Nintendo // 2011 Super Mario 3D Land Launch
Agency: The Marketing Arm
Roles: Concept Developer, Pitch Team
Teammates: Sophie Wong (pitch partner); Doug Dunkin (SVP, Experiential); Andrew Naylor (VP, Experiential); Mark Aguas (design lead); Jo Sommers and Kendra Gaeta (conceptors)
Coverage: BizBash | Digital Trends | Dual Shockers | Game FAQ | Game Informer | My Nintendo News | Nintendo Life | StreetPass NYC
THE ASK
To ignite excitement and drive exclusive Toys ‘R’ Us sales for the highly anticipated launch of Super Mario 3D Land on the Nintendo 3DS, our team devised a captivating strategy for the widest target market I’ve ever concepted for: everyone ages 5 to 95.
THE IDEA
Twelve years prior to the 2023 Super Nintendo World launch at Universal Hollywood, my team worked together to create a level from Super Mario 3D Land in Times Square. From life-long Mario fanatics to those who will never know what it means to blow on a cartridge, the event offered something for everyone including: a larger-than-life Nintendo 3DS photo opportunity, brick and question mark blocks, trampolines that triggered Mario jump sounds, an 18 foot warp pipe slide with sound effects, a Mushroom Kingdom Pizza Truck that distributed free slices of mushroom pizza to anyone who tweeted using the #SuperMario3D hashtag, Tanooki tails and ears, a spitting piranha plant, and, of course, the iconic end-of-level flag.
Visitors (including Jon Bon Jovi and his kiddos) could play the game here and purchase it a day earlier than anyone else in the world. Additionally, real time tweets, exclusive Super Mario 3D Land content, and a live feed of all of the action were featured on the ABC Times Square Studio jumbotron.
“To have a well-rounded experience you want to have different things to offer. The way we look at things is sometimes the passive versus the active. A lot of people want to wait in line and experience something, but some people want to do simpler things.
I think being able to get a free slice of pizza—something cute and clever we did with the truck—and photo opportunities, those were quick and easy things people could do. It was to give people options—some people wanted to go full in, some people didn’t, and by doing that we gave them a taste of a bit of everything.”
