How does Brine’s mobile game engage lacrosse players. What features make the Brine Shootout app unique. Why is mobile marketing crucial for sports brands. How can branded games drive customer loyalty.
The Rise of Mobile Gaming in Sports Marketing
In an innovative move to connect with its core audience, New Balance’s lacrosse brand Brine has launched a mobile game called “Brine Shootout.” This strategic initiative aims to engage lacrosse players through an interactive digital experience, leveraging the power of mobile technology to build brand loyalty and introduce new products.
The decision to develop a mobile game comes as sports brands increasingly recognize the potential of digital platforms to reach their target demographics. With young athletes spending significant time on their smartphones, creating an endemic mobile game provides a unique opportunity for Brine to maintain a connection with players even when they’re off the field.
Why Mobile Games for Sports Brands?
- Reach players during downtime
- Introduce new products in an engaging format
- Build brand loyalty through interactive experiences
- Capture consumer data at sporting events
- Create a community around the brand
Brine Shootout: Gameplay and Features
The Brine Shootout app offers an immersive lacrosse experience that simulates the action of taking shots on goal. Players view the field from a first-person perspective, with a lacrosse stick visible on screen. The game’s intuitive controls allow users to flick their finger across the screen, mimicking the motion of a real shot.
Key Game Elements:
- Progressive difficulty levels
- Changing distances, angles, and opposing players
- Power Shot feature for knocking down opponents
- Four unique venues: Backyard, High School, College, and Pro
- Unlockable content as players advance
Does the game offer rewards for player engagement? Yes, Brine Shootout incentivizes users by offering enhanced equipment and in-game features. Players can unlock these rewards by submitting their contact information or liking Brine on Facebook, creating a seamless integration between gameplay and brand interaction.
Impact and Early Success of Brine Shootout
The launch of Brine Shootout has shown promising results, demonstrating the potential of branded mobile games in sports marketing. Within its first month of release, the app achieved impressive engagement metrics:
- Nearly 60,000 downloads
- 30% of users playing for 30 minutes or longer
- 80% of users returning for multiple play sessions
How has the game affected Brine’s social media presence? The app’s success has extended beyond direct engagement, sparking organic social media activity. Players have created a dedicated Brine Shootout Twitter account and are using hashtags to share their experiences, fostering a community around the game and the brand.
Mobile Marketing Strategies in the Sports Industry
Brine’s foray into mobile gaming is part of a broader trend in the sports industry, where brands are leveraging mobile technology to connect with their target audiences. Footwear giants like New Balance and Nike are at the forefront of this movement, recognizing the shift in consumer behavior towards mobile devices for sports-related content and engagement.
Examples of Mobile Initiatives by Sports Brands:
- Nike’s golf app for game improvement
- Score-checking and highlight-viewing mobile platforms
- Location-based services for sports fans
- Social media integration in sports apps
Why are sports brands investing in mobile technology? The ubiquity of smartphones among sports enthusiasts provides an unparalleled opportunity for brands to maintain constant contact with their audience. Mobile apps and games offer a way to engage fans and athletes during moments when they might otherwise be disconnected from the sport or brand.
Building a Community Through Mobile Gaming
At the core of Brine’s mobile strategy is the goal of fostering a community of lacrosse players centered around the brand experience. By creating an engaging platform that extends beyond traditional product offerings, Brine aims to strengthen its relationship with its target audience and position itself as an integral part of the lacrosse culture.
Community-Building Features of Brine Shootout:
- Social media integration for sharing achievements
- Leaderboards to encourage competition
- Regular updates with new content and challenges
- In-game rewards that translate to real-world brand engagement
How does a mobile game contribute to brand loyalty? By providing a fun and interactive experience that players return to regularly, Brine creates multiple touchpoints with its audience. This consistent engagement helps to reinforce brand recognition and foster a sense of connection between the player and the brand.
Overcoming Challenges in Reaching Young Athletes
Developing effective marketing strategies for young athletes presents unique challenges. This demographic is often busy with sports practice, academic commitments, and social activities, making it difficult for brands to capture their attention through traditional marketing channels.
Carolyn Hadlock, executive creative director at Young & Laramore, the agency behind Brine Shootout, explains: “It’s challenging to reach an audience who are constantly playing a sport, studying or hanging out with friends. By creating an endemic mobile game, we’ve developed a platform to launch new products through, while reinforcing the Brine brand’s leadership position in the game.”
Advantages of Mobile Games for Reaching Young Athletes:
- Accessibility during short breaks and downtime
- Appeal to the target audience’s gaming interests
- Opportunity for frequent, non-intrusive brand exposure
- Platform for showcasing new products in context
How do mobile games address the attention span of young users? Mobile games like Brine Shootout are designed for quick play sessions, aligning with the sporadic free time available to busy young athletes. This format allows for multiple engagements throughout the day, increasing the overall time spent with the brand.
