INDIANAPOLIS, IND., – Young & Laramore announced that it has launched a new mobile app for the Brine brand, a division of New Balance. The Brine “Shootout” app, which is the first “flick” lacrosse game to launch on the iOS and Android platforms, was designed to engage participants while building Brine’s social network.
“Brine is very excited to be the first lacrosse brand to launch an app that is truly relevant to our core audience – the lacrosse player,” said Mike Rabinovitz, lacrosse brand manager for Warrior and Brine Lacrosse. “It’s challenging to reach an audience who are constantly playing a sport, studying or hanging out with friends. By creating an endemic mobile game, we’ve developed a platform to launch new products through, while reinforcing the Brine brand’s leadership position in the game—and, most of all, we created something that is just good fun!”
“We initially challenged Young & Laramore with creating a mobile tool that would enable us to capture consumer data at our summer tour in a fun, engaging way,” said Neal Welbourne, digital marketing manager for Warrior Sports and Brine. “What the team developed was the first game of its type for the sport.”
“We wanted to create something that was more than a form for users to put their information in,” said Tom Denari, President at Young & Laramore. “We knew that players would have time on their hands at the summer events, and we wanted to use their competitive spirit to drive interest in the mobile game.”
The Brine Shootout app user views the lacrosse field at eye level from the vantage point of a player getting ready to shoot. A stick can be seen floating in front of the player and a ball is inside the pocket of the head. By flicking a finger across the screen, the player recreates the action of a shot. Distance, angle and opposing players make scoring increasingly harder. The game also features a Power Shot, fueled by filling the Power Meter, which knocks over the opposing players in its path.
The game has four venues: Backyard, High School, College and Pro. Only Backyard is available initially, and new venues are unlocked by scoring 50 goals in the hardest available venue. After a venue has been unlocked, the player can choose to start the game at that venue.
“Lacrosse transcends the field, and we wanted to create a world that allowed players to take the game off the field,” said Denari. “When we started to develop the game, we wanted to ensure that it was as realistic as possible for the mobile platform.”
“Brine is a product-focused brand, dedicated to creating advanced equipment for its players,” said Welbourne. “By creating an intuitive game, we’ve built a mechanism that allows Brine’s target audience to perpetually interact with the brand. It’s a constant updating touch point that we can launch new products through.”
Users can submit their contact information or “Like” Brine on Facebook to be rewarded with enhanced equipment and in-game features.There are three tiers of equipment that can be unlocked, each corresponding to certain challenges in the High School, College and Pro venues.
The game is now available on iTunes free download. To do so, visit: http://shootout.brine.com/.
About Brine
Established in 1922, Brine is a recognized industry leader in lacrosse, soccer, field hockey and volleyball. Headquartered in Warren, MI, Brine was the innovator of the Offset™ lacrosse stick and the original round bladder soccer ball. The company was acquired by privately held New Balance in August 2006. For more information, visit brine.com.
About Young & Laramore
Young & Laramore is an independent, full-service advertising agency, whose services range from strategic marketing and proprietary research to multi-platform media planning and buying, and creative in every imaginable platform: from TV campaigns to mobile phones, from packaging to branded events, from onsite installations to blogger relations. Y&L works with Scotts LawnService, Brizo, Schlage, Penn Station, Seasons 52, Goodwill, Brightpoint, Delphi and Warrior Sports. For more information visit yandl.com.