The Lost Island of Alanna

Last updated
The Lost Island of Alanna
The Lost Island of Alanna.jpg
Developer(s) Raintree Media Inc.
Publisher(s) The Coca-Cola Company
Director(s) Dale Leary
Designer(s) Dale Leary
Programmer(s) Michael Hall
Ronald Lores
Artist(s) Dale Leary
Michael Hall
Ronald Lores
Platform(s) Mac OS, Microsoft Windows
ReleaseMarch 1, 1998
Genre(s) Branded entertainment, Graphic adventure, puzzle
Mode(s) Single-player

The Lost Island of Alanna is a branded, graphic adventure video game and marketing initiative conceived and directed by Dale Leary and developed with partner Michael Hall of Raintree Media for Coca-Cola Cherry. [1] The game was produced for the brand in the Fall of 1997 and released in the Spring of 1998.

Contents

The Lost Island of Alanna represents an early example of integrated, digital, viral and social marketing using the internet. Alanna included a distributed CD-ROM game, integrated social chat rooms, under-the-cap codes, special product packaging, advertising, outdoor,[ clarification needed ] and two promotional websites. [2] It was all created, produced and managed nationally by Raintree Media throughout the full promotional duration. [3]

Strategy

The strategy was to create an underground campaign designed to increase the appeal of Cherry Coke to teens and young adults who are part of what was then "the emerging wired generation." [4] Alanna was a marketing success, shifting to a youth brand in the minds of young consumers. [5]

Implementation

The campaign by Raintree Media created consumer engagement through underground social dialogue while integrating product placement within the myth of a CD-ROM computer game.

In the game, you explore an island where an ancient civilization was concerned about passing on its wisdom but was wiped out by a volcano before it was able to share its precious knowledge. This civilization used clay bowls and a mixture of sparkling water and cherries in a tribal ceremony. The game cross-references this with bottles of Cherry Coke, on the labels of which you'll find clues in the form of cuneiform characters, and then the player is encouraged to begin solving the mystery. [6]

Clues to solve puzzles in the computer game were also distributed through other marketing channels, including the Cherry Coke website and another fictitious website called the Standlake University of Cultural Anthropology, which posted journal entries as clues.

Viral activities included hidden symbols under bottle caps, the aforementioned cuneiform bottle packaging designed by Raintree Media, and hidden within mainstream Cherry Coke magazine ads.

Socially, clues were leaked ‘underground’ in chat rooms by teams of teens managed by Raintree Media. [7]

Apart from the Cherry Coke brand being minimized within the game The Lost Island of Alanna gameplay was unusual within the promotional brand-game genre. Not only was it far more complex but consumers were provided with very little information about the game, and no obvious goals or objectives were communicated. This meant that players merely began to explore the island and interact with the brand socially through various communication points in real life. It was all intended to create dialogue between the brand and the emerging Millennial generation.

Gameplay

The CD-ROM gameplay of The Lost Island of Alanna consisted of a first-person journey through a very small interactive island centered around puzzle solving. The player moves by clicking on locations shown on the screen; the scene then crossfades into another frame where the player could continue exploring or solving puzzles.

The game had a single ending, at which point the mystery was solved. At the end, another game component was revealed in the form of a fortune cookie engagement; a secondary under-the-cap mechanism providing an extension of the promotion beyond the standard promotional period.

Plot

A shipwreck was discovered off the coast of Syria that points to an ancient civilization called Alanna. Archaeologists at the fictional Standlake University followed the clues and located a volcanic island in the eastern Mediterranean sea just west of Cyprus. Like the historic island of Thera, much of Alanna was destroyed and its ancient culture obliterated by the eruption around the end of the late Bronze Age, according to the in-game Standlake University notes.

The Standlake University website also posted journal entries of a ledger recording that eight tablets made of clay, gemstones, and precious metals—and a letter written by the king of Alanna—were all found within the shipwreck. On these tablets are the answers to the culture of the Alannians. The player's quest was to unlock the riddles of the eight stone tablets, find the hidden chamber, and discover the secrets of Alanna.

Enigmatic Plot

The Lost Island of Alanna's secret plot was revealed in the endgame. The creative concept was that the Alannian civilization believed that one's future could be read using 'magic' tribal bowls. One such clay bowl, inscribed with cuneiform was found on the shipwreck holding clues needed later. Legend had it that cherries would be smeared into the bottom of this tribal bowl, and natural sparkling water and maple serum would be poured into the bowl. Tribal wise men would stir and drink the contents, and then they read the stains; the darker stains remaining in cuneiform were believed to be the answers to questions.

This ancient Cherry Coke reference created the secret endgame mechanic.

