Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) accelerated its mobile advertising to raise more revenue and improve its shareholders confidence in the company, by partnering with Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) (TYO:7267) in promoting the all-new 2013 Honda Accord.
The 2013 Honda Accord promotional campaign is part of Zynga’s first reward-based mobile advertising program. As part of the 2013 Honda Accord promo, Zynga players will have the chance to earn in-game currency and tips by playing Honda-related words in the popular games “Words with Friends” and “Scramble with Friends.”
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) kicked-off the campaign with the “It Starts with You” multi-media initiative for the Accord on October 6. “Words with Friends” players were asked to provide the word of the day. According to the company, more than 220,000 Honda sponsored words including new, tech, and you, were played during the first four days of the promotion.
Meanwhile, the “Scramble with Friends” promo started on October 13, and lasts until the end of the month. The game features a branded game board, and players, who can locate the words accord, luxury, and new, are rewarded with tokens.
Julie Shumaker, VP of Global Brand Sales for Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) said the company is capitalizing on the reward-based advertising concept because of its tremendous success in the company’s web games. She said, “As a leading social entertainment company, Zynga is focused on delivering value to brands through the most engaging and innovative ad products that both surprise and delight our huge player base… we are thrilled to offer our first-ever mobile reward advertising program to promote the all-new 2013 Honda Accord.”
The company’s reward-based advertising offers players in-game credits, digital products, and many other items by simply interacting with the advertiser’s messages. It has been successful on its web games with the promotional campaigns of major brands, including McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) and Nordstrom, Inc. (NYSE:JWN).
Based on Honda’s independent research, the “It Starts With You” multimedia initiative for the Accord’s target audience has a strong affinity for word and puzzle games. The car company decided to reach out with Zynga, since the games Words with Friends and Scramble with Friends fits best for Honda Accords target audience. Players for both games spent more than eight million minutes playing per month, according to comScore.
“Our deep understanding of the customer is what drew us to two of the largest mobile social word and puzzle games- Zynga’s Words With Friends and Scramble With Friends,” according to John Watts, Senior Manager of Digital Marketing for American Honda Motor Co Ltd (NYSE:HMC) (TYO:7267)
The “It Starts With You” promo highlights all the sophisticated features, dynamic performance, and value of the 2013 Honda Accord.
Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) is experiencing financial trouble, as shares of the company continue to plummet since its IPO. Investors are uncertain of the company’s capability to generate revenue in the mobile market, which prompted analysts to downgrade their stock rating for the company further. Several of the company’s top executives resigned during the previous months, due to concerns of the future of the company. Furthermore, accounting issues have been brought up related to the company’s financial statements.
