Mobile game attempts to sheathe knife crime
Put a phone in your pocket instead of a shank
In an effort to get a message across to kids about the growing problem of knife crime, the Home Office has teamed up with Saint at RKCR and mobile developer Mobile Interactive Group to promote the It Doesn’t Have To Happen campaign.
The campaign attempts to reach 11 to 16 year olds by targeting their most common hangouts - social internet sites and mobile phones.
The mobile phone aspect involves a new game called Pocket Beatz, which has seen remarkable success (quite a turnaround for the usual attention government sponsored initiatives can muster).
"Targeting 11-16-year-olds isn't easy, but by providing such a cool application for their phones we hope to drive the message home in a way they'll find interesting," says head of marketing services for MIG, Tim Dunn.
Pocket Beatz places you in control of a virtual music studio, where you can mix together a host of sound samples and beats to create your own music. Your tracks can then be shared with friends directly through the game’s access of the address book.
It’s reaching rather impressive levels of viral distribution through a variety of Bluetooth promotions, a specific Bebo page and through O2’s portal.
The whole Pocket Beatz theme is carried on the back of the anti-knife initiative, and with it spreading across the blogosphere and mobile culture so quickly, it stands a better than average chance of success.