Leveraging Mobile Games for Product Launch and Brand Reinforcement
One of the key strategic advantages of Brine Shootout is its potential as a platform for launching new products. By integrating new gear and equipment into the game, Brine can showcase its latest offerings in an interactive and engaging manner. This approach allows players to virtually experience new products, potentially driving interest and sales in the real world.
Benefits of In-Game Product Integration:
- Contextual demonstration of product features
- Increased exposure to new product lines
- Creation of virtual product experiences
- Data collection on player preferences and behaviors
How does in-game product integration differ from traditional marketing? Unlike static advertisements or product catalogs, in-game integration allows users to interact with virtual representations of products. This hands-on experience can create a stronger emotional connection and understanding of the product’s benefits, potentially influencing future purchasing decisions.
The Future of Mobile Marketing in Sports
As the success of initiatives like Brine Shootout demonstrates, mobile marketing is poised to play an increasingly significant role in the sports industry. Brands that can effectively leverage mobile technology to create engaging, value-added experiences for their audience are likely to see enhanced customer loyalty and brand recognition.
Emerging Trends in Sports Mobile Marketing:
- Augmented reality (AR) experiences at sporting events
- Virtual reality (VR) training and game simulations
- Personalized mobile content based on player statistics and preferences
- Integration of wearable technology with mobile apps
- Blockchain-based loyalty programs and digital collectibles
What challenges might sports brands face in mobile marketing? As the mobile space becomes more crowded, brands will need to continuously innovate to stand out. Balancing engaging content with data privacy concerns, adapting to rapidly changing mobile technologies, and measuring the ROI of mobile initiatives will be ongoing challenges for marketers in the sports industry.
In conclusion, Brine’s Shootout app represents a forward-thinking approach to sports marketing that leverages the power of mobile gaming to create meaningful connections with consumers. By offering an entertaining and interactive experience that aligns with the interests of its target audience, Brine has created a valuable platform for engagement, product promotion, and community building. As mobile technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see more sports brands following suit, developing innovative mobile strategies to reach and retain their core customer base.
New Balance?s Brine takes a swing at mobile with lacrosse game
ARCHIVES: This is legacy content from before Marketing Dive acquired Mobile Marketer in early 2017. Some information, such as publication dates, may not have migrated over. Check out the new Marketing Dive site for the latest marketing news.
Author
Chantal Tode
New Balance brand Brine has introduced a new mobile lacrosse game designed to engage its audience and build loyalty by letting users unlock real gear to improve their scores.
To play the Brine Shootout app, users flick a finger across the screen to recreate the action of a shot. The app helps Brine engage lacrosse players ? its core audience ? while also introducing new products, building the brand?s social network and driving customer loyalty.
?It?s challenging to reach an audience who are constantly playing a sport, studying or hanging out with friends,? said Carolyn Hadlock, executive creative director at Young & Laramore, Indianapolis, IN.
?By creating an endemic mobile game, we?ve developed a platform to launch new products through, while reinforcing the Brine brand?s leadership position in the game,? she said.
?We also saw an opportunity in the LAX category since there wasn’t a game or app that lived up to the mobile expectations of this target.?
Advertising agency Young & Laramore developed the Brine Shootout mobile game.
Scoring a goal
In addition to providing a way for Brine to continue the relationship with lacrosse players when they are off the field, the app also enables the brand to capture consumer data during summer lacrosse events.
Users view the lacrosse field at eye level from the vantage point of a player getting ready to shoot. A stick can be seen floating in front of the player and a ball is inside the pocket of the head.
By flicking a finger across the screen, the player recreates the action of a shot. Scoring gets increasingly more difficult through as the distance, angle and opposing players change.
The game also features a Power Shot, fueled by filling the Power Meter, which knocks over the opposing players in its path.
The game has four venues, Backyard, High School, College and Pro. Backyard is available initially, and new venues are unlocked as players score goals.
Users are rewarded with enhanced equipment and in-game features by submitting their contact information or by liking Brine on Facebook.
The app is available for the iOS and Android platforms.
Building a community
In its first month of being available, the game had just under 60,000 downloads, with 30 percent of users playing for half an hour or longer and 80 percent of all users having played more than once.
Additionally, players have created a Brine Shootout account on Twitter and using Brine Shootout hash tags to share their victories and defeats, Young & Laramore reports.
Footwear brands such as New Balance and Nike are enlisting mobile to help them reach targeted audience segments as sports fans increasingly flock to their mobile devices to check scores, watch recaps and otherwise keep up to date on their favorite sports.
For example, Nike recently launched an iPhone app designed to help golfers improve their game through the use of photos, social media and location (see story).
?The strategy is to ultimately build a community of lacrosse players around the Brine experience,? Ms. Hadlock said.
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