Ching's Secret launches branded game for desktop computers

After strengthening its presence in the social media space, Ching's Secret now aims to build the brand through a casual game meant for desktop computers.

Ching's Secret, the manufacturer of instant noodles, soups and sauces, has begun its experiment with branded content meant for consumption on desktop computers. It has unveiled a game named Ching's Conga Bugs.

Ching's Conga Bugs is the branded avatar of Conga Bugs, a popular game created by gaming companyGametantra, two years ago. In 2009, it bagged the FICCI Best Animated Frames (BAF) award. The casual game --which needs to be downloaded on computers --is based on colourful creatures named 'bugs', which love music and whose main purpose in life is to dance and party, day-in and day-out.

In the game, the 'bugs' emerge from a hideout --dancing, jumping and clappingin a line. They march towards a hole through which they aim to escape. The mandate of the player is to identify 'bugs' of the same colour which are marching together, and shoot them with a 'launcher'before they enter the hole. Even if one bug reaches the hole, the game gets over.

The full version of the game has 130 levels, and is available for download across online game stores (such as Bigfishgames.com) for more than Rs 300.

So what has Ching's Secret done? The food brand has tied up with Gametantra and created the branded fullversion of Conga Bugs, called Ching's Conga Bugs. It has inserted adverts and its logo across various strategic points in the game. For instance, the Ching's Secret advert/logo will be displayed on the installation screen during the process of downloading the game and also during the game play on the personal computers.

Apart from branding, Ching's Secret has alsocarried out an interesting integration of the game software with Facebook. Whenever a user downloadsthe Ching's Conga Bugs game software on his computer, two icons will be created on the user's desktop. One icon will be of the game and the other will be the shortcut to the Facebook page of Ching's Secret (
Facebook.com/chingssecret
).

"This implies that the user -- whose computer is connected with the internet--can directly reach the Facebook page of the food brand by clicking on the Ching's Secret Facebook icon displayed on his desktop,"says Ajaay Gupta, chairperson and managing director, Capital Foods, in a conversation with afaqs!. Capital Foods owns the brand Ching's Secret.

To make the game available to a large number of users, Ching's Secret has tied up with Digit, the monthly technology magazine published by 9.9 Media. Digit will distribute the game via a DVD offered free with its 10th anniversary edition.The latest issue of Digit will also carry a sachet of Ching's Secret Schezwan Miracle Masala. It's estimated that 9.9 Media publishes more than 1.25 lakh copies of Digit every month.

Though the Ching's Conga Bugs game is offered for free, the fullversion of Conga Bugs (non-branded version of game distributed by Gametantra) is not available for free. The gaming company charges more than Rs 300 to download Conga Bugs from online games stores.

Capital Foods indicates that it will explore more options to distribute the Ching's Conga Bugs game.