There’s a reason we at Vitrue make it part of our job to keep an eye on every development in social marketing. It’s to make sure our social marketing platform, the Vitrue SRM, is ready and able to accommodate any tool or strategy marketers may want to employ for their brands. Our aim is to provide brands with the most robust and innovative social marketing platform available. Sometimes that means a partnership or integration. Other times, the development is so impactful, and will play such an obviously larger role in social marketing’s future, it warrants taking a relationship even further.

Vitrue is proud to announce that we have acquired GamesThatGive, the social gaming platform designed to engage brands’ customers in charitable activities through branded-gaming experiences. GamesThatGive co-founder Adam Archer will be moving their operation to our newly opened San Francisco office, where he’ll oversee all gaming-related functionalities on the Vitrue SRM platform.

So what did we see in gaming on the social networks that made us feel such a move was warranted? According to Nielsen, games have surpassed email and are the second most frequent Internet activity for Americans after social networks themselves. Americans spend an estimated 407 million hours per month on games, with 200 million gamers on Facebook. More and more, we saw marketers using gamification to attract and retain brand enthusiasts.

Given these developments, it’s to be expected Vitrue would make sure we’re providing marketers a comprehensive, easy means of capitalizing on gamification. However, it’s also very much in our character to look for that additional, unique component that will add even more value and set Vitrue apart. GamesThatGive not only makes it possible for brands to create custom, fully skinned games on Facebook, maintaining brand visibility throughout the game, but it goes a step further by supporting the brand’s charitable programs.

When Fans play their games, brands donate money to charities selected either by the brand or the player. Donations can be given based on how long players play or when they reach a certain level. Not only are the games entertaining for consumers, the act of giving engages the customer even longer and helps promote goodwill and brand loyalty. Some of the charities GamesThatGive has worked with include UNICEF, Ronald McDonald House Charities, and Habitat for Humanity.

Few things are more powerful than the consumer teaming up with their favorites brands to make good things happen for those in need. It’s our goal at Vitrue to always provide our clients with the most robust and innovative platform for social marketing. Adding social gaming and charitable giving functionality via GamesThatGive will help brands reach and engage with their target audiences in the newest, most effective ways. It’s a textbook “win-win” for everybody.