Branded Entertainment in the sense of Product Placement is restricted in Germany – especially when it comes to state earned media, and a little less restricted on private earned media.

Since our idea did not rely on mainstream media channels but instead approached our target audience individually via direct emails, we did not face any restrictions.

On the other side, with email marketing there is always a high risk of not getting noticed by the recipients among the hundreds of emails in their inboxes. So to get their attention and engage them in further conversations, our content had to be most entertaining, innovative and charming.

The business report was written in text form, then edited, so that the content could be used as Javascript code while remaining easy to read.

A game concept and design were programmed, in which the data from the text-report could be used as parameters for gaming elements. A direct response contact form was integrated in the end.

Text-code and game-code were matched into a single file so by changing the file extension, you could switch between text and game form. This file was sent out via email to potential partners, business opinion leaders and the media.

The Business Report Game was sent out to more than 500 contacts worldwide:

Potential partners, journalists, bloggers and industry opinion leaders.

Within a week, we received more than 300 replies, with a total response rate of 94%.

The responses were overwhelmingly positive and led to ongoing conversations and personal invitations.

Among the many new business relationships generated from the Business Report Game, the most significant is with Swedish digital entertainment company "Stillfront Group", with which Bytro has now merged "to become one of Europe’s leading cross platform providers of digital entertainment".