Developer debuts games made by Greenwich firm
from Stamford Advocate | Mar. 28, 2007
By Harold Davis
Greenwich-based Antares Investment Partners is known its impressive portfolio of real estate in the area, but the company is looking to add more marketing zing with three online games created with Shift Control Media, also of Greenwich.
The games were created to promote Antares’ controversial Greenwich Place and Greenwich Oaks properties, which include about 400 residential condominiums recently converted from apartments.
Residents of the properties, formerly named Putnam Green and Weaver’s Hill, are suing Antares, alleging that the developer failed to follow state statutes governing condominium conversions, unfairly raised the rents of senior citizens and improperly tried to evict tenants by putting their health and safety at risk.
Antares has disputed the claims.
“We’re looking to generate interest and target people interested in Greenwich. We hope to turn suspects into prospects and prospects into sales,” said Antares managing partner James Cabrera.
“The original idea was to raise awareness using a new medium, which are games,” Cabrera said. The games have a good tone and are not overly solicitous, said Tim Zuckert, president and chief executive officer of Shift Control.
“When people smell the marketing, they go away,” Zuckert said.
The games took about eight to 10 weeks to develop and were designed to be Greenwich-centric. The first online game, “Avenue Rally,” involves driving in the area of Greenwich Avenue to complete various tasks, such as returning a book to Greenwich Library.
“You have to avoid getting too many traffic violations. The more violations you get, the more aggressive the police get,” said Zuckert, whose company opened in July and has games for PepsiCo, Napster and FedEx.
“Hedger” will require getting a hedge fund manager safely from work to his boat, and “Trade Up” involves buying and selling real estate in order to get a mansion.
Since launching the game site, www.greenwichctgames.com , three weeks ago, Antares has received more than 15,000 hits, Zuckert said.
Players are eligible to win prizes from 150 Greenwich retailers participating in the games’ “Best of Greenwich Sweepstakes,” said Andrea Pirrotti, head of marketing at Antares.
Prizes range include $50 gift shopping certificates, dinner for two at restaurants such as Polpo and a stay at the Delmar Greenwich Harbor Hotel, one of Antares’ properties. The grand prize is $5,000 worth of shopping at Richards, which is also featured in the game.
Kevin McEvoy, professor of marketing at the University of Connecticut in Stamford, said that online marketing campaigns such as Antares’ have become more mainstream.
“Games for promotion and marketing are nothing new,” McEvoy said. “What’s new is what the Internet does for it. Its brings sound, noise and action, and you don’t need a game piece to play. The key is the interaction of games, which makes them so exciting.”
Companies that want to be “cutting edge, progressive and savvy” are using this approach, he said. Pirrotti said real estate development and private equity firm may consider more games in its future marketing campaigns.
“We’re assessing the results and optimizing this to the Nth degree to see if it’s a appropriate to do them for other properties,” Pirrotti said. “We’re very ROI (return on investment) driven, but the numbers are on the right trajectory.”
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