A viral app that not only entertained users but also energized Nokia’s growing developer community.
As Digital Marketing Manager for Nokia WidSets — a platform that made it easy for developers to build lightweight apps for Nokia smartphones — I wanted to create a buzzworthy campaign that would drive awareness and downloads among both consumers and developers. With healthy budgets and a creative brief wide open for experimentation, I partnered with one of Finland’s top agencies to build something fun, shareable, and a little weird in the best possible way.
At the height of the Tamagotchi craze, we launched WidSets Pets — a mobile experience where users could turn a photo of themselves into a virtual pet. From there, the pet had to be maintained and managed, keeping attributes like love, intellect, social life, looks, hunger, and fame in balance. You could check on your little buddy through your phone or on your PC — and yes, you could also share it with your friends (if you were brave enough).
To broaden the reach, we created a Facebook-compatible version for people without a Nokia device, giving the campaign more legs and viral potential. The result? Strong buzz, impressive engagement, and even a write-up in Adweek, which called the app “a twist on the idea of virtual pets” that turned heads in the marketing and mobile space. (Read the article)
This campaign was a great reminder that playful ideas, when executed with quality and cultural timing, can punch way above their weight — and that mobile platforms (even pre-App Store) were fertile ground for creative brand building.
