SCVNGR Partners With VinTank to Bring Location-Based Services to Wine Industry

NAPA, CA–(Marketwire – October 6, 2010) –  SCVNGR, the location-based game and game platform and VinTank, the wine industry’s leading digital think tank, today announced a partnership to bring the power of location-based social gaming to the wine industry. SCVNGR’s game layer will infuse game dynamics into the wine industry to create meaningful interaction and engagement for wine lovers across the globe.

SCVNGR is a mobile app all about going places, checking in, completing challenges, sharing on Facebook and Twitter, and earning real-world rewards. The Cambridge, Mass.-based company has already made headlines with major brand partnerships including AT&T, Warner Bros., Sony, the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots, NBA’s the Boston Celtics, National Geographic and hundreds of universities.

In the wine industry, SCVNGR’s mission is leveraging social gaming to help increase traffic to vineyards as well as on-property sales in wineries throughout California, the U.S. and abroad. Working with clients at the nexus of wine and technology, VinTank has the access, knowledge and relationships to facilitate this breakthrough. Together, SCVNGR and VinTank offer a turnkey solution to wine companies that are hoping to remain relevant as technology adapts and trends towards the importance of location.

“The wine industry is primed and ready to start capitalizing on all of the emerging technologies available today. Wine is meant to be social, after all, and we believe adding opportunities for wine consumers to socialize digitally is the natural next step,” said Paul Mabray, VinTank’s Chief Strategy Officer.

By going beyond the ‘check-in,‘ SCVNGR’s platform lets any company or brand add to the game layer by building customizable game experiences at their locations which engage and activate constituents. Also, SCVNGR is tightly integrated with Facebook’s recent foray into the location-based space — the Facebook Places platform. This full integration also gives SCVNGR’s brand clients access to the largest social platform in the world.

“Wine is about tradition, perfection, and enjoyment,” said Ryan Neu, partnership executive at SCVNGR, who is leading the charge in the company’s wine initiative. “We are excited to introduce game dynamics to help shine a light on these values and bring a new element of fun to this ancient art.”

VinTank will consult in determining the gaming outlets, messaging and roll-out strategy within the wine market, as well as facilitate partnerships with the industry’s leading wine companies.

“We believe SCVNGR to be the right fit for the industry. Their turnkey solutions allow for engagement and enjoyment far superior to other location-based applications. We couldn’t recommend any better platform to bring the wine industry successfully into the digital media future,” added Mabray.

About SCVNGR
SCVNGR is a game. Playing is simple: Go places. Do challenges. Earn points! You’ll unlock real-world rewards and share where you are and what you’re up to with your friends on SCVNGR, Facebook and Twitter. SCVNGR is played via a free iPhone & Android app. But playing SCVNGR is only half of it. Individuals, enterprises and small businesses build on SCVNGR by adding custom challenges and rewards at their locations. SCVNGR is funded by Google Ventures and Highland Capital Partners. Visit www.scvngr.com to learn more.

About VinTank
A think tank for the wine industry, VinTank was founded in 2008 by a team of innovators in wine ecommerce, technology and social media. VinTank is the only group offering services in digital media strategy and business development within the wine industry and is dedicated to helping wineries and digital companies create strategies and relationships to navigate and succeed in the digital world.

Working closely with their clients to research, analyze and identify critical technology needs focused on their business goals, they deliver innovative solutions to create value for companies and the wine industry. As a think tank, they publish their research complimentary for the wine industry, providing every winery with the insights needed to make the right decisions for their business.

VinTank forms a unique bridge between high technology and the wine industry with offices in Napa, CA. For more information visit www.vintank.com.