Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. sandwiched gaming and emotional experiences together in a digital campaign to drive brand awareness and trials for its KING’S HAWAIIAN Roast Beef sandwich line.
The 30-day campaign launched April 29, the day the quick-service sandwich chain introduced the limited time offered sandwiches, and targeted Arby’s prime demographic—married adults between 30 to 45 years old. In addition to hosting a Hawaiian Getaway sweepstakes, Arby’s partnered with in-game advertising platform MediaBrix to target customers via mobile and social games.
Arby’s leveraged two of MediaBrix’s products: Flex and Views. Both of these products are affected by emotional experiences during gameplay known as “Breakthrough Moments” (BTMs), explains Ari Brandt, CEO of MediaBrix. Flex is an advertising unit integrated into social and mobile games that allows brands to respond to BTMs with specific messages. For example, Arby’s would send game players congratulatory brand messages when he or she beat a level or a previous high score. Views is a value exchange ad that allows advertisers to offer players who can’t pass a level or who are running low on lives virtual goods in exchange for brand message interaction, Brandt explains. For example, if a player couldn’t advance to the next level in the island racing game Beach Buggy Blitz, Arby’s could offer that player a racing upgrade in exchange for watching a promotional video.
“Because of the heightened awareness and receptive nature consumers display during BTMs, including when they get a new high-score, achieving a personal best, or get stuck on a level and is in need of help, aligned advertising messages are extremely effective and allow consumers to feel connected to the brand,” Brandt says.
By leveraging the two tools, Arby’s boosted brand awareness by 319%. In fact, Mary Ellen Barto, VP of media impact for Arby’s, says that the sandwiches were such a hit that Arby’s decided to reintroduce the sandwiches this holiday season.
“Rather than interrupting the user experience, the company decided to deliver relevant engaging brand messages at strategic times that are additive to game play,” Barto says.
Aligning brand messaging with specific communication opportunities not only leads to winning customer experiences but it also establishes stronger emotional connections between the brand and the customer, Brandt says.
“If the ultimate goal of brand advertising is to make a lasting impression, then offer walls, interstitials, pre-roll video, and other disruptive ad formats are not the way to go,” Brandt says. “Consumers are inherently receptive to brand messages, but only when done correctly. [By] utilizing BTMs, marketers can reach their audiences at a point they want to be reached and thus are most receptive…”
