Company: Ralston Foods, Inc.

Programs: Merchandise

Program Types: Consumer

Program Details: The game positioned Chex as fun for kids and gave it contemporary appeal by taking advantage of the growing number of home computers. The game was designed to be exciting so consumers would continue to play, generating additional brand impressions. America Online (AOL) acted as Ralston Foods, Inc.'s promotional partner, which enabled the company to cut production costs. The Chex Quest CD-ROMs carried AOL software and a subscription offer for 50 free hours. Chex Quest featured five playing levels, 3-D graphics, full animation, and sound effects. It was rated appropriate for all audiences and featured a skill level targeted for children nine and older.

Objective: To build market share, update Chex cereal's image, and reinforce the brand's equity, Waters Molitor, Inc., developed "Chex Quest," a free, nonviolent CD-ROM computer game packed inside 5.7 million boxes of cereal.

Supplier: Waters Molitor, Inc.

Results: Chex Quest resulted in a 295% increase in incremental volume over base and a 48% increase in volume share from the previous year. Promotional support included: *A free-standing coupon insert distributed nationally in Sunday newspapers *A front flag on Chex packages announcing the game and directing consumers to the Web site for the game sequel, Chex Quest 2 *More than 42 million impressions through newspaper ads, broadcast media, and appropriate magazines *30-second TV spots announcing the CD-ROM offer *A Web site aimed at the online audience