In the US, branded entertainment has rapidly evolved to include various forms of entertainment beyond the traditional TV and movies. As audiences increase content consumption on multiple devices, there is a proliferation of original content. Time spent gaming is going up while TV and other online activities are on a downward trend (Nielsen 2013 Study). Video games that go beyond the traditional genres and engage new audiences are meshing fantasy with real world benefits. In the living room, online and on the go gaming has taken center stage and is now a key staple in the entertainment diet. The opportunities for marketers are endless, from in-game integrations to connected consoles and social gameplay.

The campaign’s hub was on the Xbox LIVE, where a Propel-branded destination invited users to enter the online dance contest and engaged them with a fun instructional video. The destination also hosted sweepstakes that awarded JD3 gamers with an opportunity to win prizes just for playing. In the JD3 game, contest information scrolled along the in-game ticker and a microsite was developed allowing participants to view/share their submissions.

Propel also partnered with “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” a popular late night talk show, to perform a staged skit that highlighted the contest. During the on-air integration, resident Kimmel funnyman, Guillermo, competed against “Dancing with the Star’s” Maksim Chmerkovskiy in a dance-off.

We also executed a two week in-store end cap at all Target store locations across the country, offering shoppers a $10 gift card when they bought a Propel Zero 6-pack and a copy of JD3.

Success was overwhelming! The promotion delivered increased sales, built the equity of Propel Zero, and proved engagement between our consumers and our brand proposition.

Sales:

• Sales of Propel at Target increased +16% during the weeks the campaign ran (Client Data)

Engagement:

• Over 8,100 users participated in the Just Dance 3 instant win and user-generated dance contest (Microsoft data)

• Target gift card redemption rate was 46%, significantly higher than average (Target data)

• Sale of Just Dance 3 increased 50% in Target during the promo period (Target data)

Equity:

• Combination of earned and paid media drove over 10m online impressions, while the successful on-air integration with Jimmy Kimmel Live reached an additional 1.7m viewers (Nielsen)