Often public organizations are accused of passive or reactionary public relations strategies. I am a great supporter for the adoption soft selling approaches by government institutions. The world of (mobile) gaming e.g. can be an effective channel for informing customers.

Utrecht is the main rail transport hub of the Netherlands. The city decided to drastically renovate the railway station and city area around it. Citizen needed to be informed about the drastical changes taking place in the cityscape in years of renovation and new build. As part of a soft selling campaign, the city of Utrecht assigned students (of the city's academy of fine arts) to make a game to help people familiarize themselves with the changing and new cityscape. The game landscape of course mimics the one of the city.

The game was freely downloadable from the city's internet portal (and still is: http://www.utrecht.nl/smartsite.dws?id=144982. The page includes screenshots of the original, featuring the renovated railway station area.) The game and the strategy proved to be a success. In a playful way people could get acquainted with changes taking place and could form a spatial image. As a consequence it has raised more acceptance for the renovation activities among the inhabitants of the city.

The game has been converted for the Wii console. And it was one of last year's best received titles for the platform. (More information about this version: http://wii.ign.com/objects/947/947046.html)