TLDR (Graphic)
- Problem: OCBC Bank wanted to boost adoption of the OCBC Pay Anyone app, while PastaMania and LiHO wanted to increase sales of their food & beverages.
- Gamification Solution: In #HuntTheMouse, players followed hints to locate a physical gold coin worth S$50,000. To get extra hints, players performed brand actions such as making Pay Anyone transactions, or purchasing PastaMania dishes and LiHO drinks.
- Game Mechanics: #HuntTheMouse was designed to create excitement, continuously re-engage players, and be accessible for all to join.
- Results: OCBC Bank increased app downloads by 14% and tripled the value of merchant transactions, while participating partners generated over S$1,000,000 from extra hints.
Featured Statistics (Graphic)
- Drove more than 210,000 players to hunt all over Singapore
- More than 100,000 extra hints were given out by participating outlets, generating over $1,000,000 in extra sales
- Won Gold for Best Campaign — Viral Marketing at Mob-Ex Awards 2018
- Won Bronze for Best Campaign — Social Platform at Mob-Ex Awards 2018
- Won Bronze for Best Idea — Social at MARKies Awards 2018
Our Clients
💡 Overseas-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC Bank) is a Singapore multinational banking and financial services corporation.
💡 Commonwealth Capital is a Singapore-based investment company with a F&B portfolio, including restaurant and bakery chains PastaMania and Kraftwich.
💡 Royal T Group is the parent company behind F&B brands in Singapore such as LiHO, Nene Chicken and more.
💡 PolicyPal is an insurtech company which helps users manage their insurance digitally.
💡 oBike was a Singapore stationless bicycle-sharing company.
Client Challenges
💡 How can OCBC boost the adoption rate of their all-in-one payment app OCBC Pay Anyone?
With the launch of their new all-in-one OCBC Pay Anyone application, OCBC Bank wanted to quickly raise awareness amongst consumers about the ability to easily scan QR codes when making transactions with merchants. Given that the existing QR payment industry was extremely competitive, they wished to create a viral marketing campaign to set themselves apart.
💡 How can F&B outlets such as PastaMania, Kraftwich, and LiHO in Singapore attract more customers to dine out?
Other clients, including Commonwealth Capital (PastaMania, Kraftwich), Royal T Group (LiHO), PolicyPal, and oBike, wanted to reach out to more people and get them to interact with their food and beverage, insurance, and bike-sharing services. For instance, Commonwealth Capital was looking for a creative way to market the launch of PastaMania’s new Fusion Mania menu.
💡 Table of Contents (for readers to click to section they’re most interested in)
- Client’s Challenge
- Our Solution
- Our Unique Game Mechanics
- The Results
#HuntTheMouse
With these client pain points in mind, we designed the viral #HuntTheMouse campaign to help OCBC and F&B merchants maximise consumer reach.
The one-of-a-kind #HuntTheMouse kicked off on 31 August 2017, offering S$50,000 to the first person to locate a gold coin hidden under a random object. Daily hints gave clues to the coin’s physical location in Singapore.
The promise of finding such a substantial cash reward drove over 210,000 people to actively hunt for the coin.
Solution 1: Extra Hints For Brand Actions
In exchange for performing brand actions like ordering food or using QR payment services, we rewarded players with valuable extra hints that helped them on their quest to find the hidden gold coin.
For example, players that purchased meals or drinks at PastaMania, Kraftwich, or LiHO outlets island-wide received free scratch cards revealing extra hints. Those that spent at least S$5 at Orchard Gateway also would receive these scratch cards.
For example, players that purchased meals or drinks at PastaMania, Kraftwich, or LiHO outlets island-wide received free scratch cards revealing extra hints. Those that spent at least S$5 at Orchard Gateway also would receive these scratch cards.
Furthermore, additional scratch cards were given to players who used OCBC Pay Anyone to pay for their purchases at these participating outlets.
We predicted that since players had already made the effort to visit these outlets, they would tell themselves that they might as well complete their transactions via OCBC Pay Anyone to get an extra hint.
Similarly, players who downloaded the PolicyPal insurance app and signed up for a free account were awarded free virtual hints.
