CHALLENGE

General Motors USA and Modem Media challenged Fuel Industries to immerse MyGMLink.com visitors in a fun and entertaining online experience supporting GM brands. MyGMLink.com is an owner and dealer exclusive site offering added value to loyal GM drivers. R.E.V. Design and Racing was built for drivers.

STRATEGY

Our approach was to determine the best idea to attract more dealers to MyGMLink.com while increasing site stickiness increasing regular exposure to GM brand advertising. R.E.V. Design & Racing online game gives consumers a chance to tap into the sacred place where dream cars are conceived and legends are born – the drawing board. Players design their own custom vehicles and then challenge others to online racing and design competitions. The game would not only provide a fun racing experience, but would include an application with more than a million possible variations and a competitive atmosphere where users could interact with one another.

CREATIVE & EXECUTION

Vehicles and race track environments were rendered more realistically than many similar games of the genre. Detailed race tracks provided users with a more enriched experience with the game and likely contributed to the extraordinary stickiness of the site. Cars come in a seemingly infinite number of colors, and can be tricked out to the smallest detail, affecting their performance through a realistic physics engine. Cars could be uploaded and shared with other users, adding to the dynamism of what, at first glance, could appear to be a simple racing game with above-average graphics.

By creating an end-to-end experience around the development and driving of a vehicle, consumers were not only immersed in the concept of quality automobile manufacturing, they were exposed to the idea of creating their ultimate car within a GM environment. The process became so involving that for many, the development of their ultimate racing vehicle became the focus of the game, rather than the racing itself.

PERFORMANCE

The game has been highly successful in attracting more new users and increasing the stickiness of MyGMLink.com, with 89.5% of players coming from GM’s primary target. The average time users spent interacting with the game, and therefore the GM brand, was over 30 minutes. Industry also recognized the game with Best Game at the 2004 Flash in the Can Awards, and as a Finalist for Advergame of the Year at the 2004 Billboard Magazine Digital Entertainment Awards.