
- The TMNT25 Web site successfully launched on January 1, 2009 and in the first week, received more than 55,000 page views.
- Within its first six months, the site had more than 80,000 unique visitors from 154 different countries around the world. There were nearly 43,000 video views and more than 4,400 people took the personality quiz.
- Establishing login requirements for many of the features enabled Mirage and 4Kids to begin building a database of contacts for future promotional purposes. Within six months, more than 8,300 people had registered.
- Throughout 2009, the Web site served as a hub for fans to find information related to Shell-ebration events such as the Cowabunga Van Tour, New York and San Diego Comic-Cons, charity events and demonstrations, and Galabungas in cities across the nation. The site also promoted purchases of retail partner merchandise and merchandise produced by Mirage Studios.
