Games are content: FWD MAX turns health content into a virtual theme park

In a world where competition for consumer engagement is fierce, how do brands stand out from one another? Here’s where games come into play (pun intended). Far beyond entertainment, games have emerged as a dynamic form of content that brands leverage to deliver key messages and create memorable experiences.

How are games a form of content? 

Games transport players into a branded environment where they can experience the brand's values, products, or services first-hand. There are unlimited ways to incorporate key messages into games, but the following are common examples:

• Narrative integration
• Visual and audio cues
• In-game challenges and quests
• Rewards and achievements
• In-game surveys or feedback

Why are games a great form of content? 

As a result of social distancing during the pandemic, digital consumption has significantly increased. And games are a direct response to consumer’s needs for a virtual, personalised and interactive experience. Gone are the days of one-sided communication. Traditional content, such as TV commercials and articles, often offers limited opportunities for audience engagement. Therefore, it’s difficult for them to develop a deep connection with the brand.

Games provide an immersive experience 

On the other hand, as games actively involve users, allowing them to make choices and solve challenges, they provide an immersive experience that traditional methods lack. As a result, players become emotionally connected to the brand, and the messages conveyed within the game become embedded in their memory.

Games drive the best brand advocacy 

Games also have a unique ability to create memorable experiences. When players enjoy a game, they often share their experiences with friends, family, and online communities. These players then become the brand’s best advocates, voluntarily promoting the game and, by extension, the brand itself. This organic form of advocacy is more effective than traditional advertising because it stems from genuine enthusiasm and personal connection.

Games are a gold mine of useful data 

And then there’s game data mining. By delving into the vast troves of player data, marketers gain invaluable knowledge about player preferences, engagement patterns, and in-game behaviors. This wealth of information is extremely useful for marketers to tailor marketing strategies for different target audiences, potentially resulting in higher engagement rates and improved ROI.

Case study: FWD MAX “Here we are for your health” campaign 

FWD MAX’s largest-ever campaign “Here we are for your health” in collaboration with popular boy band MIRROR is a perfect example of adopting games as a form of content. Aiming to motivate the public to lead a healthy lifestyle and change the way people feel about insurance, the campaign divided MIRROR into three teams that represent three aspects of health: Team Food, Team Music and Team Sports. After picking their desired team, players have to play health-related games to earn fanchant merch in order to boost their team’s total fanchant. The team with the most fanchant will win. Here are some of the games:

A virtual theme park with different games to choose from.

Knowledge of a healthy diet is embedded in a quiz.

The games require players to move their body, which align with the brand’s encouragement to exercise regularly.

Players can earn additional fanchant merch after filling in the survey.

Players can use fanchant merch to redeem a lucky draw voucher, which gives them a chance to win prizes including vouchers and MIRROR posters.

The campaign was a success. With a stunning record of over 95,000 game sessions played and over 237,000 fanchant merch collected, the campaign has not only achieved the insurance company’s goal of promoting a healthy lifestyle and changing the public’s perception of insurance, it has also developed a much deeper understanding of its potential customers, which will improve the targeted marketing in the long run.

As a brand, FWD Insurance stands “Celebrate Living”, the notion that the role of insurance should be an enabler to live life to the fullest. As such, the company wanted the new FWD MAX experience to live up to this vision and empower people to “celebrate living”.

To achieve this, FWD Insurance expanded the range and variety of unique incentive experiences such as gamification as well as relevant lifestyle content on the platform and make the incentives more conveniently redeemed, handled, and managed on-the-go, enabling FWD MAX and its experiences to truly be a part of customers’ lifestyle.

The driving force behind this innovative campaign is Cymballe, a digital marketing agency consisting of a team of passionate creative, marketing and IT infrastructure specialists, who strive to create exceptional brand experiences with the most exciting innovative technologies, and help brands stay ahead in digital transformation.

This article is sponsored by Cymballe.