Best Retail Mobile Application, Best Sports Mobile Application

Home Depot, the presenting sponsor of ESPN’s College GameDay (CGD) broadcast, sought to extend their weekend experience both digitally and socially for seasons to come, while creating a strong connection with the millennial audience. Carrot Creative was asked to create a social activation that brings the college tailgate experience to every fan’s home. Inspired by the show’s iconic personality Lee Corso, the CGD tv spots and the classic tailgating game cornhole, Carrot Creative created the College GameDay iPhone application, Corso’s Cornhole Challenge. Corso’s Cornhole Challenge leverages the passion and loyalty fans have for college football and extends that loyalty to the Home Depot brand. The app, authenticated with Facebook, allows fans to play against CGD personalities Lee Corso and Desmond Howard or challenge their Facebook friends, increasing referrals and reach. The game features a leaderboard where top players had the opportunity to win weekly prizes such as signed memorabilia, or the ultimate prize - a 2013 CGD VIP experience, a chance to play a flag football game with the CGD guys, and the chance to play a LIVE head-to-head cornhole match against Lee Corso himself. Nearly half of the users are millennials, falling within the age range of 18 and 34 that Home Depot sought to reach with this activation. In the 8 weeks since the campaign launched, the number of mobile game downloads has topped 55,000 with over 450,000 games played and growing. Engagement levels have been extremely high, with the average user playing 13 games.
To complement the iPhone game with a social element, Carrot created the Home Depot College GameDay Facebook application to serve as an additional hub for fan interaction. The Facebook application includes tailgating tips, an Instagram contest and DIY projects so fans can build their own cornhole sets - bringing the mobile game to life. The Facebook Home Depot College GameDay application has generated over 150,000 visits and over 14,000 votes on Instagram submissions.

Contributors:

CARROT CREATIVE

Location: United States

About the Agency:

Carrot Creative is a digital innovator. The first social media agency, Carrot crafts experiences for brands to share with their consumers across interactive media. From strategic ideation to full-scale design and development, Carrot specializes in optimizing technology to facilitate compelling brand narratives and drive business results. Working with Carrot means immersing your brand in passion, determination and every (mega)bit of swagger you’d expect from an agency in DUMBO, New York’s Digital District. Carrot Creative is a preferred partner and developer for Facebook, Tumblr, Linkedin and Heroku. For more, visit: www.carrotcreative.com.