Agri Kultuur January / January 2018 | Page 61

We learned how Tru-Cape manages to get quality apples and pears not only to the South African market but also to the vast global markets to which Tru- Cape distributes fruit”, he says adding: “At BIGBrave we have a philosophy around Engaging Content in that it must Entertain, Inform and Empower. With this in mind, we considered many different types of gameplay options. The idea of the Fruit-Full game came from in-depth research around current game styles available online today. We researched games like FarmVille, Township, SimCity and worked towards creating a game that would answer the Engaging Content Philosophy. “It was important that users of the game were not only engaged in playing the game, but that they also engaged with the Tru-Cape brand. We did this through a competition that was run country- wide which was purposefully structured around incentivising users to play the game and work their way through the full Tru-Cape cycle from planting seeds to selling the fruit. “This had a dual-benefit for Tru-Cape in that players were being educated about the care and time it takes at every point of the production cycle of t he Tru-Cape business while also building interest around the game and the Tru-Cape brand.” According to Lindsay, a second strategy was implemented to incentivise the engaged audience to purchase a Tru-Cape product in-store and to use the barcode on the packaging to redeem “sun points” - a valuable in-game commodity which also met one of the company’s business imperatives: driving the sales of South African apples and pears. As users progress through the stages of the game they learn about the various areas of fruit farming and the various varieties of apples and pears. This happens through different characters popping up with a message about the process or the product. They are also able to earn Tru-Coins along the way as they grow and sell their fruit in the market place in the game which also includes variables such as managing cargo AgriKultuur |AgriCulture 61