Solution 2: Digital Publicity To Create Buzz
Besides driving transactions, the event generated significant buzz for participating partners. Partners benefitted from media publicity where they were prominently featured on Sqkii’s Facebook page, event website, MRT ads, and so on.
Many players also speculated that the gold coin would be hidden at a spot near participating partners, and went to great lengths to learn more about the brands.
As seen in the HardwareZone forum thread, “Hunt The Mouse to find $50,000 CASH”, players could be seen discussing nearby PastaMania outlets in the Orchard area. It racked up more than 10,000 comments and 1,600,000 page views in less than a month, turning out to be one of the most-viewed threads in HardwareZone history.
An In-Depth Look: Unique Game Mechanics and Psychology
Rather than being a game of luck or chance, #HuntTheMouse used hints to empower players to use their skills. Given that players who focused on hints had a greater chance of finding the hidden gold coin, players were naturally invested in obtaining and interpreting more hints.
Creating Excitement and Expectation
Rather than directly displaying the extra hint, scratch cards created an element of suspense and excitement for players to find out what hint they received.
In particular, the labelling of extra hints as a regular hint or “Golden Hint” motivated players to continue spending at participating outlets for the chance of receiving a more valuable hint next time. In the event that players received less valuable hints, knowing that it was a “Common Hint” helped to manage player expectations and reduce potential disappointment when spending.
Re-Engaging Players Daily
Hints were released daily at a fixed schedule of 10am, 2pm, and 6pm, targeting players at the start of the day, middle of the day, and at the end of the day. As such, players consciously returned and drove traffic to our Sqkii social media pages.
Moreover, frequently dropping fresh clues helped to re-engage players, spurring them to continue their search efforts.
Making It Easy and Accessible
At the beginning of the campaign, hints were purposefully structured such that players felt that the game was easy to play. Because hints referenced common landmarks or objects, every fire hydrant or MRT station nearby gave players hope and excitement that the gold coin might be hidden there. This direction created a low barrier to entry for casual players to join.
At the same time, clues were still generic enough to ensure that the gold coin was not found in the early days. Over the years, we have learnt to carefully balance the accessibility of hints and the longevity of the game.
What went well for our clients
According to our official prize sponsor OCBC Bank, app downloads for OCBC Pay Anyone increased by 14% through the campaign. Additionally, the total value of Pay Anyone payments increased three times as compared to previous months.
Participants even drove mobile application downloads for PolicyPal to the point where it ranked #1 on the App Store during the campaign period.
Moreover, clients like Commonwealth Capital, Royal T Group, PolicyPal, and oBike ended up distributing 100,000 extra hints to avid players who purchased over S$1,000,000 worth of bike-sharing, insurance, and food and beverage products and services.
What went well for the campaign
All in all, #HuntTheMouse proved to be a viral and engaging campaign that generated much traction among the masses. The avid hunters who started searching all over Singapore for hours together would only continue to grow from this first edition into our loyal community of players. Apart from self-generated social media content from players, #HuntTheMouse also received numerous features from various media outlets.
Lessons Learnt
- Large cash rewards can drive people from all walks of life to join the game, as well as drive significant word-of-mouth publicity
- Players are motivated to gain extra hints, and are definitely willing to perform brand actions and spend money to obtain them
- With the awareness of “Golden Hints” as compared to regular hints, players will continue to put in efforts to obtain them
- Frequently posting hints at a fixed schedule helps re-engage players to continue playing
- Posting accessible hints makes players feel that the game is easy to join
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Why play?
Many were attracted by the possibility of winning S$50,000 and hence driven to participate in #HuntTheMouse. The accessibility of the hints also encouraged them to start playing immediately.
Why stay?
The free and frequent daily hints served to re-engage players consistently, where the constant availability of new information motivated them to continue searching for the S$50,000 coin.
Why spend?
In a race to find the coin ahead of others, players were invested in obtaining extra hints on top of the free daily hints. Using OCBC Pay Anyone and purchasing PastaMania food provided a relatively easy and attractive option to gain these extra hints and advance their quest.
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