RadiumOne Social Announces Winner Of Old Navy Developer Challenge

RadiumOne Social (formerly gWallet) has announced BreakoutBand the winner of the Old Navy Developer Challenge. The contest called for online game developers to integrate the Old Navy brand into their communities in unique and innovative ways. RadiumOne says the contest is the first of its kind between an ad network and a major brand, as part of Old Navy’s ongoing efforts to integrate social media into its brand campaigns. Breakout Band’s integration was selected based on originality, depth of audience engagement, use of viral channels, and effectiveness in elevating the Old Navy brand.

“The opportunities for advertisers to access their target markets within social gaming are limitless, but often advertisers are unsure who to partner with and how,” said Rebecca Weeks Watson, Vice President of Business Development at RadiumOne Social, in a press statement. “The ‘Old Navy Developers Challenge’ brought out the best of the best development studios, and we were amazed at how seamlessly the Old Navy brand and its new music campaign were promoted throughout these games and virtual worlds.”

At the March 1 award event for the contest, BreakoutBand was awarded the $15,000 contest prize. Winner BreakoutBand and finalists Tetris Online/Ace Studios and Sugar, Inc., will partner with Old Navy to fund virtual currency and prize offers in their games. BreakoutBand.com allowed users to create their own Old Navy-themed songs based on the Old Navy Records songs Super C-U-T-E and Ankle Show. The songs are part of Old Navy’s spring brand campaign, “Old Navy Records,” which emphasizes music and fashion. Users created over 200 songs and on average spent 80 minutes in the Old Navy Records portion of the site.

Two winning songs submitted to BreakoutBand.com were featured on the Old Navy Facebook page. One was selected by Old Navy for best representing the brand while the other was selected by BreakoutBand.com users based on total number of “likes.” BreakoutBand.com and the other two finalists ran their Old Navy integration for a period of two weeks, after a panel of Old Navy and RadiumOne representatives looked over mock-ups submitted by contestants. A judging panel of executives from Old Navy, RadiumOne, AKQA, and PlaySpan selected the winner.

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