Leading Financial Services Company Pilots Innovative Digital Program in San
Diego and Austin
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Wells Fargo today
introduced Stagecoach Island(SM), a free, multi-player, online role-playing
game developed to teach young adults important lessons in financial literacy.
Wells Fargo is the first financial institution to use an online game of this
kind for both financial education and entertainment purposes. Young adults in
San Diego and Austin, Texas are the first to experience the Stagecoach Island
game in a pilot program that kicked off Labor Day weekend this year and will
end in mid-November.
The Stagecoach Island game allows players to select a virtual character
and participate in an "island adventure." Participants can choose to explore
the virtual island -- lush parks, hip cafes, dance clubs, trendy shops,
amusement parks, hair salons and more. They can also interact in dozens of
virtual, social situations -- like skydiving, riding jets-skis, or playing
games like paintball with other participants. Many activities on the island
are "free," but participants gain access to other experiences, such as dancing
in a club or purchasing new clothes, by spending, saving and earning virtual
money. Players can earn money by visiting the Virtual Learning Lounge and
answering trivia questions about banking basics such as budgeting, saving and
managing money. The Learning Lounge content is derived from Wells Fargo's
signature financial literacy program, Hands on Banking(R).
Today, over half of U.S. high school students graduate without knowing the
basics of banking, checking and savings accounts, budgeting, credit, and
investing according to a study by Jump$tart Coalition. In addition, 70
percent of U.S. college students play video games, according to Pew Internet &
American Life Project.
"The young adult years are a critical time for financial education because
many of these young people are leaving home and becoming financially
independent for the first time," says Wells Fargo's chief marketing officer,
Sylvia Reynolds. "Stagecoach Island is a contemporary platform where we can
educate young people about one of the most important topics to their future
success -- their finances -- in a highly interactive, comfortable and fun
environment."
"The popularity of online role-playing games is staggering -- there are
millions of people participating in role-playing games worldwide and the
typical college student spends nearly as much time playing video games (10,000
hours by graduation) as they do in class," said Dr. Rodney Riegle of Illinois
State University, developer and teacher of the world's first online
Role-Playing Course. "I think that young people who've grown up on computers
and video games will embrace the Stagecoach Island experience, which is
similar to a video game but actually provides a better opportunity to learn,
explore and socialize in an immersive and interactive environment."
Wells Fargo's vision is to satisfy all its customers' financial needs and
help them succeed financially and the Stagecoach Island game is an extension
of the company's continuing efforts to offer critically needed financial
education to young people. The online game is part of a broad, multi-faceted
financial education program for young adults called We Take the Fun of Money
Seriously(SM). Wells Fargo is hosting a series of live We Take the Fun of
Money Seriously events throughout Austin and San Diego during September and
October where young adults can participate in various activities -- from
karaoke and trivia games to athletic challenges and photo booths -- and win
prizes while learning about banking basics. Event participants will receive
the web address and a unique login code for the Stagecoach Island software and
will have the opportunity to play the online game at home for 30 days.
Wells Fargo developed the We Take the Fun of Money Seriously program and
the Stagecoach Island game with experiential marketing agency Swivel Media
based in San Francisco. "Education and entertainment are just beginning to
merge. We're excited to be involved with Wells Fargo's Stagecoach Island, a
project that really addresses young peoples' need to learn in an engaging and
realistic setting," said Swivel Media's founder and creative director, Erik
Hauser. "We're using the most sophisticated virtual gaming platform from
Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life, to provide a highly engaging
experience. We want today's youth to learn how to manage their finances and
how to handle credit -- and we want them to have fun doing it."
Note: Additional information and screenshots of the Stagecoach Island game
are available upon request
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services company with
$435 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance, investments, mortgage
and consumer finance to more than 23 million customers from more than 6,000
stores and the internet (wellsfargo.com) across North America and elsewhere
internationally. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is the only bank in the United States
to receive the highest possible credit rating, "Aaa," from Moody's Investors
Service.
Swivel Media (http://www.swivelmedia.com ) is the creative, full service
experience marketing shop headquartered in San Francisco, California. The
agency provides the highest level of creative and strategic vision to solve
challenging marketing objectives. Swivel analyzes all aspects of the
brand-customer relationship and builds the essential brand experience. Swivel
uses a truly medium-neutral, 'world as our canvass' methodology, delivering
the right message, via the right medium, to the right audience, at the right
time.
SOURCE Wells Fargo & Company
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Related links:
http://www.wellsfargo.com
CONTACT:
Melissa Morey of Wells Fargo & Company,
+1-415-396-4417
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