Not everyone thinks of branding as a game, but
it turned out to be a perfect solution for Qpass, a
high-tech company that provides infrastructure software
for global mobile telephone companies. When
Qpass shifted its business focus from consumers to
business-to-business, an important objective was to
relaunch its brand internally with employees. Qpass
called on Seattle-based brand firm
Methodologie for
a solution that would capture the interest of associates
so they’d know the company was changing
focus and understand the new context in which they
would be working. In this way, each employee could
become a “brand steward” for the newly transformed
organization.
No brand manual, please
“Our client was looking for an innovative repositioning
solution that would capture the exuberance
of this digital company’s culture and educate
employees about changes in their business structure,”
says Methodologie creative director Dale
Hart. “Qpass knew they didn’t want a manual, and
they were willing to explore some fun and interesting
alternatives.” The company wanted to get
their employees excited about changes in business
offerings as well. To meet this brief, Methodologie
developed an unorthodox campaign that centered
on a unique card game supported by promotional
items and a temporary redesign of Qpass’ employee
intranet site.
The spirit of the game and its wild ‘n’ crazy
graphics was tuned for the break-the-rules culture of
the young company. According to Hart, “Our best
and most successful work comes from clients who
are risk takers. It’s rare, but great when it happens. In
the case of Qpass, [the question] was how far can we
push it?”
Each of the 29 game cards represents a brand
element (mission, promise, etc.), company fact (year
founded, company folklore), or company association
(primary market information, corporate icon).
The entire staff became involved in playing the game
over the course of what was, in effect, a month-long
special event.
Collecting for employee interaction
The point of the game was to learn more about
the company and brand by trading and collecting
“brand cards.” Each employee received a metal keepsake
box and 10 random cards. Employees traded
with each other to collect “suits” of like cards, which
allowed them to win prizes.
The Methodologie project team had a few tricks
up their sleeves: In some instances, senior managers
held certain key cards, which caused staff members
to have to come to them and respond to a quiz question;
with the correct answer, the employee would be
rewarded with the prized card. Other cards were hidden
around the company’s headquarters to be spotted
by sharp-eyed employees.
The game created a frenzy of interaction and
trading activity almost immediately. “We noticed that
within days of the game’s launch, Qpass cards were
being traded at a premium on eBay! This branding
exercise really inspired a fun competitiveness within
the company,” notes Methodologie marketing manager
John Carroll.
As “uncorporate” as possible
Designing the cards was a treat for Methodologie,
an opportunity to be wildly creative with icons,
imagery, and graphics that were playful, varied, and
as satirical as possible, all in keeping with the attitude
of Qpass. All the designers on Methodologie’s
staff were involved; they pursued a variety of stylistic
interpretations, mostly with a pop-culture spin.
Images of clowns, children’s books, woodworking
tools, the game Twister, the color blindness test, the
moon walk photo … even Elvis made it into the
deck. The game has a Joker card; just for fun the
Qpass marketing director (Methodologie’s client
contact) was the featured image.
All these cards, rendered in a variety of illustrative
styles, work together in a crazy quilt of
brand expression. Dale Hart summarizes the design
approach: “The whole system is really a carnival of
color, no two cards being the same. We did this to
make the game feel as ‘uncorporate’ as possible to
appeal to the young, high-tech staff.”
In addition to the cards, Methodologie created
icons to represent aspects of the Qpass brand statement
that were then put on T-shirts in a spectrum
of brand colors. And to further enhance the game,
five different “skins,” randomly rotating, were developed
for Qnet, the employee intranet site; each time
employees logged on during the campaign, they
saw a variety of colorful patterns that promoted the
brand game. A release party kicked off the campaign,
which was concluded after a month with the awarding
of prizes.
The Qpass card game put a human touch and a
sense of play into branding, an engaging way to get a
complex set of information into the minds of corporate
staff. Who says branding can’t be fun?
SIDEBAR: Playing the Qpass Game
Simple to play, the game
developed by Methodologie
spurred a tremendous
amount of interaction
as employees acquired
brand knowledge while
competing to win prizes.
Setup:
Each player received 10
cards to begin. The object
was to collect a full deck
(29 cards), which was
divided into eight suits
of varying numbers of
cards, plus one Joker.
Prizes and additional cards
were awarded for collecting
a full suit, three of a
kind, and instant winners.
Platinum cards were the
holder’s ticket to winning
the grand prize.
Ways to collect cards:
• Network: Trade with
another player.
• Knowledge is power:
Correctly answer questions
relating to the cards
when asked by senior
management.
• Get lucky: Find cards
located in mysterious
places.
Rules:
• The game’s duration was
one month.
• To redeem a full suit,
employees were asked
questions relating to the
information on the cards.
Cards by themselves
could not be used to
redeem prizes.
• The Joker card was
“wild” and could be used
to complete a suit.
Complete sets of rules
were posted on the company’s
intranet site and
throughout the company
headquarters.
