Amazing Thailand - Culture to Commerce

Winner of a 2023 Clio Gold Award for Cultural Experiences

This winning entry titled 'Amazing Thailand. Culture to Commerce' was entered for Tourism Authority of Thailand by Ogilvy Group Thailand, Bangkok. The advertising agency is part of the agency network: Ogilvy and holding company: WPP Group.

How a gaming experience turned Thailand’s Deep Culture into a destination where pop culture meets commerce CHALLENGE The number of visitors to Thailand have plummeted due to the pandemic’s impact, which resulted in the loss of significant sources of income that most temples, affiliated small businesses and local communities depended upon. The Tourism Authority of Thailand needed an idea that could help sustain the living home of Thailand’s deep culture.

OPPORTUNITY What if the popularity of the previous HSH2 game could be leveraged? By tapping into the millions of players around the world and combining it with the global craze that Thailand’s spiritual artifacts have gained over the past years, we could turn gamers into virtual visitors in a place where pop culture meets commerce.

SOLUTION The Tourism Authority of Thailand to introduce ‘Home Sweet Home - Survive Obt2’, a multiplayer game that builds on the success of its previous version by taking the gaming experience to the next level and turning it into a gateway that interconnects the virtual world, the spiritual world and the real world for the first time. In addition to a totally new journey of discovery into Thailand’s deep culture, where gamers from anywhere around the globe could immerse themselves in age-old beliefs and explore the numerous sacred temples and sanctuaries inside-out, this new version engaged players on a deeper level by giving them the chance to virtually take part in ancient rituals, interact with a range of sacred objects and even use supernatural powers from the various hidden amulets they would unexpectedly uncover during the gameplay, to help them stay protected and fight against the evil forces within the game.

Moreover, as gamers learnt more about the fascinating superpowers of each amulet, occult rituals and spiritual activities, they were offered a unique chance to get their hands on their favorite amulets and other sacred items through a link to the Tat website within the game, where they could easily purchase and get their items delivered, or even book certain activities they wished to experience in real life.

IMPACT As a result of ‘Home Sweet Home – Survive Obt2’ becoming the new craze among gamers worldwide, the hope of all the temples and affiliated small businesses was revived by a new form of sustainable virtual tourism.

• 368 million YouTube, Twitch and Bilibili views

• 270 million media impressions

• 142 million earned media value and rising

• 246% increase in time spent on TAT’s website

• Traffic to TAT’s website up 50x

• On average players spend 15 minutes on a journey to deep culture in game

• +300% site visitors converted into shoppers.