Hook Your SoleMate
- Brand
- Ted Baker
- Year
- 2016
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Fashion & Beauty
- Mechanic
- Puzzle
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- SMACK
Objective
Ted Baker avoids traditional advertising and prefers cultural moments as marketing hooks, so it needed its own digital angle for Valentine's Day rather than a paid campaign. The goal was to engage its existing fanbase in an unconventional way and pull in new visitors organically, with the game's own mechanics and social sharing doing the work of paid media.
Solution
Players land on a single hand-drawn, psychedelic underwater scene and cast a fishing line with one tap or click. Each cast reels in a random object — a heart, a starfish, a lobster and other oddball finds — and the goal is to land two matching items to win a shot at an in-game prize (a £1,000 shopping spree). Each player gets three casts per day; once they're used up, the game prompts them to share the campaign on social media and come back tomorrow for another try.
Results
The game drew over 10,000 players in its first 24 hours and nearly 50,000 total visits across the campaign, with a 36% returning-visitor rate and a low 21.5% bounce rate.
- 1
The game opens on a standalone microsite as a full-screen illustrated underwater scene, done in Ted Baker's quirky house style, inviting the player to "hook your SoleMate."
- 2
Play consists of a single action: the player taps or clicks once to cast a fishing hook into the water, with no settings, sign-up, or tutorial beforehand. Each cast pulls one illustrated object out of the sea — a heart, a starfish, a lobster, and similar items — shown animated across the full screen.
- 3
The objective is to catch two matching objects, a "SoleMate" pair; landing an identical pair counts as a winning attempt.
- 4
Catching a matching pair takes the player to an entry form to submit their details for a chance at the prize.
- 5
The prize on offer is a £1,000 Ted Baker shopping spree.
- 6
Each player is limited to three casts per day; once the third cast is used, no further attempts are available that day.
- 7
After exhausting the day's casts, the player is prompted to share the campaign on social media and invited to return the next day for another attempt.
