We partnered with AMC’s The Walking Dead for the most elaborate brand integration campaign in series history – a new augmented-reality app that activated millions of viewers.

The Walking Dead Encounter app, developed by AMC and Mountain Dew, lets fans collect iconic walkers from the show by scanning one of more than 100 million Dew products or one of our commercials throughout Season 8, and then place them into the real world and share their AR creations on social media (which should add an extra dimension to any Halloween or episode viewing parties you have planned).

Our series of custom vignettes spanned the entire season and blended the heightened world of the show with the action sports genre that appeals to Dew fans, while delivering on our client’s marketing goals to entertain millions of viewers and move them to download this immersive second-screen experience. We worked closely with the app’s designer, Trigger, to ensure that we showcased the full capabilities of The Walking Dead Encounter App and enabled the on-air content to interact with smartphone devices through audio/visual cues.

After building excitement around the app at Comic-Con, the industry was abuzz with coverage about this landmark partnership between one of television’s most successful shows and PepsiCo.

“We are really rewarding people for engaging in our commercials,” says Kate Brady, director of media strategy and investment for PepsiCo’s North American beverages unit. “This gets them to use their smartphones, which we know they are likely already using, to actively seek out our commercial and rewards them for doing so.”

“Both The Walking Dead and Mountain Dew have extremely engaged fan bases who share very similar passions, so from the conception of this partnership, there was always a very authentic connection that allows our brands to coexist,” said Chauncey Hamlett, senior director of marketing for Mountain Dew.

Pepsi’s Brady said the company is eager to find programming that generates a lot of social buzz, which can then be harnessed to get viewers to seek out commercials via mobile devices for more information. The key, she said, is finding ways to get customers “to actively engage with commercials.”

Scott Collins, president of ad sales for AMC Networks, added, “This alternative-reality experience just hits the nail on the head from what they were trying to do with their consumers. It’s a great break from the intensity of the show to have something that’s focused and delivers on the fan enthusiasm. People are passionately involved in our content, and we feel that this is a great way to capitalize and celebrate and pay off on that enthusiasm and passion that the fans have.”