GALE and H&R Block

PROBLEM

How do you get Gen Z to care about taxes? This was a question H&R Block needed to answer to become the company of choice for young and first-time tax filers. Recognizing that traditional advertising methods focused on a topic like taxes would likely be dismissed by this generation, they needed a more innovative, community-centric approach to capture their attention and keep H&R Block top of mind while reminding Gen Z about tax season.

SOLUTION

According to GWI, over 50% of Gen Z list gaming among their personal interests. To reach them, GALE created a custom tax-themed competition within Minecraft, the #1 most played Gen Z video game. The Minecraft Competitive League competition featured top gamers from across the country and a live-streamed creator tournament with a $100,000 prize pool. The goal was to create an event and rewards that would resonate with the gaming community, building brand love and loyalty through entertainment.

RESULTS

The H&R Block-branded Minecraft character, Sir Block, was created and quickly became a player favorite. Once gamers discovered his ability to "tax" other players, depleting their resources, every team chose to play this character-fostering brand love for the company behind the character. The activation drove 730K+ unique viewers and a 101% increase in website traffic for H&R Block during the campaign. Gaming drove a 39% lift in consideration with our target audience-the largest growth of all channels including TV, streaming, and social.

About GALE: GALE is a Business Agency bringing business insights to brand storytelling, activating across every channel. With expertise in business strategy, CRM, loyalty, brand storytelling, integrated, performance, creative, and content marketing, experience design and media, GALE creates marketing systems and communications that grow businesses.