Century 21 taps mobile games to reach potential customers

Imagine if you could get a free house, skyscraper or office simply by putting a company’s brand name on it somewhere.

Though that sounds like a pretty crazy business practice in the real world, Century 21 made just such an offer in the virtual world of mobile game developer ngmoco‘s “We City.” In the “SimCity”-style game for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, players build cities using “coin” they acquire in the game to add buildings.

In April, the real estate sales company, in partnership with social firm Appssavvy, gave players the option of adding Century 21-branded buildings to their cities. Over the three weeks or so the promotion ran, players placed 401,318 branded structures.

That proves mobile gaming is a place where brands can really get through to potential customers, says Matt Gentile, director of communications at Century 21.

“You’re looking at reaching approximately 26 million consumers who are playing these games,” he says. “In order to effectively reach the next generation of home buyers and sellers, what better place to put a brand placement?”

Entering the space