Kiwi Artists Lead The World In Facebook

Kiwi Artists Lead The World In Facebook Gaming Innovation

Some of New Zealand’s hottest bands will form part of an innovative new online game that presents a first-ever for Kiwi Facebookers with the Jack Daniel’s Virtual World Tour, a celebration of local music, launching from Tuesday, 9 November.

Steriogram, Autozamm, The Checks, Ivy Lies, Dane Rumble, Artisan Guns, Tokyo Keys, Atlanta Fall, Black River Drive, Inverse Order, Pistol Youth, Doppler, Interconnector, November Zulu, Soljah and 2AM Orchestra are all part of this extraordinary online contest for fans of live music, taking much-loved New Zealand bands around the world to gig through 50-levels, five zones, 19 albums, 78 plus tracks and three-months of pure, gaming heaven.

The Jack Daniel’s Virtual World Tour has a three-month life, closing on 30 January 2011. The ultimate winner will score the most fans and earn the most JD dollars, having worked their way through all 50 levels of the game.

Then comes the prize, the trip of a lifetime for a winner and three of their mates, travelling direct to Bonnaroo, a four-day, multi-stage camping, music and arts festival held on a 700-acre farm in Manchester, Tennessee, USA, the home of Jack Daniel’s. Tickets to the event are full access with the use of a decked out RV motor home and golf cart thrown in. Winners will also be treated to an exclusive tour and tasting session at the original Jack Daniel’s distillery.

Jason Naylor, Senior Brand Manager for Hancock’s , who is responsible for Jack Daniel’s in New Zealand, is thrilled with the initiative and believes that extending the tradition of Jack Daniel’s and music into the online social media territory will create a new and exciting experience for consumers.

“The tradition of Jack Daniel’s and music started as early as 1892, when the man himself formed ‘The Lynchburg Silver Cornet Band’, a ten-member ensemble that successfully entered the pop culture psyche of the times.

“And so the story goes, as long as there has been Jack Daniel’s, there’s been music. And as long as there’s been music, there’s been innovation,” says Naylor

“Online social media has become the most powerful platform for musicians and artists today and this is a territory we want to play in. We feel privileged to be featuring such a superb collection of award-winning Kiwi bands in the Jack Daniel’s Virtual World Tour and see this campaign as a fantastic celebration of New Zealand music and how far we’ve come.”

A winner will be announced early February 2011 and the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival takes place in June, 2011.

Jack Daniel’s Virtual World Tour Play Guide

The Jack Daniel’s World Tour Play Guide starts in Facebook. Once registered, your home page is a converted garage that’s also the home of your band and where you can navigate your way through the game.

So first things first. Here’s how it works.

The aim of the game is to win vital JD dollars and build a massive fan base at the same time. It’s a level playing field as every player kicks off with 1,000 JD dollars.

The words ‘world tour’ in the title means exactly that. The band you create and market from scratch will tour throughout five different regions or zones. To begin with, zone one is available while the others unfold throughout the game.

Zone 1 is New Zealand, Zone 2 is Australia, Zone 3 is Europe, Zone 4 is UK and Zone 5 is the USA.

Each country has a certain amount of venues you need to perform in and each gig earns you those vital JD dollars. Choose an easy, medium or hard option to play each gig - the harder the level the more money and fans you earn.

When the song or track is played down you must hit keys in time to the music – this is where you win points. The score at the end translates to JD dollars – a combination of points won and popularity with fans.

As you work through the levels, more collateral becomes available and collateral earns you multipliers that increases the value of your JD dollars in the bank.

The Rock Shop is where you can purchase all the gear and collateral to improve your band’s image and with those multipliers as an incentive, the Rock Shop is your one-stop where you will find all the instruments in this game are 100% authentic.

Your band is on the world stage, so marketing the right image is everything. The Promote page allows you to create your own band posters that you can download as a jpeg and share with the Facebook world of half a billion – so don’t waste the opportunity to use the platform to promote yourself.

A bit of ‘friendly’ competition between mates is encouraged, as your Friends page automatically allows you to see where they are ranking. You can shout about your latest score by posting it on your wall and for those who aren’t already addicted, you can invite friends to play.

Trophies can be won throughout the whole journey and your Trophy page showcases what you have won and what ones you still have to earn, when you achieved the ones you have and what to do to earn each one. Remember – trophies also get you into the prize draw for JD merchandise and CDs or the artists involved.

Good luck gamers. You’re in for a ride.

Note to editors:
• The Jack Daniel’s Virtual World Tour is an R18 application. The game is not available to players under 18.
• In addition, the game is only available to New Zealand Facebook users through the Jack Daniel’s NZ Facebook page.
• The Jack Daniel’s Virtual World Tour has been developed and produced by the folk at JWT, Auckland.
• The Rock radio station will also be hosting a competition in conjunction with the promotion where a radio winner and DJ will also attend the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival.
• York Street Studios, The Manor and The Rock Shop are also promotional partners of the Jack Daniel’s Virtual World Tour.
• All artists are represented by Matt Coleman from “Let the People Speak”.
• Featured artists and albums on the Jack Daniel’s Virtual World Tour include:
o 2AM Orchestra – Impermanence
o Artisan Guns – Hearts, Bird & Bone
o Atlanta Fall – EP, Release Your Fears (single)
o Autozamm – 5th Degree, Drama Queen
o Black River Drive – Perfect Flaws
o Dane Rumble – The Experiment
o Doppler – Demo
o Interconnector – Electrical Mistress EP
o Inverse Order – Six
o Ivy Lies – Never Enough (single)
o November Zulu – Black Yellow White
o Pistol Youth – My Own Private Amsterdam
o Soljah – Moving Up
o Steriogram – Taping the Radio, This is not the Target Market
o The Checks – Alice by the Moon
o Tokyo Keys – Demos, Satellites (single)

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