Discovery?s Gold Rush characters do cameos in Gameloft?s Oregon Trail game
Characters from the show will appear in the game and introduce new Gold Rush-themed mini-games in banner and interstitial ads on the app. The promotion underscores the growing demand for gamification as brands try new ways to engage a mobile-first audience.
?The idea is to help [Discovery] continue the messaging in the weeks before the premiere,? said Gabriel Goldwasser, United States marketing and public relations manager for Paris-based Gameloft. ?Games can help to get the message out ahead of time,?
Fifth season
Gold Rush, Discovery?s top-rated show, launches its fifth season Oct. 17.
The Oregon Trail: American Settler allows players to settle in the Wild West after their long journey on the Oregon Trail. It is Gameloft?s longest serving freemium game, receiving over 15 content updates since 2011. The latest update is available for free on Apple?s App Store and Google Play.
Doing native integration well.
Visitors to the App Store who check out the app?s description of the game are invited to meet the Gold Rush crew as it celebrates a special Gold Rush Edition.
?The all-star cast from Discovery Channel?s Gold Rush has arrived in Oregon to help you hunt for gold,? the description says. ?The Rush is on! Gold Rush premiere's on Discovery Channel on October 17, 9/8c.
Users are invited to celebrate the upcoming new season of Gold Rush by interacting in-game with gold miners and series characters Todd Hoffman, Parker Schnabel and Tony Beets. Players can join them on excursions to mine for gold.
"Gameloft?s portfolio of games includes about 160 million monthly active users,? Mr. Goldwasser said. ?That?s a pretty large number when you benchmark it against other advertising platforms.
?When there?s a synergy like the Gold Rush and the Oregon Trail partnership we have here, it allows for a brand to natively integrate into our game and pretty much reach our entire network of players.?
Helping Discovery continue the pre-premiere messaging.
The partnership is a natural extension of the series? fan engagement strategy, and a way to connect with millions of Gameloft consumers with new, fresh Gold Rush content.
?Once you get into the game, those characters will appear and will introduce themselves, and introduce the game-playing experience,? Mr. Goldwasser said. ?Players will actually have dialogue with the characters, the characters will give them missions.?
Many levels
Gaming is moving into a central spot in more advertising campaigns, because it has the ability to work on many levels.
Players will have dialogue with the characters.
?Gaming is just the very key component,? Mr. Goldwasser said. ?It?s a platform with a high engagement rate. It?s a platform with creative marketing capabilities. And when you talk about natively placing a brand inside the game, it can be structured in a way that?s beneficial to the players and also meets the interest of the advertiser where there?s high engagement and positive associations.
?This is a great example of how native integration can be done well.?
Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York.
