Workstar

8 December 2006

Fancy yourself as Australia's Santa stand-in?
TodayCorp issues "Santa's Chimney Challenge" to find out who has the speed, accuracy and stamina to mix it with the Man in Red.

With Australia's official fast bowlers currently tied up in Ashes duties, TodayCorp, Asia Pacific's leading integrator of online learning, recruitment and communications, is on the look out to find Australia's own Santa.

According to Gerard Manion, TodayCorp Executive Director, the ideal candidate needs to have well honed skills of speed, accuracy and stamina as well as an ability to make polite conversation with small children.

"Our recruitment and selection process is focusing on finding the right candidate that can perform in the role from day 1- because there is only Day 1. The Santa's Chimney Challenge enables potential candidates to hone their delivery skills as well as feel the real pressure of hitting the right mark time after time," said Manion.

The game involves Santa attempting to throw presents into chimneys around Australia in time for Christmas. With wind direction and speed constantly changing, the player has to decide how hard and at what direction to throw the present, so that the present may be delivered safely into the chimney.

Serious games are entertaining games with non-entertaining goals such as education, information or convincing the audience of something important. "Santa's Chimney Challenge" is a form of serious game that is viral in nature and is increasingly used in marketing campaigns to achieve brand awareness and recognition.

Naomi Waldron, Senior Instructional Designer explains that serious games are not only a good form of viral marketing and putting your brand "out there" but have proven to be successful in a number of different areas such as education, social change, health and wellness, business and the military.

"Users are able to learn and make mistakes in a low risk environment. This allows the player to rise to a particular occasion and perform, as well as drawing on the players emotions when they play the game. This often makes the player more excited, tense and alert. These factors often make people more ready to learn or accept new ideas and advertising" says Naomi.

TodayCorp has seen an increase in clients using this serious game technique to inform and educate their audience.

One such project is the recently launched, "The Great Travel Heist", which allows 4000 globally distributed travel agents from Trafalgar Tours to chase a thief through Italy and learn all about it as a travel destination.

With all 4000 agents having already completed previous eLearning modules, continuing to engage these agents, as well as attracting new participants to the online education program was vital for Trafalgar. The program has allowed the users to better connect with the products and overall business, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to better service their clients.

About TodayCorp

TodayCorp is Asia Pacific's leading integrated online learning, recruitment and communications company, providing web based interactive learning solutions for clients including McDonalds Australia, Pfizer, Nuance and Rebel Sport.

TodayCorp also provides learning consulting and learning systems integration to clients including Vodafone, Singapore Airlines, Rio Tinto and the Australian Defence Force, and is a registered training organisation (RTO) delivering accredited training and short courses in retail, business, hospitality, manufacturing and distribution.

TodayCorp has won multiple industry awards including Best e-Learning Strategy Award from Human Resources Magazine. This award recognised Rebel's 10-16% increase in sales and an 80% reduction in training costs. For more information, please visit www.todaycorp.com.

For further information or interviews please contact: Kate Gratwicke or Caroline Speight, Growing Daily Communications. Tel: (02) 9949 9566.