The endgame mechanic was a different spin on the soda giant's collect-the-bottle-and-win promotions. [8] In all, 32 different bottle labels were pushed into distribution along with 16 under the cap codes. As the cap and bottle pairings were random, so would be the combinations. The fortune cookie mechanism was simple: buy a bottle with the question you wanted answered and your bottle cap would 'tell the future'.

This created a deeper social extension and viral pass-along beyond the buy-for-clues mechanism. [9]

Reception

Upon release, the game The Lost Island of Alanna was well received, [10] [11] [12] [13] with its first 750,000 copies being consumed through request in two months. Consumers could call in or request copies from the Cherry Coke website. [14] Unique, double-disc sets, one for you and one for a friend, were tipped into GamePro magazine, July Issue 1998.

The Lost Island of Alanna was successful for Cherry Coke [15] and was widely accepted as a 'great free game'. [16] [ additional citation(s) needed ]

Legacy

The Lost Island of Alanna's success sparked opportunities for several successive interactive campaigns by Raintree Media for the Coca-Cola Company. [17] The NHL Challenge for Powerade along with Time Tremors for Cherry Coke released the following year with music by award-winning artist Jesper Kyd.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola</span> Cola soft drink

Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings each day. Coca-Cola ranked No. 94 in the 2024 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. Based on Interbrand's "best global brand" study of 2023, Coca-Cola was the world's sixth most valuable brand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepsi</span> Soft drink by PepsiCo

Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink with a cola flavor, manufactured by PepsiCo. As of 2023, Pepsi is the second most valuable soft drink brand worldwide behind Coca-Cola; the two share a long-standing rivalry in what has been called the "cola wars".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diet Coke</span> Diet cola brand

Diet Coke is a sugar-free and low-calorie soft drink produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company. It contains artificial sweeteners instead of sugar. Unveiled on July 8, 1982, and introduced in the United States one month later, it was the first new brand since Coca-Cola's creation in 1886 to use the Coca-Cola trademark. The product quickly overtook the company's existing diet cola, Tab, in sales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola Vanilla</span> Vanilla-flavored cola

Coca-Cola Vanilla is a vanilla-flavored version of Coca-Cola, introduced in 2002 but subsequently discontinued in North America and the United Kingdom in 2005, though it remained available at certain fountain outlets. It was relaunched in the US in 2007, in Denmark in 2012, the UK in 2013 and Canada in 2016. Vanilla Coke has been available in Australia since its initial introduction in 2002, being produced by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners. Originally announced as a limited edition in the UK, it became permanent for several years; however, Vanilla Coke was again discontinued in the UK in Summer 2018, though Diet Vanilla Coke and Coke Vanilla Zero remain available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Coke</span> 1985 reformulation of Coca-Cola

New Coke was the unofficial name of a reformulation of the soft drink Coca-Cola, introduced by the Coca-Cola Company in April 1985. It was renamed Coke II in 1990, and discontinued in July 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cocacolonization</span> American culture globalization through American products

Cocacolonization refers to the globalization of American culture pushed through popular American products such as the soft-drink brand Coca-Cola. The term is a portmanteau of the name of the multinational soft-drink maker and "colonization".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cola wars</span> Soft drink marketing rivalry

The Cola wars are the long-time rivalry between soft drink producers The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo, who have engaged in mutually-targeted marketing campaigns for the direct competition between each company's product lines, especially their flagship colas, Coca-Cola and Pepsi. Beginning in the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the competition escalated until it became known as the cola wars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tab (drink)</span> Diet cola brand

Tab was a diet cola soft drink produced and distributed by The Coca-Cola Company, introduced in 1963 and discontinued in 2020. The company's first diet drink, Tab was popular among some people throughout the 1960s and 1970s as an alternative to Coca-Cola. Several variations were made, including a number of fruit-flavored, root beer, and ginger ale versions. Caffeine-free and clear variations were released in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Cola</span> Discontinued carbonated cola soft drink

Virgin Cola was a carbonated cola soft drink, launched in 1994. In 2009, it was discontinued in the United Kingdom, and in 2014 it was stopped being made by its final licensee, in Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresca</span> Branded diet citrus soft drink

Fresca is a grapefruit-flavored citrus soft drink created by The Coca-Cola Company. Borrowing the word Fresca from Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, it was introduced in the United States in 1966. Originally a bottled sugar-free diet soda, sugar sweetened versions were introduced in some markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Coca-Cola Company</span> American multinational beverage corporation

The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is a component of the DJIA and the S&P 500 and S&P 100 indexes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afri Cola</span> Cola soft drink

Afri Cola is a cola soft drink produced in Germany. The trademark Afri-Cola was registered in 1931 by the company F. Blumhoffer Nachfolger GmbH. The same company also produced Bluna, an orange soft drink. Today the brand belongs to the Mineralbrunnen Überkingen-Teinach AG. Afri Cola was once one of the most popular cola brands in Germany, but has lost considerable market share since the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pepsi Stuff</span> Global loyalty program launched by PepsiCo

Pepsi Stuff was a major loyalty program launched by PepsiCo, first in North America on March 28, 1996 and then around the world, featuring premiums — such as T-shirts, hats, denim and leather jackets, bags, and mountain bikes — that could be purchased with Pepsi Points through the Pepsi Stuff Catalog or online. Customers could acquire points from specially marked Pepsi packages and fountain cups. Additional points were sold both by Pepsi and by consumers, the latter mainly enabled by eBay. The first Pepsi Stuff promotion ended on October 31, 1996. It was relaunched 12 years later on February 1, 2008, ended on December 31, 2008, and was relaunched as Pepsi Pass in August 2015. Pepsi Stuff was relaunched on January 22, 2018 with retro editions of Pepsi, and ended on February 28, 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola Zero Sugar</span> Diet cola

Coca-Cola Zero Sugar, commonly known as Coke Zero, is a diet cola produced by the Coca-Cola Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola Cherry</span> Cherry-flavored cola soft drink

Coca-Cola Cherry is a cherry-flavored version of Coca-Cola. It is produced and distributed by the Coca-Cola Company and its bottlers in the United States and some international markets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jazz (soft drink)</span> Discontinued sugar-free soda

Diet Pepsi Jazz was an American brand of soda introduced by the Pepsi company in 2006 and discontinued in 2009. It was a specifically named variant of Pepsi's popular Diet Pepsi product, combining several different flavors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coca-Cola sign</span> Sculpture in Times Square, New York City

The Coca-Cola sign is an electro-kinetic sculpture on the Two Times Square building in Times Square, Manhattan, New York City. The current sign, installed in 2017, is 68 feet (21 m) tall and 42 feet (13 m) wide, and is the latest in a line of Coca-Cola Times Square signs dating back to 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Honest Tea</span> Discontinued bottled organic tea company

Honest Tea (U.S.) was a bottled organic tea company based in Bethesda, Maryland. It was founded in 1998 by Seth Goldman and Barry Nalebuff, and ultimately sold to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. The tea brand was discontinued on December 31, 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glaceau Smartwater</span> Bottled water company

Glaceau Smartwater is a brand of bottled water owned by Energy Brands, a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company. Introduced in 1996 as Ice Mountain Spring Water and Glaceau Mineral Water in the United States, it became known as Smart Water in 1998. By 2016, it was one of the top five most sold brands of bottled water in that country with sales worth nearly $830 million in 2017.

References

  1. ↑ Dorschner, John (April 26, 2000). "Coral Gables Advertising Agency Chosen as Finalist for Miami Award". Tribune Business News. Knight Ridder. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Mysteries of a lost civilization". Ray Gun Magazine. Fifty8 (August 1998): 83.
  3. ↑ Yans, Cindy. "Mainstream Marketing". Computer Games Strategy Plus. 93 (August 1998): 36.
  4. ↑ Katz, Frances (June 5, 1998). "Coca-Cola's use of the web for marketing is one of the smartest around". Tribune Business News. Knight Ridder.
  5. ↑ Katz, Frances (April 6, 1999). "Coca-Cola Hopes Web Game Draws Teens to Cherry Coke". The Atlanta Journal. The Atlanta Constitution. Archived from the original on April 10, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ Musgrove, Mike (July 10, 1998). "Screen Shots: The Lost Island of Alanna". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on March 13, 2016. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
  7. ↑ Zimmerman, Lee. "Cyber Sell". Miami Business Magazine (July August 1999): 48.
  8. ↑ Chmielewski, Dawn C. (May 10, 1998). "Marketing, Multimedia Join Forces". The Orange County Register.
  9. ↑ Katz, Frances (June 5, 1998). "Coca-Cola's use of the web for marketing is one of the smartest around". Tribune Business News. Knight Ridder.
  10. ↑ Derk, James (September 28, 1998). "Curl up with Some Computer Literature". Evansville Courier.
  11. ↑ Sparks, Jon W. (October 1, 1998). "Our Daily Web". The Commercial Appeal.
  12. ↑ "Chats and Sites". The Fresno Bee. August 13, 1998.
  13. ↑ "Blather". The Gazette. November 23, 1998.
  14. ↑ Ransburg, Eleanor (October 18, 1998). "Explore Island in Coke Campaign". Mobile Register.
  15. ↑ Katz, Frances (June 7, 1998). "Cherry Coke and its promo game... it's the real thing". The Atlanta Journal. Atlanta Constitution.
  16. ↑ "Best Free Game of the Year". ComputerEdge Magazine. November 6, 1998.
  17. ↑ Dorschner, John (April 6, 2000). "Raining Praises On...". The Miami Herald.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.