could design their dream car before going into a dealer. Ford said the cars that actually sold were very closely correlated to the ones that were designed on the site by consumers, with a few months of delay.
“That really excited me,” Crowell says. “If you could measure and predict something to that degree of accuracy, you could optimize for it.” PartingGift actually got started in 2009, and most of its five-person team came together the following year.
PartingGift also enables brands to interact with consumers for sustained periods of time. So far, players have spent close to 15 minutes each on the On Your Mark game, on average. The platform also offers the ability to deliver coupons on the spot to players as prizes. Dunkin’ didn’t choose that option for the On Your Mark game, but Crowell says PartingGift has that capability for other brands that want to use it. He says brands that could benefit from the gaming technology are quick-serve restaurants like Dunkin’ and makers of packaged consumer goods.
PartingGift has raised about $35,000 in a friends-and-family financing, and is in conversation with corporations and venture firms about other funding, Crowell says. He couldn’t give specific numbers about the players On Your Mark has nabbed, but said that the game is the most-visited tab on the Dunkin’ Donuts Facebook page—which has more than 3.8 million fans.
