Member Article

Manchester Design Studio MERó Thinks Inside the Box for the BBC's Nightfall Project

Manchester design agency MERó has produced a ‘box of nightmares’ creative mailer to help an exciting new BBC Children’s project jump out to a prolific online influencer group.

The box has been created to promote the launch of Nightfall, the BBC’s first online multiplayer game for young gamers, and has been mailed to 20 of the most relevant influencers in the gaming world.

The package, which contains a range of items to promote the USPs of the new game, has been designed to grab the attention of prominent players in the sector in a bid to garner their opinion on and, hopefully, their honest advocacy of the new first of its kind game by the BBC.

Andy Culbert of MERó, which also created the original branding and character development for the game itself, commented: “The new game by BBC Children’s was a new approach to children’s online games for the organisation, but how do you differentiate your offer among an audience that is bombarded with online experiences?

“We created something physical for influencers that would have more impact than the more typical means of communication. It was essential that we didn’t lose the brand message, TOV or identity throughout any of the product being housed in the box, which I feel we’ve achieved.

“Our overall objective with the promotion is to turn high profile gamers into advocates – but first we needed ensure they got a deep understanding of the game; stand out from the plethora of new games launching almost daily.

“Our research from the initial phase of our work with the BBC in developing the Nightfall characters themselves showed us that young people look up to older players, therefore getting buy-in from established influencers will be vital in helping to spread the word about the launch of the game.”

Andy added: “After developing the Nightfall brand, we were well placed to support the launch strategy. We worked with BBC teams to target influencers for an unsettling unboxing; extending the striking brand into the real world and giving gamers a new experience to share with their followers.

“Like the game, the influencer box - a 17-piece collection bringing to life the world’s key characters, ominous tone and arresting visuals – marks a first for the BBC.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Kirsty Hunt .