Microsoft Australia launches mobile-linked outdoor campaign for Halo 4

Titled 'Capture the poster', the campaign encourages fans to take part in a real-world scavenger hunt to win a piece of signed Halo 5 artwork within one of 400 outdoor billboards in Sydney and Melbourne. The first person to find one of the JCDecaux billboards in Sydney and Melbourne can claim it using either Tapit NFC (near-field communications) technology or a QR code.

“We find that there is a strong demand for people wanting to keep the outdoor posters from advertising campaigns when it relates to an iconic entertainment franchise or pop culture,” said Kimberly Francis, Interactive Entertainment Lead, Microsoft Australia.

The 400 pieces of artwork are exclusive to Australia, with each poster signed by the creative director of Halo 4. People have begun the search for these rare prizes on 6 November.

Xbox Australia has more than 320,000 Facebook fans, who will be granted exclusive access to a map and clues revealing the location of the posters, claimed and unclaimed, to aid their hunt.

“Most companies are trying to move their audience online so they can continue regular engagement and communication, but we’re flipping things around and encouraging people to take action in the real world,” Francis added.

Essie Wake, marketing director at JCDecaux Australia, reiterated the point. “Well executed, interactive advertising such as this transforms the experience of out-of-home for audiences,” Wake said.

This is the first time Tapit’s technology has been used to gamify an outdoor campaign, according to Andrew Davis, co-founder of Tapit. “We’ve never seen a campaign where the mechanic and advertising is also the prize," he said. 

Halo 4 is the newest game to launch in the Halo series, a franchise that has sold more than 46 million games worldwide and has surpassed $2 billion in revenue. Halo 4 has already broken all Microsoft Australia pre-order records, according to the companies.