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Level up the commute: How Tamedia Spiele gamified Swiss transit with programmatic DOOH

Tamedia Spiele CH

Industry

Media & entertainment

Objective

Tamedia Spiele partnered with Vistar Media and digital agency DEPT on a programmatic digital out-of-home (pDOOH) campaign to boost brand awareness, consideration and app downloads across Switzerland, while consolidating its market presence in the competitive mobile gaming segment across multiple language regions.

Results

The campaign achieved outstanding brand lifts across Switzerland: consideration increased by +28% (reaching 59% among those with ad recall), alongside a strong brand recall rate of 36% (+10% vs. market benchmark). Additionally, the campaign generated a +7% uplift in brand familiarity, as well as regional consideration peaks in Bern (+19%) and Basel (+13%). These results demonstrate the power of data-driven pDOOH in public transit environments to effectively activate mobile audiences during everyday micro-moments.

Key Product

Demand-Side Platform (DSP)

raetsel.tagesanzeiger.ch/
+28%
lift in consideration (CH)
+36%
ad recall (outperforming benchmarks by placing in the top 15%)
+7%
lift in brand awareness (CH)
+7%
uplift in brand preference (CH)

The vision: capturing micro-moments of leisure across Switzerland

When Swiss media group Tamedia launched its new daily games application, Tamedia Spiele, engaging audiences during their daily routines became an essential step in driving early engagement. To reach puzzle enthusiasts and commuters across Switzerland, Tamedia Spiele partnered with digital agency DEPT and Vistar Media. Together, they launched a data-driven programmatic digital out-of-home campaign across major Swiss cantons, covering the German-speaking region (Bern, Basel and Zurich) as well as the French-speaking region (Vaud).

Utilising high-impact transit screen networks, the activation surrounded consumers during keytimes, where consideration of light, puzzle-style entertainment is likely to be highest. And, to evaluate the business impact of the campaign, Vistar Media integrated a comprehensive brand uplift study powered by independent data partner Happydemics.


The challenge: capturing consumer attention across high-density transit environments in a competitive app market

Standing out in the mobile gaming category requires more than standard digital promotion. Tamedia Spiele needed to break through regional advertising noise and capture the attention of busy commuters across multiple linguistic regions.

The primary objective was to build high awareness and drive direct consideration for the puzzle app during micro-moments of leisure. To achieve this, the brand required a flexible out-of-home strategy capable of reaching vast public transport audiences, delivering clear visual stopping power and inspiring instant app downloads across major urban centres.

 

The response: deploying vibrant static and dynamic video assets across Swiss transit networks

  • To effectively connect with target audiences across Switzerland, DEPT and Vistar Media executed a multi-region pDOOH strategy tailored for transit environments:

    • Strategic transit allocation: The campaign activated digital inventory across high-traffic transit environments, including train stations, subways and buses, capturing commuters at crucial points throughout their daily travel.

    • Linguistic and regional coverage: Bidding was targeted across key Swiss cantons to connect with diverse audience groups, encompassing the German-speaking region (Bern, Basel-Stadt/Basel-Landschaft, and Zurich) alongside the French-speaking region (Vaud).

    • High-contrast creative mix: Tamedia Spiele deployed a mix of vibrant static and animated video visuals. Featuring a bold yellow palette, clear game mechanics, and a strong headline incentive ("Win CHF 10,000"), the creatives were engineered to stop commuters in their tracks.

    • Premium media owner inventory: Programmatic ad spend was automated via Vistar Media’s platform across leading Swiss OOH inventory supply partners, including APG|SGA and Livesystems.

    • Brand uplift measurement: Vistar Media embedded a comprehensive brand uplift study powered by Happydemics, isolating exposed ad recallers against a control group to measure campaign effectiveness.



The results: delivering top-tier ad recall and driving significant audience consideration above market benchmarks

The campaign achieved exceptional memorability and successfully moved Swiss consumers down the decision funnel, with the Happydemics brand uplift study highlighting outstanding engagement across high-traffic transit points:

  • 36% ad recall rate (+10% vs benchmark): The bold visual identity and high-contrast creative design placed the campaign in the top 15% of Western European DOOH market benchmarks.

  • +28% uplift in consideration (+4% vs benchmark): Exposure to the campaign significantly increased audience intent (59% consideration among exposed ad recallers vs 31% control), demonstrating that benefit-led messaging combined with a clear call-to-action effectively drives app adoption.

  • +7% uplift in brand familiarity: The high-frequency transit placements reinforced Tamedia Spiele’s presence among core commuter demographics.

  • +7% uplift in brand preference: The campaign successfully translated live transit awareness into a distinct preference for Tamedia's puzzle app offer over competing gaming products.

  • Strong regional performance: The campaign drove significant uplift across key metropolitan areas, notably delivering an +8% uplift in brand attribution and a +7% boost in brand preference in Zurich. Particularly strong results were recorded in both Bern (+19%) and Basel (+13%), alongside a +10% increase in brand familiarity in Vaud.

By combining high-visibility creative execution with programmatic precision across Swiss transit networks, the partnership demonstrated how programmatic DOOH can transform everyday commuter journeys into measurable, high-intent brand engagement.