A Tesla Model 3 for playing an advergame

Yep, you heard it right. Chiptole took advergames to the next level and announced a Tesla Model 3 for the winner of Race to Rewards. Even players ranking 2nd-10th positions on the leaderboard won electric bikes and skateboards. The advergame-driven campaign lasted for 48 hours only. Chiptole has been running its loyalty program since 2019. The objective was to celebrate the existing rewards program and launch the Chipotle Rewards Exchange. The brand also partnered up with gaming influencers to spread the word. The 16-bit vintage advergame tasked participants to sign up, choose one of eco-friendly transport, then race on a firm-inspired map and collect Chiptole branded items. This play-to-earn game had no limit on playing. A player could exchange earned points for food, drinks, and even Chiptole merchandise. Was this browser-based advergame any good for Chiptole? Apparently, it was a massive success. The campaign was well-received by the online gaming community. Players posted their top scores across various social media and asked their peers to play. Chiptole received 71K new Chipotle Rewards members with 2.1 million game plays and over 15K social shares. The game was played for over 36 million minutes, resulting in an average of 17+ minutes average play time per player. Alongside eco-friendly vehicles for the winners, Chiptole also gave away over 200k chips to the participants. The game is still live on a Chiptole-branded microsite. Gamified advertising is backed by multiple scientific pieces of research. Chiptole's strategic approach with advergames is proof of how these games can make a strong connection between a brand and its target consumers. The prolonged brand exposure even influences the buying decision. In this cookieless world of advertising, advergames can be an effective shortcut for collecting first-party user data. At the same time offering the audience an immersive, distraction-free gaming experience. #ingameadvertising #marketing #gamification