Add Some Fun to Your Content with Branded Marketing Games

Making a memorable connection with tech buyers today can be a challenge. Marketers strive to deliver content that is relevant, valuable, and engaging, but with the average IT buyer being contacted by sales reps and marketers “up to 25 times a week,” even a perfectly personalized message may go unnoticed. (Spiceworks) A unique way to differentiate your content from the pack and capture the attention of your IT audience is through the use of branded marketing games. Not only are games highly interactive and engaging, they’re also a lot of fun!

What are Branded Marketing Games?

Branded marketing games are quick (1 minute or under) interactive mini-games that give your audience the opportunity to engage with your brand in a fun and playful way. Some examples include traditional paper and pencil games: Tic-tac-toe, mazes, and puzzles; simple carnival games: spin the wheel and the shell game; and children’s games: Rock, Paper, Scissors and the memory game.

The interactive content and design of the games are customized to reflect your brand and products/services. You can increase the likelihood that your target audience will want to play the game by offering them a relevant and meaningful incentive, such as a gift card or discount. Marketing games can be promoted in various ways, including through social media and email or during webinars and other virtual sessions.

Branded Marketing Game Examples

We recently created several branded marketing games, which were promoted during a client’s virtual conference and integrated into a number of booths. The games were designed to increase awareness of the client’s products/services, engage attendees during the event, and also thank attendees for their participation.

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Tic-Tac-Toe

To win the game and earn their prize, attendees were required to answer questions relating to the client’s products/services.
As participants completed the questions, they were given the opportunity to find out more about the products/services by visiting the client’s website.
The traditional x’s and o’s in the game were replaced with the client’s logo to help keep the brand top of mind.
After winning the game, participants were asked to complete a contact form in order to collect their prize of a $25 Amazon digital gift card, which would be delivered within 48 business hours.
The form also included some questions to help improve future marketing and sales communications.

marketing-games-example-2

Spin the Wheel

The game was used as a fun, entertaining way to engage with event attendees by including a $20 SPIF.
After winning the game, participants were asked to complete a contact form to collect their prize.
The form also included some questions to help improve future marketing and sales communications.
Participants were also given the opportunity to find out more about available products/services by downloading additional content resources.

marketing-games-example-3

Cups Game

The game was used as a fun, entertaining way to engage with event attendees by including a $5 SPIF for a “cup of coffee on us.”
The cups in the game were replaced with the client’s logo to help keep the brand top of mind.
After winning the game, participants were asked to complete a contact form in order to collect their prize.

Branded Marketing Games Encourage High Levels of Engagement

Branded marketing games are effective tools to increase engagement with your audience of IT pros because they are:

Fun and enjoyable: Marketing games can provide a little entertainment and playfulness to an IT pros’ otherwise routine or stressful workday.
Quick and easy to play: Mini-games are a good fit for busy IT professionals as they don’t take long to play and are designed for mobile phones, which are always close at hand.
Unique and memorable: Delivering content in a unique way helps to differentiate you from your competitors and encourages your audience to share it with others.
Satisfying: Participating and winning a game provides your IT audience with recognition and leaves them with a positive feeling.
Motivating: The added incentive of winning a prize increases the likelihood that your IT audience will want to participate in the game, especially if the prize is relevant and meaningful.

The Value of Marketing Games

The addition of branded games to your marketing programs can help you achieve your goals to:

Generate leads or build your email list

Collect new prospect details and build out your opt-in list by creating a form with a mandatory “Subscribe” field that participants need to fill out to claim a reward.
You can use this information to build your email list and identify potential leads that can be moved through the marketing funnel with additional digital marketing programs and content offers.

Increase awareness of products/services

Customizing the content in your interactive marketing game enables you to educate your IT audience about your products/services in a fun and engaging way as they play the game.
For example, if you wanted to promote your new Hybrid Cloud Solution, you could ask questions during the game such as: “What should I look for in a hybrid cloud solution?” or “How do I select the best hybrid cloud provider?” These types of questions can be used to highlight your solution’s best features.

Increase brand awareness

Associating your brand with a fun and unique experience can increase brand recognition and help your brand stay top of mind with customers or prospects.
For example, you can brand the objects involved in the game (such as the cups in a shell game) with your logo, or use your logo in place of game pieces (such as the x’s and o’s in Tic-Tac-Toe).

Build loyalty and say thank you

Marketing games that include rewards such as gift cards or discounts can be used to thank customers for participating in an event or to show appreciation to valued customers.

Raise engagement during a virtual event

Adding fun, interactive games to your virtual event can help increase participation and engagement with attendees.
For example, if you run a Tic Tac Toe game you can include questions that attendees would have learned to answer during a webinar or virtual conference.

Why is now a good time to run Digital Marketing Campaigns with Interactive Content?

With the pandemic limiting our contact with others and our ability to actually go out and do something, many of us have spent much of the past twelve months at home, passively watching and scrolling through our phones and tablets. The Content Marketing Institute reports that people are eager to go back to having interactions, responding to their environment, and connecting with others. They suggest that now “is the perfect time to create content experiences that make your audience do, say, see, or feel.”