AdNectar Rolls Out New Engagement Goods

This week AdNectar announced the results of a recent campaign on Facebook for Jameson Irish Whiskey. The campaign introduced a new type of branded virtual good for AdNectar, one that contained an embedded link to a Jameson Facebook app that asked users to vote for the official Jameson drink of the upcoming St. Patrick's Day holiday. Casting a vote at the Jameson app adds an official Jameson "supporter" virtual gift to a user's profile, shaped like the user's Jameson drink of choice. As of this writing, over 100,000 votes have been cast. 

The AdNectar branded Jameson goods appeared both in social games that participate in the AdNectar network, and in adult virtual gifting apps like Pass A Drink and Drinks On Me. AdNectar only allowed the Jameson virtual good to appear in applications that used age-gating to restrict access to users over the age of 21. AdNectar added additional age-gating to the Jameson virtual gift, preventing Facebook users under the age of 21 from receiving it. 

The Jameson branded virtual goods are a key component of a broader Jameson campaign intended to raise awareness of the brand before St. Patrick's Day. This campaign includes a television spot and a special radio broadcast from the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin, Ireland. The broadcast features 42 participating DJs from 19 US radio stations. The Jameson virtual goods campaign was promoted through radio, print, and in-bar advertising. 

In the Jameson poll that users access through the branded virtual goods, users could vote different drinks featuring Jameson Whisky. The spotlight drinks included Jameson & Ginger, Jameson & Cola, Jameson on the Rocks, Jameson Shots, and Jameson Neat. According to AdNectar VP of Marketing Paul Martecchini, the poll is currently a dead heat between Jameson & Ginger and Jameson & Cola for most popular. 

Martecchini also says that "several times" more Jameson branded virtual gifts were sent than votes cast. AdNectar's 40 platform partners have a total reach of about 40 million regular users of social networks, platform applications, and 3D environments, though the Jameson campaign was conducted only on Facebook. AdNectar CEO Nir Eyal says that AdNectar will also be launching branded virtual goods campaigns on mobile platforms soon. 

"Our buzzword for this year for how brands will interact with virtual goods is 'social endorsement,'" said Eyal. "The good is a vehicle that gets people to talk about the brand and how much they like it. That's good for everybody, because the brand doesn't have to give anything up to make it happen. People organically want to send the goods like the Jameson virtual drinks within their social games, so the goods enhance the user's enjoyment."

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