The Salvation Army and full service agency Affinity have launched an online game as part of a marketing push to engage Generations X and Y in the buildup to the Red Shield Appeal.
The charity said the aim of 'Damien's Dash' is to battle depression, avoid violence and open doors to a better life. It is based on one of the Salvation Army's training program success stories, Damien, who was able to begin a career and start on a path to a new life.
The Salvation Army marketing director John Herring said the X and Y generations “tend to lean towards the latest celebrity-endorsed charity” while the Salvos sometimes gets forgotten.
Affinity managing director Luke Brown said the online game's primary aim was to engage a younger audience and alert them to the work the Salvation Army does.
"The awareness of The Salvation Army amongst Gen X and Y is quite high, but there is a misunderstanding about what they actually do," Brown said. "By using a real life story about someone that has been helped by The Salvos, we hope to engage that younger audience in a more meaningful and tangible way."
The game will be advertised via banner ads on popular websites such as Ninemsn, Facebook and Yahoo!7.
Luke Brown told AdNews "interaction has been high" at this stage of the campaign.
Because of this initial success, The Salvation Army intends to extend the online game campaign beyond the Red Shield Appeal.
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