The exclusive partnership will see the Beiersdorf’s Nivea brand featured on the Your Shape: Fitness Evolved video game, described as a holistic, in-home programme aimed at helping consumers to sculpt their bodies by leveraging the Kinect for Xbox 360.
The video game will include a Nivea sponsored workout as part of the products launch, which is scheduled for November 2010, providing a branding opportunity designed to promote the company's facial care and body care product portfolio.
Likewise, two downloadable workouts, developed in collaboration with Nivea’s fitness and lifestyle expert Sarah Maxwell, which are scheduled for launch during the course of 2011.
Combining fitness and skin care
“With Your Shape:Fitness Evolved, our consumer will be encouraged to combine skin care with fitness in the most innovative and easy way, which will enable them to fee good in their body,” said Jean-Francois Pascal, director global business unit body care, Nivea.
The partnership taps into the growing trend to use video gaming as a branding and marketing opportunity, a phenomenon known as ‘in-game branding’.
Commonly in-game branding has been developed around sports games, with, for example, football game videos emulating the advertising panels on the side of the pitch that are commonly used to promote brands in major league football worldwide.
Gaming reaches a wider audience
“Video games have the potential to reach diverse audiences and deliver tangible benefits to the consumer, going beyond pure entertainment,” said Alain Corre, Ubisoft spokesperson.
“The Nivea workout provides additional value for female players looking for a complete inner and outer beauty experience.”
Beauty companies are increasingly shifting their spend on marketing and advertising away from traditional marketing mediums such as print publishing and television in favour of an increasingly diverse array of alternatives mediums as a means of promoting their brands.
In particular the internet is taking up an increasing part of these budgets, particularly on account of social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter, which are increasingly playing a part in beauty branding.