The Tomb Raider brand had lost relevance with young Australian men.The media agency was challenged to launch the 7th iteration of the game into tough market conditions and get male gamers to re-engage.Simply announcing the launch of the new game through traditional advertising would not be enough.

The media agency identified that Australian males are obsessed with sexy, athletic women who are willing to have a go at anything.Lara Croft was once this woman. But her star had faded.

Reviving interest in Lara would ultimately revive interest in Tomb Raider.Strategy : Re-launch Lara NOT the game.

TRLegend became the top selling title for 6 consecutive weeks and exceeded sales objectives by 17%.A $350,000 investment into content delivered in-program and editorial exposure valued at over $2 million.FHM sales increased by 20%/FOX8 doubled its audience.The ‘Search for Lara’ concept is being considered around the world.

“The Lara Croft Challenge” was launched to find the Australian girl possessing Lara’s brains, brawn and beauty.The entire budget was invested into content around this idea. Independent media partners were brought together to create this content and promote it as their own. All content linked The Challenge to the key features of the Tomb Raider game.Challenge content was created to integrate across magazines, online, television, DVD and promoted through eDM, Point-of-Sale and publicity.

The media agency’s content-driven approach overcame young males’ growing aversion to advertising and achieved emotional engagement.Magazine editorial delivered involvement and intimacy. The DVD and TV program delivered emotion and excitement. Online features and email delivered the interaction and announcements at critical stages.

Credibility was achieved through partnering with brands such as FHM, ZOO and FOX8 that imbued The Challenge with sexiness and adventure.