The Client

Astraware Ltd., headquartered in The Midlands, England, develops shareware games and utilities for handheld computers.  The company provides a range of products available for handheld computers, most notably a series of games based on online puzzlers and arcade classics.  Handheld gaming enthusiasts have downloaded more than a million copies of Astraware’s products, and the company has customers in over 100 countries. 

The Opportunity

Games for Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds are released frequently, which consequently causes the lifespan of a game to be relatively short.  Astraware’s Bejeweled game had received so many favorable reviews when it was released in April 2001 and eventually became one of the most downloaded Palm OS games of all time.  However, as Astraware and hordes of other developers released games, the likelihood of Bejeweled being knocked off its throne in a very short time seemed inevitable.
In December 2001, TalonPR was charged with publicizing Astraware’s entire line of games; however, the initial focus of the PR campaign was to extend Bejeweled’s position as the most popular game for handheld devices. 

Campaign Objectives

The campaign included three principal objectives.  First, TalonPR needed to maintain a “buzz” around Bejeweled to allow the game to continue its reign as the top game for Palm OS handhelds for as long as possible.  Second, the campaign needed to help increase sales and establish Bejeweled as the essential game that every Palm OS device user “must have.”  Third, publicity efforts needed to be focused in order to drive traffic to Astraware’s Web site to generate interest in Bejeweled and the company’s other games.

The Solution

TalonPR distributed free copies of Bejeweled to the major reviewers of Palm OS software/games.  We also pursued the prestigious “Handheld Game of the Year” by Handheld Computing Magazine. TalonPR also decided to launch a contest celebrating Bejeweled’s first birthday, making a relatively old product a fresh news item.  In an effort to keep costs down and add value to other partners’ marketing efforts, we tied Bejeweled into their promotions.  For example, we used Bejeweled in Cutting Edge Software’s promotion of Quickoffice’s fifth anniversary.   SmallBizTechnology.com and PocketAnywhere.com both conducted online drawings at their Web sites, and Astraware sponsored both with donated copies of Bejeweled.

Palm User Groups meet monthly to discuss their handheld computers and the applications they find the most useful or enjoyable. Most of these groups conduct drawings and give away prizes donated by sponsoring companies.  To create a grassroots buzz, TalonPR sponsored a number of user groups around the globe with free copies of Bejeweled.

Success!

TalonPR’s campaign for Astraware commenced in December 2001, a full seven months after Bejeweled was introduced to the marketplace. The increased media coverage since TalonPR began our campaign was significant, with the product receiving a number of glowing reviews and numerous mentions in various publications. Bejeweled was named as the co-winner of “Best Commercial Game” by Handheld Computing Magazine and, most importantly, Bejeweled is still ranked as the best selling game at Handango, the number one online store for handheld computing products. Bejeweled is also currently Handango’s number two selling application overall.

Howard Tomlinson, Astraware’s CEO, was absolutely delighted with the results of the Bejeweled Birthday promotion. The company received 10,863 entrants in the contest, of which nearly 4,000 were not previous Astraware customers. During the time of the promotion, Astraware experienced a 15% increase in sales (during a period in which they would have otherwise expected a 5-10% downturn due to the general economic conditions).  Key placements included PC World, Technology & Learning, Bangkok Post, USAToday.com, CNET Online, PocketPC Magazine, Fortune Small Business and The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Sales have remained buoyant since the Bejeweled campaign was initiated, so the increased traffic and publicity has had a longer effect,” Tomlinson said.

Peers within the communications’ industry recognized TalonPR’s innovative and creative campaign when it was awarded the International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) Bronze Quill award in the category of “External Communications Campaign.”

Testimonial

“TalonPR helped Astraware move from being a small company to its dominant, well-promoted position today,” Tomlinson said.