Ally Island
Open the game- Brand
- Ally Bank
- Year
- 2021
- Objective
- Awareness
- Industry
- Finance
- Mechanic
- Mini-games
- Platform
- In-game
- Agency
- Anomaly
- With
- Monks
- With
- Ally Bank
Objective
Ally Bank, a financial services company based in Detroit, aimed to address declining financial literacy rates among young people (18-34) by making financial education engaging and accessible. The brand launched a branded gaming experience to showcase banking benefits through an interactive, entertainment-focused medium, positioning gamification as a strategy to teach complex financial concepts during the pandemic when gaming engagement surged.
Solution
Ally created a custom island in Animal Crossing: New Horizons featuring minigames, Ally staff members as NPCs, and a turnip exchange offering competitive banking-themed prices (1,000 bells per turnip). The island showcased Ally assets including homes, boats, cars, a playable golf course, and a 'Little Detroit' themed area. The launch was driven by a high-profile Twitch livestream featuring gamer KangGaming on October 23, 2020, which ranked as the 8th-most-watched stream on Twitch that evening. Ally amplified reach through social media promotion and digital ads on gaming websites including Wired.com and Fortune.com.
Results
Ally Island achieved 1.38 million views and 355 million impressions on Twitch, with an 8% increase in aided awareness, 87% social sentiment score, 12% growth in net new deposits, and 124% growth in new deposits customers.
