Victoria’s Secret is once again rolling out a series of games within its mobile application, signaling the importance that apps play for the retailer in building engagement and driving sales.

The retailer is leveraging in-app games and exclusive content as part of a seasonal campaign to target college football fans via the Pink Nation iPhone app. Victoria’s Secret continuously turns to in-app games as a way to drive not only incremental revenue but also engagement with its app users.

“In a football-crazed world, it’s easy to understand why Victoria Secret would look to tap into the interest and passion of what has become America’s sport,” said Jeff Hasen, chief marketing officer of Mobivity, Phoenix.

“The key is to make the games fun and compelling enough for a wireless user to take a look, then come back for more,” he said.

Mr. Hasen is not affiliated with Victoria’s Secret. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

Victoria’s Secret did not respond to press inquiries.

Game on mobile
Victoria’s Secret will launch three different in-app games to engage users and drive repeat app usage over the course of the football season.

Two of the games have been released so far, and both leverage motion to unlock additional content.

One of the already-released games prompts users to blow air into their mobile device to trigger confetti to blast across the screen. Once consumers blow enough air into the speaker of their device, a themed skin is unlocked that can be used as a filter for consumers uploading in-app photos.

The second game turns a mobile device into a virtual pom pom and asks consumers to shake their mobile device as many times as possible within 10 seconds. App users work their way through three levels, and at the end they can unlock a set of gameday stickers.

The third game begins on Sept. 23 and will integrate with Twitter to encourage consumers to make a virtual cheer via the app.

Similarly to what the brand has done in the past, Victoria’s Secret sent out an email and SMS blast to announce the new app games, which likely helps keep the app top of mind for consumers.

The Victoria’s Secret email with a GIF

In-app efforts
The most recent effort from Victoria’s Secret points to the ongoing role that apps play for the retailer to bring users back continually with fun, simple games.

In June, Victoria’s Secret added a slot machine game to its iPad app that let consumers spin wheels for a chance at winning merchandise and virtual stickers (see story).

Additionally, the brand ran a time-sensitive campaign in June that encouraged consumers to upload photos within its own app that could then be customized with fun graphics and decals (see story).

Focusing on app efforts also helps Victoria Secret build up its loyalty program since consumers have to be a member to access content, which ultimately triggers commerce for the brand.

“Of course, this is about commerce,” Mr. Hasen said. “Giving consumers another reason to come back puts the brand front and center and leads to selling opportunities.”

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York