Match Mart Partnership with Scooby Doo

Match Mart, is a 3D match-3 game, where you collect matching items from the pile and clear the board. They paired up with Scooby Doo this month in a fun and nostalgic collab, with spooky villain levels and new item sets pulled straight from memorable episodes. The Scooby brand has taken over everything from the Pre-level Screens and Mart Pass, to the Win and Lose Screens.

Brand Recognition

I think, at first glance, this partnership might feel rather random and strange but the success of this collab is proof that unexpected partnerships can work even if the brands don’t operate in the same markets.

A big part of the effectiveness of this partnership is that Scooby-Doo has multi-generational high brand recognition: people who grew up watching the show are now adults with purchasing power and kids continue to discover it through reruns and streaming. The brand creates an emotional connection instantly and, of course, has the benefit of encouraging social sharing- because who wouldn’t excitedly tell their friends about all of the nostalgic content?

The Scooby brand also works well here because it has such an easily recognizable visual language:

• A bright palette of 1970’s colors

• Spooky Motifs

• The classic Mystery Van decals

This makes it very easy for designers to re-skin the original UI in a way that players will recognize the brand at a glance without needing a lot of art lift and it feels fun rather than forced.

New Item Packs

Match Mart has numerous standard items (such as snacks, drinks, household items etc) that you match and clear from the pile in every level. On certain milestone levels, players unlock new themed item sets, which help break up the visual repetition and add variety to the core gameplay without having to change the mechanics and a relatively low implementation cost.

I think one of the most successful aspects of this brand collab is the re-skin of their new item sets. When players reach a milestone level, during this event, they unlock item sets themed around iconic Scooby-Doo villains. These sets include items that reflect not only aspects of the villain but also the episode they appear in. The deliberate way these sets were constructed is so effective because they are telling a narrative that fans can piece together rather than simply being a group of arbitrary Scooby-Doo themed assets. Match Mart has managed, through this design choice, to use an existing mechanic to add in a fun and rewarding easter egg for its’ players.