Alton Towers Resort commissioned The Smiler app to feature within an overarching marketing campaign for The Smiler rollercoaster, including augmented reality trigger images in national newspapers.

The free to download app was released before the rollercoaster opened with the objectives being to:

• Raise awareness/promote the rollercoaster and increase brand exposure for Alton Towers Resort and The Smiler.

• Drive visitation to the Theme Park.

• Create a standalone rollercoaster app for existing and new fans that would use future technologies and competition elements in order to create a social buzz and generate media activity.

To reach these objectives, it was decided a mobile app was the best solution; we wanted to take advantage of camera technology and the huge popularity of mobile apps. It was designed to whet the appetite of rollercoaster fans and build excitement for Alton Towers Resort’s new ride. As the user plays through the app, they unlock more track sections and secrets to give them a closer look at the finished article.

AR trigger points are included along the ride's queues to engage users at the point where they have nothing else to do but wait and also to add an element of making queues fun.

The app included a competition element – called the Wheel of Win - which requires in-game tokens to enter.

Combining gamification with location based AR technology and instant win competitions all in one app to promote a record breaking ride is a world’s first. The AR in the app enables rollercoaster fans to get a sense of not only the actual ride but also Alton Towers Resort’s’ narrative for The Smiler brand.

Statistics are for judges' eyes only.

Within the first 2 weeks of the app’s release it has received:

• Over 150,000 unique downloads in the first few weeks after release.

• Over 12% of users clicked through to the Alton Towers website

• Reached the top 20 for overall games in the app store and google play chart

• 7th in the action category and the number 2 spot in simulation

• 19% shared the game via Twitter and Facebook

• The game has been played over 2.3m times

• The competition wheel has been spun over 276,000 times

• The app’s trailer video received 46,169 views alone

• Social chatter rose dramatically post app release, with positive reactions in particular to the AR function.