For the German launch of the international hit manga "Fairy Tail" by Hiro Mashima SIRUP, in cooperation with the Carlsen Verlag, developed a community game for fans of the japanese fantasy world. The manga follows a band of young outlaws who call themselves "Fairy Tail" as they master tricky and dangerous tasks. For the game version, fans can join together in teams that can work together online to experience the adventures.
The community game concentrates on story and immerses fans in the world of the book. This has proven to be a successful formula. More than 4,000 fans registered during the 12-week campaign for the game and organized into more than 500 teams. In addition to "single quests" that each user can tackle alone, there are six "team quests" that need to be solved as a group. Features like a team wall for self-promotion and a magic shop support the game play and engage fans in dialog.
News blogs, Facebook pages and YouTube channels are also a key part of the communication strategy and ensure that Fairy Tail spreads virally among the target audience helping Carlsen command the highest possible attention for the launch of the manga.
Conclusion: With this online game, Carlsen has managed to achieve a cross-media connection between book and web. Users become readers and vice versa. Even the jury of the Buchmarkt Awards was convinced and awarded Fairy Tail the silver prize for the year's best online ad campaign. Fairy Tail has since established itself as one of the top series in the Carlsen manga program.
