Hersch Games opens up about EyeCons
Wednesday, November 23, 2016
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Richard Harris |
EyeCons is a new platform that enables brands, businesses, events and venues to promote themselves and their affiliated sponsors through an interactive digital experience that gives users the opportunity to win offline prizes as they play.
The platform enables brands to identify unique content and prize opportunities customized for each player while on the backend, clients access a dashboard that tracks metrics against each KPI in real time.
We recently sat down with Hillary Hersch, the president of EyeCons to tell us more about their product.
Hersch: EyeCons features a matrix of stacked tiles, each one branded with a particular image such as a logo, a product or a prize. Players touch matching tiles in a test of speed that rewards them with real-world prizes as they advance to new levels. Proximity marketing campaigns are enabled through location targeting, while specific in-venue rewards are offered by way of beacon integration.
Rewards are offered as either static or video interstitials, customized with each brand’s content. Rather than interrupt players with advertising, we’re encouraging users to play with advertising.
Hersch: We knew that EyeCons was never just “a mobile game.” Not only was EyeCons the first board game to be digitized within the 30-year history of Hersch Games, it had an entirely other purpose as a dynamic marketing tool. With that in mind, we knew we needed a design expert that had familiarity with long-standing brands and understood our vision to introduce this component to our new digital play-pattern. Los York houses an incredibly talented team of highly versatile creative thinkers and doers that combine strategy, creative ideation, content creation, and digital media all under one roof. They’re a truly incredible team to work with and I’m honored to call them our partner.
Hersch: Hands down, the biggest challenge was trying to create manageable expectations during each stage of development. From Day One, I’ve always had a complete 360 vision for EyeCons and its ability to revolution industries from live entertainment and sports, to transportation (taxis, airports), shopping centers, and movie theaters. As such, I wanted the game to have every bell and whistle possible from the start. Learning the crawl, walk, run model, in addition to recognizing the value in a real MVP, has allowed us to grow our development efforts at a more efficient and successful pace.
Hersch: Given the over-saturation of digital advertising across multi-platform digital devices, EyeCons presents an excitingly disruptive avenue for sponsorship revenue and mobile game monetization. Our core game model provides another distinct consumer acquisition touchpoint, allowing brands to generate exponentially higher ROIs.
Hersch: The live events community (concerts, festivals and sports) has taken an exceptionally strong liking to EyeCons, as a result of the very clear recognition that all fans are a completely untapped and captive audience. Whether the fans are lined up before doors or waiting during intermission or half time, there are hundreds of thousands of fans that are physically on site and simply waiting to be engaged with something that is relevant to them at their particular location. People are already on their phones, so steering them to play a mobile game with exciting prizes delivers instant gratification and allows brands to engage with fans beyond the venue walls.
Additionally, we’re having exciting discussions with casino operators that see EyeCons as an incredibly useful tool to boost user acquisition and retention with millennials. As casinos struggle to engage with this demographic, we are excited to soon offer 24/7 access to highly valuable prizes (concert tickets, bottle service at nightclubs, discounts at restaurants, etc.) to be redeemed directly with the cashier on the casino floor.
Hersch: Yes. Not only are we exploring variations on the core game mechanics to accommodate our various client needs (tapping vs. swiping), but we’re also thrilled to complete our self-service platform wherein clients can customize in-game content from a single dashboard.
ADM: How does EyeCons work?
Hersch: EyeCons features a matrix of stacked tiles, each one branded with a particular image such as a logo, a product or a prize. Players touch matching tiles in a test of speed that rewards them with real-world prizes as they advance to new levels. Proximity marketing campaigns are enabled through location targeting, while specific in-venue rewards are offered by way of beacon integration.
Rewards are offered as either static or video interstitials, customized with each brand’s content. Rather than interrupt players with advertising, we’re encouraging users to play with advertising.
ADM: You selected Los York to design the game, why?
Hersch: We knew that EyeCons was never just “a mobile game.” Not only was EyeCons the first board game to be digitized within the 30-year history of Hersch Games, it had an entirely other purpose as a dynamic marketing tool. With that in mind, we knew we needed a design expert that had familiarity with long-standing brands and understood our vision to introduce this component to our new digital play-pattern. Los York houses an incredibly talented team of highly versatile creative thinkers and doers that combine strategy, creative ideation, content creation, and digital media all under one roof. They’re a truly incredible team to work with and I’m honored to call them our partner.
ADM: What were the biggest challenges you faced in developing this app?
Hersch: Hands down, the biggest challenge was trying to create manageable expectations during each stage of development. From Day One, I’ve always had a complete 360 vision for EyeCons and its ability to revolution industries from live entertainment and sports, to transportation (taxis, airports), shopping centers, and movie theaters. As such, I wanted the game to have every bell and whistle possible from the start. Learning the crawl, walk, run model, in addition to recognizing the value in a real MVP, has allowed us to grow our development efforts at a more efficient and successful pace.
ADM: Beyond the game, what are some of EyeCons’ broader applications?
Hersch: Given the over-saturation of digital advertising across multi-platform digital devices, EyeCons presents an excitingly disruptive avenue for sponsorship revenue and mobile game monetization. Our core game model provides another distinct consumer acquisition touchpoint, allowing brands to generate exponentially higher ROIs.
ADM: What business sectors are most attracted to the EyeCons platform, and why?
Hersch: The live events community (concerts, festivals and sports) has taken an exceptionally strong liking to EyeCons, as a result of the very clear recognition that all fans are a completely untapped and captive audience. Whether the fans are lined up before doors or waiting during intermission or half time, there are hundreds of thousands of fans that are physically on site and simply waiting to be engaged with something that is relevant to them at their particular location. People are already on their phones, so steering them to play a mobile game with exciting prizes delivers instant gratification and allows brands to engage with fans beyond the venue walls.
Additionally, we’re having exciting discussions with casino operators that see EyeCons as an incredibly useful tool to boost user acquisition and retention with millennials. As casinos struggle to engage with this demographic, we are excited to soon offer 24/7 access to highly valuable prizes (concert tickets, bottle service at nightclubs, discounts at restaurants, etc.) to be redeemed directly with the cashier on the casino floor.
ADM: Do you have future development plans for this app?
Hersch: Yes. Not only are we exploring variations on the core game mechanics to accommodate our various client needs (tapping vs. swiping), but we’re also thrilled to complete our self-service platform wherein clients can customize in-game content from a single dashboard.
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