Kellogg, Marvel Provide Virtual Reality

Battle Creek, Mich. — While Kellogg Co. has previously used virtual reality technology to research in-store shopping experiences, the brand launched its first consumer promotion using virtual reality in partnership with Walt Disney Co.’s Marvel Studios. As Marvel was gearing up to release “Captain America: Civil War” in the spring, Kellogg made it possible for consumers to fight as Iron Man or Captain America in an immersive VR mobile game application.Surrounding the launch of the free “Kellogg’s Marvel’s Civil War VR” app at iTunes and Google Play, Kellogg executed an integrated in-store and digital program. “We leveraged multiple avenues for communication including packaging, point-of-sale and digital media,” says Kristin Wesolowski, director of integrated promotions at Kellogg.She points out two key partnerships: Starcom Mediavest Group, New York, negotiated with the gaming news website IGN to place contextually relevant digital media, and the Kellogg’s customer and shopper marketing teams developed exclusive content for Walmart in the form of shopper-targeted media and in-store communication pieces.Consumers could download the app for free but then had to buy any three participating Kellogg’s products (e.g., Pop-Tarts, Cheez-It, Keebler, Frosted Flakes and Pringles) in stores, upload or text a receipt, and then select either a Captain America- or Iron Man-themed cardboard virtual reality viewer.Walmart shoppers had the exclusive opportunity to get a Black Panther viewer. Some stores also carried the cardboard viewers that were handed out free with the qualifying purchase. (The app did work with other virtual reality viewers, if consumers had a Samsung Gear VR, for example. Consumers could play the game without a viewer, too.)Wesolowski says the idea for the VR game and character-themed viewers came from their lead shopper marketing agency, The Integer Group, Lakewood, Colorado. “[Integer] recognized the opportunity and presented compelling data on VR’s growth and anticipated mainstream acceptance in 2016,” she adds. Bully! Entertainment, Baltimore, developed the game.Kyle Ingram, group account director at Integer, says the fun of choosing a themed viewer is that it’s unique to the movie. “There are two equally righteous sides with different beliefs that divide the team,” he says. “So we wanted to give consumers a means to not only declare their allegiance but to actually get in on the action. ... Not only do you feel like your favorite heroes when you’re playing the game, but you look like them, too.”The game itself had players choose between Iron Man and Captain America and then fight Crossbones and his henchmen in the 3-D, immersive VR setting. Players could also use the app to scan product packages to unlock a new level.“The insight is that movies aren’t just 90 minutes of excitement that ends once you leave the theater,” Wesolowski says. “They are doorways into new worlds and introductions to characters that people want to engage with. For shoppers, a movie promotion tied to an epic property like Captain America is an opportunity to delight their families and extend that experience. As Millennials who grew up with technology are starting to raise their kids, VR is a fantastic digital immersion that allows brands to bring those experiences to life.”

Kellogg, Marvel Provide Virtual Reality

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