Nintendo Wii

To launch Nintendo’s Big Brain Academy game for the Wii system in the pre-Christmas frenzy, Starcom MediaVest Group needed to engage both moms and kids and had to do so on a restricted budget.

Given the educational nature of the children’s game, the target market was alpha moms, rather than Nintendo’s usual young male demo. Based on the insight that those who played with or saw someone else playing with a Wii were often motivated to purchase, Starcom went with an experiential television property that spanned both demos. The agency partnered Nintendo with Canwest Global on its Canadian production of the U.S. game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?

Nintendo was integrated from the outset, from kids on the national casting tour playing Big Brain Academy while waiting to audition, to mentions in Global’s news coverage of the tour and show promotion. Nintendo created Mii avatars of the Fifth Graders which appeared during the show and online. At the beginning of each episode, a 60-second feature showed the kids “warming up their brains” with the game, and when a contestant reached the $25,000 question, the Big Brain Academy logo appeared on screen. Viewers playing at home via text message used a simulated version of the console to answer questions.

A sales lift of 53% was achieved during the airings of Canadian 5th Grader, with instant sales lifts achieved directly after the airing of each episode. Nintendo’s market share grew 7% in October and another 5% in November, putting them at 48% share overall. The show met its aggressive weekly audience estimates and the program was shortlisted in the Cannes Media category.