Legoland: Quest To Legoland

Credits & Description:

Title: Quest To Legoland
Agency: Vml
Brand: Legoland Florida Resort
Country: USA
Entrant Company: Vml, New York
Advertising Agency: Vml, New York
Media Agency: Vml, New York
Production Company: Mediamonks, New York
Additional Company: The Zoo, Mountain View
Global Chief Creative Officer: Debbi Vandeven (Vml)
North American Chief Creative Officer: Mike Wente (Vml)
Group Creative Director: Harsh Kapadia (Vml)
Managing Director, Creative Technology: Craig Elimeliah (Vml)
Senior Copywriter: Justine Cotter (Vml)
Senior Art Director: Raihana Halim (Vml)
Senior Development Engineer: Josh Wolf (Vml)
Senior Art Director: Everett Ching (Vml)
Art Director: Edi Loyola (Vml)
Producer: Cynthia Lin (Vml)
Group Director, Client Engagement: Becka Vigorito (Vml)
Supervisor, Client Engagement: Julia Mooradian (Vml)
Associate Creative Director: Laurie Hollar (Vml)
Business Affairs Manager: Cindy Morales (Vml)
Planner: Sanya Deshpande (Vml)
Data Analytics: Peter Chobanian (Vml)
Vice President, Marketing & Sales: Rex Jackson (Legoland Florida Resort)
Head Of Marketing: Audrey Padgett (Legoland Florida Resort)
Executive Producer: Kolby Slocum (Vml)
Synopsis:
LEGOLAND Florida is one of many theme parks and tourist attractions in the Orlando, Florida, area that attracts visitors from all over the world. But unlike its competitors that are conveniently located within city limits, LEGOLAND is more than an hour drive from the nearest airport. For LEGOLAND Florida’s target audience — families with kids aged 2-12 — this drive determines whether they choose to visit the park. LEGOLAND Florida wanted to find a way to make the drive as fun as the park itself for the entire family — whether they were driving one hour or 16 hours to get there.
Execution:
The GPS experience uses Google Maps data and manually identifies the exact geo-coordinates of more than 5,450 landmarks across the United States. When a user enters their starting location, the app plans a route to LEGOLAND, pulling in 60 points of interest along the way. Each landmark is then matched with an activity — from fun facts and quizzes to themed games. As kids travel along their route, they discover the landmarks around them and unlock games to progress in the story. The Google data is integrated into a LEGO-themed environment. At each landmark, the game consults its database to understand the type of landmark to display. A unique landmark was also designed for each one of the LEGO stories. The game then determines the story being played and matches the landmark icon to the LEGO world.By drawing from a database of thousands of quizzes and fun trivia, each landmark is displayed with information about the destination to ensure kids are engaged, no matter where their family starts their trip.
Outcome:
By integrating real-time Google Maps data with trivia for kids and themed storylines, we gave families a new way to experience LEGOLAND from the moment they leave home. In just 30 days since launch, the app has recorded 39,061 miles of car travel. That’s 639 hours of blissful “ARE WE THERE YET”-less family time. At this rate, we’re on track to get 156,000 miles and more
500 hours of play by summer’s end. The average time spent in-app is 9.38 minutes, revealing that kids are keeping Quest to LEGOLAND open during their trip and enjoy watching new landmarks and trivia appear in real time. Through the use of data, gamification and creativity, to date we’ve given 984 families a new way to experience a road trip, with kids engaged, learning and starting educational conversations themselves.
Strategy:
LEGOLAND Florida is a theme park “built for kids to take the lead.” But the road to LEGOLAND isn’t. During the car ride, kids have little control from the backseat. Research showed that parents love road travel because it gives them more control over the trip. Armed with travel and navigation apps, parents are equipped with tools that help them conquer the journey, finding pit stops for bathroom breaks, dining options and hotels with the push of a button. But kids were still anxiously asking “ARE WE THERE YET?” We realized the source of this question was that kids felt a loss of control during road travel. Resigned to the backseat, without any information about their surroundings, they became frustrated. When they were asking “ARE WE THERE YET?”, they really wanted to know “When will we get there?” “Where are we now?” “What’s up ahead?”
Campaign Description:
We reinvented the GPS experience for kids. Using Google Maps, we brought LEGOLAND stories together with GPS data to transform a phone’s GPS into an immersive LEGOLAND adventure. The GPS experience is mapped in real time using Google Maps data, adjusting to any changes in the route. Every trip is based on a specific route, just as with a traditional GPS, but what kids see in the app is unique to their trip. To curate the experience for kids, more than 5,000 kid-friendly landmarks were chosen and integrated into the experience, so each landmark has something new to discover. By integrating real-world destinations into imaginary storylines and games, every trip is a unique adventure. Not only are kids informed about their trip’s progress, but they’re also engaged and entertained by their surroundings. As kids share new discoveries with their parents, the trip becomes an interactive and educational game.