Australian Bureau of Statistics: Run That Town

Objective

The Australian Bureau of Statistics needed to increase public awareness of the census's role in shaping government policy and community outcomes. The agency sought to make complex statistical data engaging and accessible to broad audiences, demonstrating how census data directly influences policy decisions and citizen wellbeing.

Solution

Leo Burnett Sydney and Millipede Creative Development created Run That Town, a resource management simulation game available on iOS App Store. Players select any Australian neighborhood and make policy decisions based on real 2011 Census data, managing outcomes like population growth, public satisfaction, and quality of life. The game accesses hundreds of millions of data points from the Australian census, presenting demographic information specific to each location. Comedian Shaun Micallef provides narration, adding personality to data-driven gameplay. The game supports location-based personalization across Australia's 2,500+ postcodes, making each playthrough relevant to the player's own area.

Results

Run That Town achieved #1 ranking in the Entertainment category on the App Store. The game won a Cannes Gold Lion in 2015 for Creative Data, The One Show Interactive Gold Pencil in 2014, and D&AD Pencils, while being featured in Kotaku's Top 10 Games of 2014.