Game manufacturer Exploding Kittens aims to make shopping more fun by hiding limited editions of two of its recently released games at every Target store. VP of marketing Daisy Ritz says the strategy aims to create buzz online and cement loyalty to its brand.
As a game manufacturer, Exploding Kittens wants to ensure its customers are having fun. And for fans of its games, that brand of humor is typically something silly and a touch strange.
With that in mind, for its Black Friday 2024 promotion, Exploding Kittens released ‘Goth’ editions of two of its newer games and is hiding them in its Target displays. Each of Target’s 1,800 stores will have one ‘Goth’ edition both of its games “Zombie Burrito” or “Let’s Hit Each Other With Fake Swords.” Both the ‘Goth’ and traditional versions of these games are 50% off at Target for the Thanksgiving weekend.
“We wanted to make something that we thought would be fun if you are going to be in store that creates a mini treasure hunt of sorts, but the treasure you’re finding is just something goofy and silly and it’s the same price as the other game,” said Daisy Ritz, vice president of marketing at Exploding Kittens.
Goals for the Exploding Kittens ‘Goth’ games
The hunt of finding something unique and the silliness of the ‘Goth’ edition is something Ritz said would appeal to Exploding Kitten fans. From a marketing perspective, the goal is the initiative will increase its digital footprint from shoppers talking about it on social media.
“In my ideal world we’re seeing people talk about it online and talking about how excited they are that they found this in the pallet,” Ritz said.
Exploding Kittens has a “strong community” on discussion platform Reddit and texting app Discord. In fact, the brand has changed some of the instruction manuals on its games based on Reddit feedback, Ritz said. The manufacturer will monitor if consumers notice this ‘Goth’ campaign, what they are saying and if it made shoppers happy, she said.
In the short-term, the goal is the initiative will boost sales of the game and drive excitement for the Exploding Kittens display at Target, she said. In the long-term, she hopes it engenders loyalty for the game manufacturer.
“I also hope that it cements brand loyalty,” Ritz said. “That it cements the idea that people should keep coming back to our games and keep coming back to our brand as a whole to know that we actually care.”
‘Experimental marketing’ is part of Exploding Kittens’ core marketing strategy
Exploding Kittens decided to run the campaign in store, opposed to its own website, because the brand’s artwork draws people in and makes them want to pick up the game off the shelf, Ritz said.
The campaign also is fun and silly, which many consumers may need during the 2024 holiday season post-election and during a tough economic climate, she said.
These types of marketing campaigns are viewed as experimental, and don’t necessarily fit into one of the neat channels of “affiliate” or “social.” But the buzz will likely be on social media, which is where it will measure the impact.
Exploding Kittens asks, ‘Could you film it?’
One of Ritz’s biggest challenges as a marketer is standing out, she said. When Exploding Kittens is developing a game, team members ask, “Was it fun?” and “Would you play it again?” as litmus test to launch the game. A new question the brand asks in the development phase is, “Could you film it?” This would ensure that the game’s appeal could easily be translated to an online video for marketing and stand out.
“Our other motto at the company is our games are not entertaining — they make the people you’re playing with entertaining,” Ritz said.
“[Our games have] these great moments where you can’t help but want to film whoever you’re playing with because they’re being so ridiculous. … If we can have that translate into social media, we’ve got something golden. And I’m really hopeful that we’ve got that going for our 2025 flight.”
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