MillerCoors has launched a gaming application as part of its national Coors Light Super Bowl XLIV promotion.

The game is a great example of how a big brand is using mobile technology to engage consumers on-premise at a bar. The "Coors Light 1st and Cold" mobile football game is being used as the consumer engagement hook at on-premise events during the countdown to the Super Bowl to excite consumers and elevate their Coors Light brand experience.

?The iPhone/iPod touch has a robust set of development tools, innovative on-board operating system, powerful feature set, small form and perception as a high-quality, aspirational product,? said Allison Gugala, marketing manager at Fullhouse, Chicago.

?These qualities make the iPhone and iPod touch valuable consumer-focused branding tools,? she said. ?They are a good alternative to the heavier, bulkier Tablet PC?s that MillerCoors promotional teams have been using in the field to collect consumer data and engage consumers.?

Coors Light partnered with Fullhouse to create the Coors Light 1st and Cold mobile game to engage consumers at on-premise events and elevate their brand experience.

The Coors Light Super Bowl XLIV promotion will run for 44 days before Super Bowl XLIV, starting Dec. 26. The Coors Light 1st and Cold game will be in use during the same timeframe.  

The on-premise version of the game supports the link between Coors Light and the NFL sponsorship by including Coors Light branding and NFL and Super Bowl XLIV marks.

During on-premise events, brand ambassadors will approach consumers and invite them to take to the cold and drive the field in a high-flying offense-only football game from Coors Light.

Players will have two minutes to rack up as many points as possible by repeatedly driving a 50-yard field in four downs to score.

Players can choose to go the distance and pass or run the ball in, or can test their kicking skills and go for three. Players tap to pass, tilt to run and swipe to kick. Top scores get posted to the game?s leaderboard.

Consumers will be invited to continue their Coors Light 1st and Cold game experience beyond the on-premise event by downloading it from the iTunes App Store. 

The iTunes version of the game allows consumers with a connection to the Internet to see other players? scores. It also includes a Facebook Connect option that allows consumers to post their high score to their Facebook page. 

Allowing consumers to share game scores on their Facebook pages helps to create visibility and builds in a viral hook for the game.

The 360-degree promotion includes additional on-premise activities, such as a Super Bowl trivia game and giveaways.

Off-premise includes enhanced displays, cross-merchandising offers and the sweepstakes. Packaging, print materials and advertising also have been developed to support the promotion.

Brand ambassador teams have been using the iPhone/iPod touch as a component of their on-premise technology arsenal, primarily as a consumer-facing gaming platform to engage consumers, per Ms. Gugala. 

The iPhone platform was chosen for this promotion because there is high consumer adoption among key Coors Light targeted demographics.

According to NetworkWorld, Apple reports that the iPhone and iPod touch are currently available in 80 countries around the globe, with sales exceeding 50 million units.

This number has seen significant growth, up 37 million from April 2009 alone.

The phone also ranks second among top-selling U.S. smartphones for the second quarter of 2009. Of the consumers who own smartphones, the iPhone indexes high for Coors Light?s target consumer age-demographic (more than 74 percent are 21 years or older).

?The goals of the program are to increase consumer engagement through promotional participation and to reinforce Coors Light as the official beer sponsor of the Super Bowl,? Ms. Gugala said.

?As part of the overall promotion, on-premise events will be conducted to educate and excite consumers, drive trial and repeat purchase of Coors Light and engage consumers with a branded experience that compliments their Super Bowl celebration,? she said.