Schick is challenging male X-Men fans to play a mobile-first trivia game accessed through Facebook as part of a collaboration tied to the new X-Men film debuting this week.

Now in its four-week mark, the Challenge is at over 16,000 registered players, with an average of 2.2 plays per user. By providing compelling content it hopes users will want to share with their friends, Schick has tapped into the huge audience of young, male X-men fans to try to convert them into Hydro fans.

?We wanted to provide people, X-MEN fans specifically, more than we were asking in return to get them engaged with Schick Hydro's Challenge campaign,? said Rebecca Beacham, account director at Beeby Clark+Meyler, Stamford, CT.

?The experience taps into guys' competitive nature and ties in with the 'Challenge' by giving them a chance to test how much they know about the X-MEN films and share that out with their networks,? she said.

?Though the experience is available across devices, we planned and designed it mobile first to ensure that the game could be played anywhere, anytime.?

Beeby Clark+Meyler is the agency that worked with Schick on developing the campaign game.

Challenged X-cepted
Smart device users spend as much time on Facebook as on the mobile Web according to a report by Flurry. Recognizing the large adoption of gaming and social media consumption happening on mobile devices, Schick is enticing consumers to engage in branded content incentivized by weekly and grand prizes.

The trivia game requires players to race against a seven-second timer for each allotted question and ante up with friends to prove who the bigger series buff is.

For each game played, fans will be entered into a sweepstakes to win various weekly prizes, including "X-MEN: Days of Future Past" movie merchandise and HD flat screen TVs. One player will win an ultimate grand prize of $1,800 in addition to the Director?s chair from the set and a custom-made Magneto helmet. 

The partnership with 20^th Century Fox is part of a bigger initiative to encourage consumers to try something different in their daily morning routine.

The Schick Hydro Challenge entices men to try a Schick Hydro razor; if the consumer does not prefer it to his current razor, his money will be refunded.

Anyone who purchases two branded packs of razors through June will receive a free X-Men T-shirt.

Connecting with mobile users
Brands are struggling to connect with the mobile generation of users despite the freeform creativity the channel presents.

Video and banner ads are not only intrusive when displayed on smartphones, but largely ineffective as well because of the ill perceived time lapse mobile devices convey?seconds feel like minutes, minutes feel like hours.

Mobile Web optimized games have various advantages when compared to native app games: there is no downloading, games are supported on all device landscapes regardless of operating system thanks to HTML5 and can be accessed anywhere a browser exists.

They can also be distributed to large target demographics through mobile, social and online channels

Major brands such as Progressive Insurance, HBO, WWE, Disney and McDonald?s have all made mobile Web games a part of their digital strategies.

Schick gets it right as well by engaging users based off their performance and the challenge-a-friend functionality.

Only die-hard fans are most likely to download a branded gaming app, and so mobile Web games offer more potential for reach and virility.

Because the content can be updated much more seamlessly than with a native game, the flexibility factor becomes critical for any time-sensitive campaign tied to a film or new product release.

?Schick Hydro has a strong social presence across Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. These platforms are inherently mobile and we design our content to reach our fans on their preferred devices,? Ms. Beacham said.

?The Schick team pays very close attention to their audiences' media consumption habits. And, for this audience, a significant portion of their time each day is spent on their mobile devices. In order to remain relevant it is essential that we have a presence in mobile.? 

Final Take:
Michelle is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer