Questo partnered with HBO Max to help launch a new TV series

Recently, Questo partnered with HBO Max to help promote the streaming platform’s new Romanian show, RUXX.

We created a personalised game where you could interact with the characters in the TV show while visiting locations in Bucharest where the series was filmed. 

With these sorts of games, it’s very important to know the target audience. In this case, COVID restrictions in Bucharest had just been lifted. There was a restlessness among people in the city that was very palpable, and so an outdoor event was ideal - have people get out of the house, reconnect with friends, family, and even with other people from their city. 

The brand experience took the form of an urban treasure hunt. 

But you can’t just tell people to go out for a walk in the city - even if it’s got to do with HBO - so there were prizes involved too. Still thinking about the wants and needs of the target audience, the grand prize was an electric scooter - useful for someone living in the city, but also keeping it linked to RUXX, where one of the main characters often used electric scooters. 

All the wants and needs of the audience have been taken into consideration, but what about integrating the brand story into the customer story? 

A streaming service like HBO aims to bring stories closer to people, allowing them to watch shows anywhere and at any time. Questo wanted to bring people to the stories. 

RUXX was filmed in Bucharest, where the event took place. If you watched a show and the action happened two metro stops away from your house, would you not be intrigued to walk in the shoes of those characters? 

We made it happen through a city exploration game that took fans to all the filming locations of RUXX in the centre of Bucharest. This way, the brand story and the customer story met. 

Did it work? The numbers speak for themselves - 600 people played the game and gave us a five-star rating when it was launched, over 250 content creators mentioned the event and the game, and more than 350 000 people were reached through the event communication (done with an extremely efficient budget)

What’s the key to a successful brand experience? 

If there’s anything to take away from the example given above, it’s to avoid being intrusive. A brand should be present through the story it tells and connect with the audience through shared values. 

Or you can do it with balloons. We took you by surprise with that one, didn’t we? 

We’re not only good with surprises, but with storytelling and gamification, too. 

So what are you waiting for? We’re always open to new collaborations - drop us a line at sales@questoapp.com