Sheffield Games Developer Team Cooper Works With Terrence Higgins Trust to Create First Facebook Game Targeting Gay Men's Sexual Health

SHEFFIELD, England, May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Sheffield-based digital agency Team Cooper have collaborated with Terrence Higgins Trust to launch an addictive new platform game called 'Man Up' with the aim of encouraging gay and bisexual men to get checked for Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs).

In designing a game specifically for Facebook, Team Cooper needed to balance the campaign's message with game play in a way that would engage its audience and encourage them to challenge their friends and share their scores.

'Man Up' challenges you to bounce upwards from bed to brightly-coloured bed without falling off the screen or being struck by a 'Love Bug'. The higher you manage to get, the more points you collect. There's a catch though, your score is only safe when you've bounced your way to one of the clinics scattered throughout the game and banked your progress. If you don't visit a clinic, your scores are at risk. This makes for a simple yet challenging game that keeps you wanting 'one more go' while getting the core message across.

The game will be placed on Facebook for 12 months and can be found at http://apps.facebook.com/thtmanup or by searching the site for 'Man Up'. As well as being shared by its players, it will also be promoted via online advertising.

'Man Up' is part of a recently launched, England wide campaign, funded by the Department of Health through CHAPS, a partnership of community organisations, which is coordinated by Terrence Higgins Trust and carries out HIV prevention work with gay men in England. The campaign focuses on the link between partner numbers, STI risk, and the need for gay men to check for infections more frequently. It will run until July 2012 via adverts in gay press, online banner adverts, and posters in gay venues across England.

Emma Cooper, Project Manager at Team Cooper, said: "Having the opportunity to work on this project was extremely rewarding, we're really pleased with the results and have been watching the player figures mount up since launch. We're always thrilled when clients like Terrence Higgins Trust are keen to explore new platforms to reach their audience, particularly when challenged to deliver a serious message in a fun way - without seeming preachy. It was an absolute pleasure collaborating with them to deliver an idea that ticked all of our boxes."

Team Cooper specifically opted for using an existing tune (Top 5 single 'Love Me' by Stooshe) rather than use library music or an original score. With the music evoking nightclubs where the campaign will be promoted and the game featuring the same tattoo-lettering design featured in the promotional posters, Team Cooper ensured 'Man Up' aesthetically tied in as part of Terrence Higgins Trust's larger integrated national campaign.

Notes to Editor

1. Screenshots for print and digital can be downloaded from http://press.teamcooper.co.uk/manup/manup-press-assets.zip

2. A short youtube game-play demo can be viewed here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kx1M1ZHz28g

3. Team Cooper is a digital agency based in Sheffield formed by Tim Cooper in 2006. They build digital amusements such as games and Facebook apps for the web, mobile, and beyond. Their clients range from large international broadcasters to small agencies looking for a partner with technical knowhow. Visit http://www.teamcooper.co.uk for more examples of the team's work.

Team Cooper offer clients interesting and exciting ways to communicate their brands, products and services to their customers by engaging them on today's digital playing field. Team Cooper is also an independent game developer, releasing titles under their Robot/Lizard moniker.

4. Terrence Higgins Trust is the UK's largest HIV and sexual health charity with centres across England, Scotland and Wales. We're here to provide information and advice about HIV and sexual health and offer a range of services including sexual health checks, counselling and support groups. We campaign for a world where people with HIV live healthy lives, free from prejudice and discrimination, and we promote good sexual health as a right and reality for all. 

Visit http://www.myhiv.org.uk, our new site for everyone living with HIV in the UK, for accredited information, self management tools, interactive web services and community forums. Terrence Higgins Trust relies on donations to deliver a wide range of services. To make a donation, or to find out about everything that we do visit http://www.tht.org.uk

Contacts:

Tim Cooper - +44(0)114-2866230

Emma Cooper - +44(0)114-2866235