@Boston  University

History and Goals

I'm interested in how games can teach students to be confident...figure out the big picture...build trust and community.                                                                  -Kenneth Elmore, Dean of Students

“We’re really looking to create a sort of social media consortium at BU which we’re hoping to use in the future to notify students about big events going on, on campus.” 

                               -Mike DeFillipis, SCVNGR Coordinator @ BU

History and Goals

Boston university and SCVNGR began their relationship at the beginning of the 2010-2011 academic year.

The company was interested in bringing college students together to play the game. 

The Dean of Students' office sponsored a SCVNGR trek across the campus.

The Question: How do we get college students to get together and play a game?

Pit them against each other!

Game

The Beanpot is the preeminent college hockey tournament in the country and takes place every year during the first two weeks of February.

We asked: "Why not graft the rivalry and excitement of the tournament around SCVNGR?"

The company invited student representatives from Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern, and Harvard- Schools in the Beanpot Tournament. (Harvard did not show up and was replaced by Emerson College)

The Beantown Challenge

Game Cont."We wanted to come to the student bodies with a

fun way to connect with each other and enjoy SCVNGR. We decided to play off of the Beanpot

competition that already exists and engage a larger group of people in the competition.”

-Debra Swersky (SCVNGR Spokesperson for  Beantown Challenge)

“The idea really originates around the Beanpot and bringing the four Beanpot schools together in a

SCVNGR competition. Students participating can look forward to tons of awesome prizes

all throughout the week.”

-Mike DeFilippis (SCVNGR Coordinator @BU)

Planning

Initial meeting in late January

Dean of students hosted a planning meeting in early February 

Soon thereafter, BU created challenges for the event and planned Facebook, Twitter, and word of mouth outreach

The event kicked off Monday at BU’s Dugout Café, where students had a chance to vie for the first prize of the challenge, the opportunity to watch the first game of the Beanpot with BU Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.

Planning Cont.

Planning Cont.• Created a Facebook event page-created a Facebook event page to update

everyone about the new challenges. We used Facebook groups to help the ambassadors communicate. 

• Enlisted the help of 17 “student ambassadors” who helped to spread the word• Launched a fan page for Dean Elmore• Created an initial batch of 15 challenges• Used #BUSCVNGR to spread the word on Twitter- Constantly tweeted about

the challenges, prizes and opportunity to beat BC off the ice. Got the attention of many BU students and BU organizations. Even professionals in the area began to ask about #BUSCVNGR. When they saw BU racking up the points against the other schools, they showed their support for this BU effort.

Planning Cont.

Landing page for 

daily challenges 

Planning Cont.

 "Interviewed by the BU Quad in an article “#BUSCVNGR: Don’t Get Mad, Beat BC” and the Daily Free Press in an article, “Students Show BU Spirit and Win Prizes in Beanpot Scavenger Hunt”. These articles highlighted our ability to gain support from the students, and the lead we had over the other schools. (After the event, we were also featured on BU’s Social Media blog in “Social Media Communicators Meeting 02/15/2011: SCVNGR, BU Culture Shock, Facebook Pages, Upcoming Events.”)

-Taken from Rachel Sprung's Blog "Rachel Sprung on PR"

Traditional Media

ResultsMonday, February 7th:

9:00am - The contest begins and challenges are set to "active."

10:30am - BU had nearly 400 points (it took other teams a few days to reach this level).

11:00am - BU had reached 750 points.

12:00pm - BU had reached 1000 points.

By the end of the day - BU had between 3,000-4,000 and kept going strong. 

Throughout the week, we gave out various prizes as incentives for students to play (even though the incentive to beat the other schools was enough for some people).  

Results Cont.BU ended with a grand total of 14,152, Emerson with

2,892, Northeastern with 1,166, and Boston College with 1,034.

An average of 22 challenges were completed per person.New challenges were rolled out to keep up with the demand for new games.The most active player on Day 1, Emma Tangoren, won tickets to the Beanpot AND had the chance to go to pre-Beanpot parties with Dean Elmore. Throughout the rest of the week, Celtics tickets and tickets to see Kylie Minogue. By February 9, three days into the game, BU had reached 10,000 points.

Results Cont.

116 unique participants

Game The Comm Ave Fair

PlanningBU Today & BUniverse CoverageAugust 30th, 2010 #commavefair on Twitter Comm Ave Fair Today and 

Comm Ave Fair Comes to BU, featured in BU Today

BU Band at Comm Ave Fair, Sidewalk Sam at BU, and Sidewalk Sam College Video Medium, featured in BUniverse

Table at Splash (All university activities expo)-gave students a teaser trek and got them acquainted with the SCVNGR platform Attended by over 5000 students

Planning Cont.

ResultsWas a great way for the University to directly guide and engage new students through the campus in a fun way.

Prize = iPad

Over 10,000 points earned and over 600 people played.

Results Cont.

"You need to incentivize people with a prize and what was unique about what we did is that we gave them a 1 day experience. We also promoted our treks and challenges using different media outlets. If you can't get students talking about it and not make it part of an experience, it doesn't work as well."

Alex Shuck, Senior Program Assistant, Dean of Students Office

Game The Ghosts of BU

Players within the first 12 hours120+

midnightTrek launched @

Game Cont.With 12 challenges and enough ghosts to scare that entire army from 300, The Ghosts of BU trek will take you for a spin across campus you won’t soon forget. 

Not only is this weekend Halloween weekend but it’s also Alumni weekend – so we honor our alums that have passed on, and those that maybe just passed through on their way to Hollywood.

-BU FYI Student Blog

Results

Game: BU Dining Food and Fun!

Game Cont:Check out a few places for awesome food and a few places for awesome fun! 

Your Chance to win Convenience Points or Raising Cane's!

""

Content & Results:Generated over 

7,000 points 

and had over 

 650 people play.

Game: George and Beatrice's GSU

"So you’re a new Terrier? Never fear, George and Beatrice Sherman are here to share the secrets of the Student Union that was named in their honor. Welcome!"

Content & Results:

Campus Tours:Used to introduce campus traditions and culture

Students use SCVNGR as SCVNGR integrates

with student's lives

Students share their stories with

friends

Students keep playing

to earn rewards

  social    :a daily

function

Events: AthleticsLargest university

social check-in -

121 people

@ a BU hockey game

VS.