The North Face company wanted to promote its brand and increase foot traffic in its Manchester UK store. They knew a tried and true way of getting attention was to give potential shoppers something fun to do, so The North Face created an interactive snowboarding game.

The game, called “The North Face race,” appeared outside a busy train station on a nine-story high digital billboard. A message on the screen encouraged passersby to dial a local-rate number from their mobile phones. Once connected, a recording asked that they use their keypads to select one of three characters. The race then started and characters sped down a digital slope.

After the race, players received a congratulatory SMS-text message containing a gift voucher code that was redeemable at The North Face store. Even though the store was a fifteen-minute walk from the screen, a healthy 88% of those that played redeemed the voucher.

The game ran in October for two consecutive Saturdays. Each day it appeared on the billboard for four hours. During the first Saturday, people engaged with the screen for 10% of the total run time. During the second Saturday, the rate increased to 26%. This increase was accomplished without any marketing beyond word of mouth.

Some brands try so hard to broadcast at potential customers that they forget to think about what people want. In this case, The North Face successfully engaged people and influenced their behavior by focusing on the basics. What do people like? Fun, games, and prizes. Sometimes, it’s just that simple.

(Thanks, Rob Edwards of Canditv)