To bring these flavors ‘back from the dead’ we created the world’s first digital haunted house, an idea that not only tied into the product story, but created a destination and an experience our audience couldn’t help but share with their peers.Hotel 626 -- only open from six PM to six AM -- used a revolutionary blend of CG and live action environments to deliver a truly terrifying online experience. But it was social media imbedded within the experience that guaranteed that the content would go viral.Live Twitter feeds broadcast users’ terrifying ordeals in real time to their friends. Candid web camera photos invited participants to share their fear with others. A custom Facebook application allowed participants to ‘send a scare.’ And calls right to users’ cell phones during and after their experience created ‘talk pieces’ within their peer groups.

By creating a magnetic destination offering a one-of-a-kind entertainment experience, Hotel 626 proved that you don’t need to ‘advertise’ quality digital content as long as that content, itself, enables and encourages social interaction (that’s how haunted houses become famous, after all!)With ZERO traditional media investment, Hotel 626 lured over 4 million unique visitors down its dark hallways for an average ‘stay’ of 13 minutes, nearly four times the industry average. With 60% of traffic coming from direct entry, we knew with confidence that our word of mouth strategy had paid off.The re-launched Doritos flavors sold out.