WildTangent has recently announced the arrival of their BrandBoost advertising platform on UK shores. With this initial market entrance, WildTangent is making a big splash, offering both Cadbury and Namco Bandai “campaign firsts” on Facebook. The two also now carry the distinction of being the first brands to use the platform outside of North America.
Cadbury
The long standing Chocolatier is board offering users a number of virtual goods within, appropriately targeted, Cupcake Corner, Happy Aquarium, and Mall World. The mechanism for eligibility? Simply play a round or two of branded, “Race Season” mini-games. Cadbury will reward players with a free virtual gift directly tied to the company’s offerings: in-game desserts that can be served to customers. The ROI for Cadbury is increased engagement with the brand, as well as providing a uniquely positive experience.
Namco Bandai
As a digital world product, Namco Bandai is taking a different route via BrandBoost. With their UK campaign, the company is promoting <em>Dr. Kawashima’s Body And Brain Exercises</em> for Xbox Kinect. The campaign is slated to run across a multitude of social games, but no specific titles were mentioned. Again a “do something in exchange for something else,” campaign, Namco Bandai will reward players with in-game items to those who watch a video ad about the Kinect game.
“We are always looking to combine innovation with effectiveness, and we’ve been delighted with how BrandBoost has performed,” said Mary Bond, Head of Digital for Target Media, Namco Bandai’s agency in a press statement. “As well as being a UK media first, it reached the target audience en masse in an engaging Facebook environment.”
You’ll remember that WildTangent’s BrainBoost made <a href=”http://www.fatfoogoo.com/2010/10/wildtangent-and-crowdstar-partner-to-bring-branded-sponsorships-in-game/”>waves</a> just before Halloween last year when they partnered with CrowdStar to offer most of the same as mentioned above. In this article I pointed out the demise of Microsoft’s Massive in-game advertising unit. For the longest time, IGA was a sensitive and controversial topic, with many citing the method as a distraction to their gameplay. Fast forward 10 years, and it would appear as though the in-game advertising model in itself was/is not flawed, but rather the “how” “when” and “why” seems to have been addressed and solved. The jury is still out on the ROI and effectiveness of the BrandBoost (and similar) methods, but from what my radar is picking up, there’s not but much, if any resistance to the program. And clearly, WildTangent’s expansion into the UK market is a sign that they’re on to something good.
Tags: BrandBoost, Cadbury, Namco Bandai, wildtanget
