Branded promotional games

This is where a game is actually created by the brand itself to support and promote the brand - it's sometimes referred to as advertainment. Often the brand or product will form an integral part of the gameplay. This doesn't have to be the case, but the brand will always be a central element of the game rather than riding on its back. The aim is for the game to be so compelling that it gets passed around the Internet or on mobile phones as the buzz increases and its popularity is communicated via word of mouth.

The best examples of this kind of game are found among the avalanche of games found on the Internet. Often a sweepstake-style mechanic provides a huge incentive to play, while in other cases it's simply because the game is excellent. Driving games for automotive companies are good examples, because the player is totally immersed in a brand experience - even better if players can also challenge and invite their friends to play.

Branded promotional games are a far more powerful connected marketing tool than games that simply feature in-game advertising. As well as building brand, creating awareness and generating response, branded promotional games also enable marketers to collect valuable data on customers. The following examples show how some branded games are designed to achieve one or more of these objectives, while others excel on a number of levels and can also have a direct effect on sales.

Case studies

M&M's Flip the Mix at http://mms.kewlbox.com/: This game formed part of a publicity campaign to announce M&M's new colour, in a battle between red and green. It also helped to build brand and the game scored high as a piece of entertainment in its own right: it was played eight million times for an average of 45 minutes to one hour per player.4

Kraft Food's NabiscoWorld at www.nabiscoworld.com: This games compendium continually reinforces brand messages by drawing more than three million visitors a month to its website. It features over 80 different games, each incorporating a different Kraft brand.5

Nike at www.nikesoccer.com: The sports clothing and equipment manufacturer is one of the masters of the branded game, using games throughout its website and as standalone microsites to promote basketball, soccer, track and field, and many other sports. Nike's games focus on both real world skill development and playing the game itself. They often feature cameos from top athletes in order to increase interest in the sports that will pay off in equipment sales over time. The games reinforce brand image in an entertaining and engaging way, and create buzz that is now self-perpetuating because they are well executed and have become known as the online games to play within the sport genre.

US Army recruitment at www.americasarmy.com: One of the most ambitious and controversial advergames was created by the US Army as a recruiting tool. Called America's Army, it proved to be a highly successful response generator. The game enables players to join the army, go through basic training and fight terrorism. The game cost about US$6.3 million to develop, and was designed with input from top games designers and military strategists. It factors in such detail as players' breathing, movement, stance and mastery of weapons. Within weeks of the release, more than one million people downloaded the game.6 For better or worse, with more than three million registered players the game is one of the most popular games on the Internet, causing some to argue that the game is too effective in de-sensitizing civilians to war and violence. Still, the US Army was so inspired by the results of the game, it followed up with an upgraded CD release and has announced plans for the creation of a games and simulations studio.

BBC's Test the Nation at www.bbc.co.uk/testthenation: To encourage viewers to tune into its Test the Nation series of TV programmes the BBC runs quizzes on its website. This activity also builds brand when the programme is not on the air. For its National IQ Test programme, it also made the test available via a whole range of platforms including the Web, WAP, mobile phone, interactive TV, and even pen and paper.

Chrysler. The car manufacturer has used a variety of custom-branded games involving its products in order to increase brand recognition and purchasing intent among consumers. These games are also among the best examples of branded games generating sales enquiries and actual sales. Chrysler Golf resulted in a 33% increase in purchase intent, while 1000 of the 383 403 players of the Jeep 4x4 Trail of Life game have bought Jeeps in the last 18 months.7 Awareness of Dodge brands was up 27.6% among Internet users who had played one of the games, and other results included a purchase intent of 19.6% for Dodge brands, and a boost in awareness of 24.7% of all Daimler-Chrysler brands.

Jeff Bell, Chrysler's VP of marketing, spoke at the 2004 Jupiter Media Advertising Forum about the importance of getting your brand into the consumer's 'consideration set' - the four or five brands the consumer has narrowed their purchase down to - as early as possible. He stressed that gaming was among the marketing channels that help to get brands into popular culture and give the consumer experience of the brand, as well as 'top of the head' awareness.

Ford's Race On the Moon: Ford Motors used an advergame to promote the Ford Escape SUV. The game involved a race that featured the Escape and encouraged players to forward an email to friends asking them to beat their best score. There was a 40% response rate to the initial email, and an 80% response rate to the tell-a-friend emails. Ford also collected data such as email addresses and vehicle colour preferences.8

Honda's CR-V game: The Japanese automotive company created a slick 3D racing online advergame, designed around Honda car models and engineered to play like an arcade game, even on a slow-speed connection. The game functioned as a market-research tool, asking players to submit their age, address, occupation and hobbies before playing. Honda rewarded registrants by entering them in a contest to win a Honda CR-V.

The game yielded a 30% registration rate, and over 90% of registered users played the game for an average of four and a half minutes. Based on registration data, Honda was able to gather information about players' hobbies, the types of cars they own, the age of their vehicles and their car preferences.9

Miller Lite's Virtual Racing League: By collecting codes from packs of beer, players could tweak the cars in their online motor racing team and race stock cars against their friends. This advergame showed how an interface can be formed between the real and virtual worlds, and is significant because it demonstrated how brands can link online activities directly to actual purchases.10

Continue reading here: Mastering Video Marketing: Essential Tips and Proven Tricks

Was this article helpful?