BufferBusters
- Brand
- Vodafone
- Year
- 2011
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Tech & Telecom
- Mechanic
- Adventure & Quest
- Platform
- App
- Agency
- Agigen
- With
- Monterosa
- With
- Dinahmoe
- With
- North Kingdom
Objective
Vodafone Germany wanted proof for its claim of running the country's fastest network, so rather than state the claim it gave the everyday irritation of a buffering spinner a face — a "Buffer Monster" — that players could hunt down and beat. Routing the payoff through physical stores turned that brand message into a footfall driver: the fullest reward came only from a shop visit, not from playing alone at home.
Solution
Players download the free BufferBusters app, which turns their own surroundings into a hunting ground for Buffer Monsters — creatures that personify network slowness. The app points to infested spots nearby; on site, a radar shows how close a monster is, and raising the phone's camera makes it appear layered onto the real scene, next to a monitor, on a staircase, in the subway. Lining a monster up in the crosshair captures it into a cage that holds up to 50 creatures. Once the cage is full, the player empties it by scanning a QR code — found online or, for extra points, inside a Vodafone store — then keeps hunting to bank points and badges toward weekly smartphone draws and, for the top hunters, one of three lifetime flat-rate prizes at the end of the campaign.
- 1
The player downloads the free BufferBusters app for iPhone or Android.
- 2
The app maps "infected zones" scattered across the country where Buffer Monsters lurk, prompting the player to travel to one.
- 3
On site, a radar shows nearby monsters and their distance, then the player raises the phone and looks through the camera to see the creatures superimposed on real surroundings — beside a monitor, on a staircase, in the subway.
- 4
The core loop is an AR shooter: the player lines a monster up in a virtual sight and captures it.
- 5
Captured monsters go into an in-app virtual cage that holds up to 50 creatures.
- 6
Once the cage is full, play is blocked until the player unloads it by scanning a QR code, available either online through Vodafone or at a Vodafone store.
- 7
Turning in the catch at a physical store earns more points than unloading online, pulling players toward the retail location.
- 8
Points and badges accumulate across the campaign, tracking each hunter's progress.
- 9
Weekly leaderboards award five smartphones to top hunters, and three lifetime unlimited Vodafone plans are raffled at the campaign's close.
