We produced Knife City, a demo video game that looked and felt like a real game but cleverly morphed into an anti knife message. Teams from popular youth radio stations hand-distributed ‘the game’ on the street and featured it as ‘Game of the Month’ on their websites, including free downloads and viral emails. At no point was ‘Met Police’ mentioned in the activity. Media partners provided the cover and endorsement needed to gain maximum access.

The activity ignited response beyond expectation. ‘Knife City’ featured heavily on chat forums. 83% of teenagers responding to the video's on-line survey gave positive feedback. During the campaign, 30% more people called in with actionable intelligence about potential knife crimes – a clear sign the communication had the right effect.