From communication to conversation
In early 2008, we redesigned Sunchips.com to support the green activities that SunChips announced on April 22nd—Earth Day.
The existing Sunchips.com website was an extremely elaborate Flash site– impressive, but difficult to update. Consequently, SunChips asked us to re-architect the site, simplify the user experience and facilitate quick, responsive updates.
SunChips.com
As part of our redesign of SunChips.com we imagined that any part of the site could be detached and distributed on other platforms. We developed Sunchips.com as a widget framework that would allow us to build applications on platforms like Facebook and MySpace from the content and functionality of the site. The entire site was architected to be modular and portable.
Small Steps
Frito-Lay had recently converted a portion of its Modesto, CA plant to solar energy, which meant that some of its SunChips would actually be created by the sun. The move was positioned as “a small step towards a healthier planet.”
What small steps would you take?
Instead of just messaging this innovation on Sunchips.com we created a widget that asked “What small steps would you take?” This widget was then put on Facebook and MySpace that takes users through a simple quiz that asks them what green steps they would take, and asks them to invite their friends to do the same. A user’s steps are then displayed on their profile page.
Small steps can lead to big things
While each individual user could share the steps they had taken towards a healthier planet, everyone’s steps were aggregated on the SunChips Facebook application page. SunChips could show how many steps collectively have been taken, what demographic/ regional/ gender groups are taking the most steps, and so on. Simultaneously, SunChips was making a donation for every step taken tothe rebuilding of Greensburg, Kansas, a town destroyed by a tornado in 2007. This program made the brand message, “small steps can lead to big things,” into an active experience.
Results
Over the course of the program, over 50,000 steps were taken by Facebook users and the program was recognized with 2 Gold Effies. This program made the brand message “small steps can lead to big things”, into an active experience.
