Bzinga is a product engagement and discovery platform that provides a mutually beneficial ground to bring brands and consumers together. In a cluttered digital ecosystem where audience participation and attention spans are waning, this fusion is the need of the hour. We combine gaming and consumer research using cutting-edge technology to create value for our users and business customers.Bzinga is an innovative inverse-gaming platform for customers, where users can place bids on a wide range of products, including electronics, home products, and automobiles, and win them by using their bidding skills.
Tell us about Bzinga and its phenomenal growth in the last 2 years.
Bzinga celebrates the aspirations of the young digitized Indian by creating a fun environment wherein users can participate across games for free & Win products, vouchers & Bzinga tickets to keep them coming back & spread the word while the adrenalin rush keeps them going to play more and WIN more!
The idea was borne out of creating a Bzinga zone that brings customers and brands together, to further brand and product discovery through a gamified approach that not only creates a thrilling experience for customers but helps customers WIN (not buy) their favourite products at the best prices in the market.
With a plethora of games that run throughout the day on the Bzinga app along with inverse auctions that lead to a competitive outlook for consumers, Bzinga is a dual-screen phenomenon that leverages the collective space of the two most powerful mediums in existence today – the digiverse and the tele-verse.
Was the TV show always part of the plan?
The Bzinga Family Festival Gameshow was launched in July 2022 on Zee Keralam to build on the Bzinga Dual-screen philosophy. It bridges the gap between tv viewers at home and winners on the show, by allowing home viewers to win products along with on screen participants.
The show has reached ratings of 1.7 grps testimony to the connected app-tv philosophy and we brought brands and customers together to deliver an integrated gamified experience, currently unparalleled in the market.
Bzinga took the GEC world by storm in March 2023, with the first Hindi episodes being aired, on ZeeTV, every Sunday, 5pm onwards.
The television show acts like a conduit for customers to witness the thrilling elements of the app in the form of a non-fiction reality gameshow, that brings people from across the country to compete with each other for the most exciting prizes. The best part? Viewers can also win, while they view the show at home.
What would you attribute to the success of the brand in South India, which led to its Hindi show and pan-India expansion?
The engaging content, centered on family values as well the inspiration stories of an entire gamut of celebrities is the driving force behind the Bzinga Family Festival.
The Bzinga App is designed to help customers win and the television show beautifully unified storytelling and skill-based games that helped people understand the format as well as connect emotionally to the people on screen.
Viewers connected to the brand as it celebrates the triumph of the indomitable human spirit, and brings to the fore stories that touch, move and inspire people in every shape and form. The human interest stories along with the game rounds, helped entertain and enthral people with the seamless connectivity on the tv show and the Bzinga app.
What are the future plans of the brand?
Bzinga has always been uniquely poised to help new age brands connect with their audiences through a gamified approach, this attribute along with the dual screen phenomenon affords Bzinga an exceptional advantage over traditional ‘push’ marketing, that throws content to users vs the ‘pull’ marketing that Bzinga brings with its immersive gaming and auction experience.
Leveraging the power of games to intrigue, engage and thrall our audiences on the Bzinga app is very central to our business. Our games are designed to not only test skills but also help them engage with products, discover more about prices and features and
To this end, Bzinga is collaborating with a lot of D2C brands, that are looking to break the market and standout amongst the crowd and reach out to their potential customers through a seamless, gamified approach.
As a start-up, what were the major challenges the brand faced, and how did you navigate through them?
People often confuse gaming and gamification in our ecosystem – there is a world of a difference. On the Google Play store, which is teeming with any number of gaming apps, what makes Bzinga stand out is its pure-play gamified approach that helps customers win and also discover new brands and products that they wouldn’t have engaged with otherwise.
Not only are customers rewarded with products of their choice in kind, but the adrenalin rush that comes from winning a game, getting the right answer or outshining other competitors is what sets us apart from others.
Auctions are usually seen as the highest offer phenomenon, while Bzinga completely reverses that philosophy. We want our customers to win at every stage, hence we ask them to bid for products at the lowest prices, with the condition that they should be unique first. This simplication of auctions makes it easy to understand and thrilling.
Any advice for young entrepreneurs?
We believe it is critical to stand out in a competitive ecosystem, with most people vying for eyeballs from an overlapping audience base. It is imperative to find a sweet spot between what consumers are looking for and what brands can offer, so that it is a win-win situation for both sets of stakeholders.
With India getting attention from the western world as a burgeoning market, it’s a good time to connect with customers in the way that enables them to relate and engage with a brand, beyond the sponsored ads, traditional acquisition cycle.
Be true to your strengths, identify that gap that your product / service/ offering presents to the market and keep it very close to your efforts to connect with consumers.
