In an effort to market for the upcoming “The Peanuts Movie”, scheduled to be released in Q4 this year, a web application has been launched. This web application, called PeanutizeMe, allows users to pick from an wide range of detailed options to create a their very own personalized version of a Peanut character.
Users can choose the gender, skin color, hairstyle, eyes and mouth expressions, clothing and accessories for their avatar. At the end of the process, users can also choose to download their avatar or even share on their social media profiles.
Here are some of the steps of me creating my very own Peanut character!
Step 1: Choosing my Gender
Step 2: Choosing my Skin Color
Step 3: Choosing my Hairstyle
Step 4: Choosing my Eyes
Step 5: Choosing my Eyes Accessory
Step 6: Choosing my Mouth Expression
Step 7: Choosing my Shirt
Step 8: Choosing my Pants
Step 9: Choosing my Shoes
Step 10: Choosing my Accessory
Step 11: Choosing my Background Scene
Step 12: Share with your Friends #PeanutizeMe
My Verdict on PeanutizeMe
Using web applications like PeanutizeMe is a fun and interesting way to market for a brand or product, in this case, for a movie. Firstly, the web app allows you to customize your own character, giving you the power to play around with different options just like how you create your own MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) character. The fact is that many people can spend up to a day or two just to create their ideal customized character. Therefore, this web app has the power to engage their target audience.
Moving forward, the function of social media sharing allows users to share their completed avatar with their friends to further enhance the viral effect of the campaign. This is called the Friend of Friends Marketing where you create an interesting content and allow the content to spread across people’s social network. The Dunbar number suggests that there is a cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships with. However, with the extensive social network we have built online, contents can now be shared with many people across different networks and countries.
Brands should actually try this kind of web app to engage and build their brand awareness, as this is a Permission Marketing technique, rather than a Interruption Marketing technique. It gives people the “good feeling” while unknowingly marketing for your campaign.
To end off, I really like my Peanut character very much! #PeanutizeMe