Wondr Nation launches pop culture online game
Questions about movies, music and other trending pop culture ephemera seem to have little to do with the gaming industry.
But Wondr Nation’s newest venture intends to act as bridge between the two worlds.
Wondr Nation, the igaming and entertainment company owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, is launching iWondr, a free-to-play pop culture prediction contest in partnership with social gaming tech company Sparket. Users may be asked to guess what movie will top the box office or which song will be in constant rotation at bars, bistros and beaches. Sparket’s proprietary Social Betwork technology is being used to create a “community-driven prediction experience.”
“My personal philosophy has always been that there are going to be players that may be gamers but may never want to physically step foot in a casino,” Wondr Nation President and CEO Anika Howard told COMPLETE iGAMING. “The world is changing. The way people can consume entertainment has changed. And so, what are the things that you can do to reach people where they are?”
A few years ago, Howard was impressed by Sparket’s presentation during a pitch competition at a gaming conference. She sought an opportunity that would make sense for both parties.
Thus was born iWondr, which Howard calls “an engagement play.”
“We’re building our customer base, wanting to do this primarily for a digital, focused audience,” Howard said. “What are things that we feel are complementary to the experiences that we want to give them from a gaming perspective? And then, how do we create this overall offering?
“For us, this is an opportunity to do a number of number of things to increase our engagement, to build a new audience, to acquire new players and have a strong base and build community.”
Howard said that iWondr will be directed primarily to women, but that men will be encouraged to play. She compares iWondr to the daily fantasy sites that Draft Kings and FanDuel used to build customer data bases that they leveraged once sports betting was legalized.
“That’s kind of a very, very, loose comparison, but the whole idea of the concept is that you have this audience that you’re creating something for that’s just for fun, that you can do,” Howard says. “You’re cultivating them because you know there’s overlap of a kind broader interest, and it’s an opportunity to get their attention so that when there the next thing comes you, you have an engaged audience and community to market to.”
This marks the first rollout under the iWondr brand, with more contests planned for cultural events and live activations in the coming months. The challenge is to keep iWondr current and engaging, and to avoid it becoming repetitive.
“I think the exciting piece for us is doing the research and alignment and seeing what’s popular,” Howard said. “Like right now, it’s Love Island. It’s really just tapping into the things that are very interesting.
“Trends change and shift so quickly, so it’s just being nimble enough to be able to catch the wave when it’s there, capitalize on it, and have this be a consistent source for people to come to, to be able to do that. And I think the other thing is making sure that we have the prizes and the kinds of things that make it an engaging experience.”
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