
What do you get when you mix Hannah Montana with a Karaoke game? The Best of Both Worlds!
When the Disney Channel wanted to promote the launch of its new Hannah-Oke game show, it set 4T2 the challenge of creating a highly interactive online campaign. We therefore gave the ITC class at Park School in Bournemouth the challenge of devising a series of new games to suit. Almost immediately the girls were singing related songs, demonstrating dance moves and quoting from the TV show. It was very apparent that a Hannah Montana game was not something you would want to sit quietly with and play on your own. Then we asked the children to talk about what games they played as a family. Board games were clearly the most popular format. The result was a concept where teams of family members, siblings or friends, progress around a virtual game board. Every other square on the board is a mini-game challenge that relates in some way to Hannah Montana or the Hannah-Oke TV show format. Some of the games focus on familiar formats with new slants. For example, there's a 'spot the difference' game with rotated or mirrored images relating to Hannah Montana. However the real novelty feature is the games that allow players to use microphone or webcam powered controls. This means players can sing, shout and dance in order to change what happens on screen. The result is an experience that is much more physically and mentally engaging than is possible just by pressing keys or clicking a mouse.
The campaign gave Hannah Montana fans a genuinely interactive online experience and a real sense of what it must be like to participate in the Hannah-Oke TV show. Just as importantly, I was filmed playing the dancing game for the TV sting to promote the campaign!
Kay Gibbs