Consumer electronics e-retailer Newegg Inc. is using mobile gaming to increase customer engagement with its brand. It has launched Golden Egg Games, where Newegg customers can use their mobile phones to win instant prizes and discounts, including the chance to win an Xbox 360 Kinect. The mobile commerce promotion uses L4 Mobile’s contest and sweepstakes management platform Interplay, which is integrated with the Microsoft Tag two-dimensional bar code platform.

Newegg’s Golden Egg Games can be accessed by using a smartphone and a 2-D bar code reader app to scan Tag bar codes found on printed promotional materials and on the e-commerce site of Newegg, No. 13 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide.

Consumers can instantly win a Newegg T-shirt or $10 off their next purchase. Some players will also be able to enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a grand prize of an Xbox 360 Kinect and a $500 Newegg promotional gift card, a prize package valued at nearly $800. Consumers can increase their chances of winning by playing the Golden Egg Games once a day.

“Newegg is always looking for new, creative ways to engage and connect with our customers,” says Tommy Chang, director of marketing. “By leveraging the advancements of mobile technology, the Golden Egg Games allows us to interact with our customers in a unique and fun way while rewarding them with prizes and discounts.”

Microsoft Tags are a form of 2-D bar code. A consumer uses a 2-D bar code reader app—there are many free readers in app stores—loaded on her smartphone to scan a bar code with the device’s camera. That links her to mobile web-based content.