Boosting sales, becoming the number 1 in its sector, qualifying consumers more efficiently... These are all objectives that brands want to achieve.
To do so, many strategies can be put in place. Among them, the game marketing is very effective.
By offering brand entertainment, brands take a new angle to acquire new customers and retain those already convinced.
Why create a game marketing?
Game marketing is a way to get the word out about a brand in a more subtle way than a simple ad. Offering a moment of relaxation and creating a social link thanks to the integration of social networks, this strategy will allow you to engage your community.
With a gamification strategy, thanks to mobiles and tablets, brands can then reach their targets anywhere and anytime, whether it's on public transport or at the office.
The main objective of game marketing is to animate and engage the community while being present in the lives of players on a daily basis.
If the game marketing offers an original and fun experience, the player will not hesitate to come back to the experience and share it with his friends, thus contributing to the virality of your game and, by extension, of your brand.
Game marketing can meet your different objectives:
📣 Getting the word out about your brand
🥳 Animate your community
🥰 Increase your "sympathy capital
➕ Recruit new leads
♾️ Build customer loyalty
In the age of content marketing, brands have realized the importance of investing in creating innovative content that fits in with their target audience's environment to capture their interest.
Here are 5 game marketing examples of brands that have achieved their goals through this new form of communication.
5 Game Marketing Examples
"Aftershow" by Balenciaga
In 2020, the health context with its quarantines and distancing measures has given the fashion industry a hard time. As it is almost impossible to organise physical fashion shows, brands have reinvented themselves by offering different digital experiences.
Today, it is no longer enough to share a video of a fashion show, the experience must be ever more immersive.
For Balenciaga, it is in the form of a video game entitled "Afterworld: the age of tomorrow", that artistic director Demna Gvasalia has decided to present the autumn-winter 2021-2022 collection.
Inspired by the famous online game Fortnite, the player moves through a futuristic post-apocalyptic universe, plunged into 2031. By following the arrows, we come across models represented thanks to photogrammetry, a process that makes it possible to create 3D images from photographs.
Accessible to all, the first of our game marketing examples opened a new dimension to fashion shows by linking fashion and games.
Endless runner by Louis Vuitton
Games are becoming increasingly important in fashion, and the second of our game marketing examples shows us again. Here, for the release of the Autumn/Winter 2019 collection in physical stores and the e-shop, Louis Vuitton has created an exclusive video game: "Endless Runner".
In 2D with a setting reminiscent of retrogaming trends, the game takes place in New York in the 2000s. With a character in orange, the collection's flagship colour, the player must advance through New York and avoid obstacles.
The objective is to go as far as possible by collecting a maximum of points thanks to the LV logos. It is also possible to throw the monogrammed bags to reach the bonuses.
By displaying a leaderboard, Louis Vuitton encouraged participants to come back and challenge themselves to reach the highest score.
Shrimp Attack by KFC Japon
For the third of our game marketing examples, let's go to another context. It is the fast food chain KFC in Japan that chose to embark on an advergaming strategy in 2020.
For the release of a new range of products, KFC has set itself two objectives: to promote them and to encourage consumers to come and try them by offering them discount vouchers.
The aim of the game? Defend the KFC palate at all costs, as shrimp want to take over a world dominated by chickens.
The campaign was so successful that KFC had to stop the campaign in the middle of the race to stabilise stocks and be able to reproduce enough to meet demand.
Compared to the previous year, sales over the same period increased by 106%! This proves that marketing games can bring real benefits to brands.
Gémo for Animal Crossing
With its physical outlets closed due to health measures, Gémo had to redouble its creativity to present its new collection. Let's discover together the fourth of our game marketing examples. To combine creativity and modernity, the video game proved to be the best channel for distribution.
After asking their community about their favorite video game, Gémo chose to share their new collection on Animal Crossing.
To do this, they recreated the different pieces of the collection in pixel art so that players could dress up their avatars. They were even able to create an in-game fashion show.
Note that they are not the only ones to have offered their products to Animal Crossing players. Valentino and Marc Jacobs have also taken the plunge by making their pieces available via designer codes.
Gucci for Sims 4
The Gucci brand has a strong digital presence and has proven its adaptability in the face of the health crisis.
To communicate on its circular fashion line, Off the Grid, the brand has decided to team up with The Sims 4! Here is the last of your game marketing examples. Thus, players can access the different pieces of the collection to dress their avatars.
On the design side, two young creators of custom content are in charge of the realization. GrimCookies was in charge of the dematerialized versions and Harrie imagined the settings around the urban jungle concept.
As you can see, e-gaming is gaining more and more ground and you have everything to gain by creating marketing games.
If you also want to create your own marketing game, contact us quickly 🤩