• TechCrunch
• CrunchBase
• More
  • TechCrunch Europe
  • TechCrunch France
  • TechCrunch Japan

PartingGift

edit

PartingGift is a USA-based startup that makes and hosts Internet casual games for major brands. Their team of developers, designers and project, marketing and sales personnel is based in Hyannis, Massachusetts.

PartingGift, LLC is pleased to announce their official launch, with the rollout of their first project for international client Dunkin’ Brands.

PartingGift’s engagement with Dunkin’ is part of the quick-serve restaurant chain’s desire to leverage Facebook and other social media beyond “Likes” and links. On Your Mark! – featured on Dunkin’s Facebook page – simulates the drive through experience from the “other” side of the window. Players are challenged to quickly and accurately make iced coffee orders for drive through customers, competing for a chance to win $10 Dunkin’ gift cards.

The beta test of the game with Dunkin’s crew resulted in extremely high interaction times – an average of about 60 minutes per player. According to PartingGift CEO/CTO Brad Crowell, “For brands, PartingGift offers the unique combination of long-format engagement and an experience that is exquisitely personal.” On Your Mark! will run through August 31, 2011 and is the first in a series of coffee games PartingGift is developing to help Dunkin’ educate consumers about new products and initiatives.

Beyond delivering a strong marketing message and driving brand revenue through prizes and coupons, PartingGift’s pièce de résistance is their market research capability. By using clever gameplay and viral tools to help predict what consumers will buy tomorrow, “The virtual focus group setting (otherwise known as social media) facilitates authentic consumer insights, in real time, says Crowell. “And if brands can predict the future, they can optimize for it.”

PartingGift runs its platform in the cloud via Microsoft’s Windows Azure, providing their clients with maximum up time, stability, and data security. As a Microsoft BizSpark partner, PartingGift will be also featured in a video available this month via MicrosoftBizSpark’s Channel on YouTube.

Milestones

edit

Videos

Screenshots

edit

Sources