We developed an Alternate Reality Game with a tangential storyline to the Jericho program. The experience is built upon a network of “real” websites existing within the Jericho universe. These websites:- Engage the massive online fan-base with a new Jericho storyline;- Expand the mythology of Jericho;- Provide viral marketing opportunities: - Viral Video - SMS Mini-game - Clue integration with the Sprint Digital Lounge With 30,000+ unique visitors, 1,127,700+ site visits, 5,600+ message-board posts and 2,000,000 online promotional impressions (including UGO and BuddyTV homepage features), the game developed a devoted following.

Background Information: What is the story we are telling?The United States as we know it, no longer exists. Its government and social fabric were torn to pieces after a series of terrorist attacks left the US in a state of disaster. The people who survived the first several months of chaos are shocked to learn that a new force has arisen to stake its claim on the country’s legacy. It has a new flag, a new president, and a new capital: Cheyenne, Wyoming. With its massive military force, Cheyenne is working quickly to pacify the Western half of the continent, so the American people can begin rebuilding. For many, this is deliverance. Infrastructure is restored. Food is plentiful again. Law and order once again rule the day. But for a select few, the rise of Cheyenne is not cause for celebration. It is the start of something terrible… At its essence, the Jericho ARG is the story of Tom Tooman, a member of an Arapahoe Indian tribe from Ashland, MT. An MIT dropout, Tom has spent the last several years working in information technologies at the successful Indian gaming casino where his father is manager. As his hobby, Tom has steadily collected old shortwave radios, satellite equipment and other outdated military technology from Army surplus. He’s used these devices to create his own technology network. From his secret, wired perch he’s kept watch over his community since before the attacks, a literal and metaphorical eye in the sky. His network and skills have thrust him in a unique leadership position, where he is able to maintain communication via his own solar power grid and intercept eerie, clandestine messages. As the new Cheyenne Government starts to spread its influence over the Midwestern United States, Tom and his community come under intense governmental pressure to relinquish their hard earned resources for the “betterment of the country”, ultimately threatening the tribe’s survival. To keep the community safe, Tom Tooman must reach out to like-minded individuals for assistance in order to expose the new government for the criminals they are.

Tom is a trickster—like his name “Tooman” implies, there are often dual purposes to his communications. He’s mischievous and likes to taunt and challenge people, though he’s not malicious. Likewise, he plays a dual role as the noble protector of his people and as a hothead prone to insolence, impatience and recklessness.The ARG allows users to interact with Tom Tooman’s world, placing them in a virtual chess game between the well-intentioned but brash Tom and the nefarious, nebulous force of the new Cheyenne government.