Unveiled earlier this year in New York City, Walmart Unlimited gamifies consumers’ shopping experience through an online video game that spotlights independent brands and allows users to purchase products in-game when signed into their Walmart account.
The game is designed to “meet customers outside of the traditional four walls of Walmart,” including its app and website, Justin Breton, Walmart’s head of brand marketing innovation explained in this episode of Brand Alchemy.
“With Walmart Unlimited, we are meeting gamers where they are spending their time and we are shortening that distance between inspiration and commerce,” Breton said.
Users can access the game from any internet-capable device, enabling Walmart to gain valuable feedback such as playing time and engagement points throughout the game, Breton added.
Welcome to Brand Alchemy
Brand Alchemy is a monthly multimedia series from FoodNavigator-USA that delves into the art and science of transforming products into brands. In this series, we explore how strategic design, compelling marketing and creative packaging shape CPG products into lasting impressions that resonate with consumers and drive sales.
- From click to conversion: How brands can bridge the gap between social media and website experience: A seamless digital experience can make or break a brand, according to Samantha McClure, director of marketing at Cro Metrics, who says brands can optimize their digital experience for higher conversions by mapping the customer journey to identify drop-off points.
- How brands are turning influencers into storytellers: In an exclusive interview with the American Egg Board and Pacific Foods, this episode explores how their partnerships with influencers — Olympic breakdancer Sunny Choi and celebrity chef Matty Matheson — leverage their unique personalities to create relatable campaigns that boost brand awareness.
- Designing for impact: Design is often a multi-faceted strategy that balances creativity with constraints while artfully delivering a brand’s narrative to stand out on shelves, as demonstrated by Michael Cina, owner and creative director of Cina Associates, who employed design elements to address high printing costs for Black Beach Coffee’s packaging.
- How can sustainable media buying lower carbon emissions and costs for brands?: Optimizing the digital advertising supply chain to reduce unnecessary ad delivery and carbon emissions offers brands an effective KPI to cut costs and enhance sustainability efforts
Telling A Dozen Cousins’ story through gamified shopping
Walmart’s first chapter on CPG food products features A Dozen Cousins founder Ibraheem Basir and his story, along with other brands in the digital story, which includes pasta and condiment brand Yo Mama’s Foods.
Unlimited can be accessed across web-enabled devices for a “seamless experience from seeing awareness through marketing campaigns and then jumping right into the game,” said Gianna Valintina, global head of strategic partnerships at Spatial.
In the game, users collect ingredients across Brooklyn rooftops for Basir to use in a recipe – with the ability to purchase A Dozen Cousins products.
Consumers “can buy, shop and then have those products delivered right to their door after the game,” explained Valintina.
Typically gaming purchases are digital assets and Walmart Unlimited connects the emotional experience with a real product, Valintina said.
“In this game, you actually fall in love with the lore, but can purchase the real product. So that game transcends from a digital experience to a physical experience,” she said.
Walmart Unlimited will continue to work with Spatial to introduce future chapters that focus on other categories like personal care and beauty products, Breton said.
“As we think about the future of commerce, immersive commerce plays a big role in that. And so for us, we are continuing to test and learn through activations like Walmart Unlimited, we are helping drive meaningful engagement with our brands,” he added.
