Case Study: CNBC Squawk Box Fantasy Portfolio Challenge

Beginning April 4, CNBC Squawk Box viewers were able to prove their stock picking prowess in the CNBC Squawk Box Fantasy Portfolio game, where the winner received a Maserati GranSport.

Enpocket developed and managed the mobile components of the CNBC contest, where players could sell, buy and hold stocks purchased with virtual money called ‘Squawk Bucks.’ Each morning, players could earn Bonus Bucks by correctly answering a trivia question about that morning’s Squawk Box program using text messaging on their cell phones. Bonus Bucks could be used to buy more stock.  The richest player at the end of the game won the Maserati.

Objective:
CNBC wanted to add a level of interactivity between viewers and its program,  “Squawk Box,” by using mobile to engage the audience and create a loyal following.  They were also able to provide incentive for viewers to watch the program each morning.

Overview:
Viewers who went online to register for the Squawk Box Fantasy Portfolio Challenge were given the option of entering their mobile phone information to receive mobile alerts.  Every Monday morning at 8 AM an alert was sent to those participants to remind them to watch Squawk Box that morning to learn the answer to the Bonus Bucks question. 

Bonus Buck questions were sent out daily after the show aired.  The questions had to do with a topic that was discussed that morning.  Depending on the number of questions answered correctly, a participant could win up to 10,000 Bonus Bucks by correctly texting in the answer. 

Results:
More than 20% of registered contestants opted in to participate in the mobile portion of the game.  Thirty-five to 55% of participants responded to daily trivia questions. CNBC was able to introduce a new channel for interacting with its viewers and in doing so, have built an opt-in database of viewers for future promotions.

“CNBC Squawk Box Fantasy Portfolio is great example of how media companies are using the mobile channel to engage their audience and build a loyal following,” said <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Mike Baker, President and CEO of Enpocket. “This campaign also shows that mobile marketing can reach any demographic when it’s tailored to the audience and has high entertainment value.”<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />