Breakout Games

We met Breakout’s team just as their flagship store opened in our hometown of Lexington. They faced two major challenges. First, they needed to explain the concept of an escape room. But just as importantly, they needed to differentiate Breakout from the swarm of homegrown pop-ups appearing across the country.

We joined the team to help. Since then, we’ve worked hand-in-hand to support their growth. Billboards, TV spots, and social content have introduced their brand of fun to thousands of people. Immersive in-game clues and props help create one-of-a-kind experiences that keep people coming back. And an optimized website ties it all together, guiding players from online search to booking and gameplay at more than 40 locations. 

Before they opened their doors, Breakout’s team had multiple successful businesses under their collective belt. In each one, they prioritized employee engagement, community involvement, and celebrating healthy habits. With Breakout, they wanted to bring those same values and their time-tested, experience-focused approach to a new concept. How could an in-person adventure stimulate the mind and relationships between friends and family? 

For the first few months, we worked with their owners in coffee shops and driveways. (To decrease wait times, they dedicated every square inch of their first retail space to escape rooms.) We designed marketing and messaging strategies to get the word out, building their name from the ground up. 

Within 18 months, they were in 10 major cities across the Southeast. Today, they’re in more than 40 locations and multiple countries. We believe they would have found success on their own. But we helped them get there in half the time — using efficient strategy, systematic design, and a playful attitude to match the energy they bring to their games.

As a brand grows, consistent messaging is critical. Marketing and branding demand more attention from an already-busy team. We’ve stepped in to lead brand strategy, messaging, web development and more so they can focus on what they do best.

Brand strategy

From the first location, our brand strategy served as a roadmap for connecting new players with new experiences. When our work covered more than 15 cities, we partnered with Matchstic to review all existing collateral and strategy. Together, we provided Breakout’s executive team with the structure they needed to align their existing locations with a 12-month run of explosive growth.

Collateral

Brochures, postcards, billboards, television spots, social media content: the list is endless. We support their internal team, providing production experience, audience insights, and a passion for quality that give every project a head start.

Photo + video

Dynamic visuals bring the experience to life for future players. We direct sessions with photo and video partners to maintain a library of high-quality, on-message assets (without spoilers). This content drives their marketing and storytelling, from print ads and billboards to TV commercials and paid social.

Game + experiential design

Behind the fun experiences, Breakout takes their craft seriously. We create rich, immersive physical clues and props for each step of the gameplay — building a world to experience in every room.

Next-level collaboration

Breakout has partnered with major brands to create first-of-their-kind experiences. We’ve worked with brand teams from Hasbro’s Monopoly and CLUE, and Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed, to create promotional materials and custom game rooms for fans from all walks of life.

Training materials

Breakout’s principles don’t stop at the game-room door. Engagement, playfulness, and mentorship define their relationships with their team. We partner with their employee experience staff to create genuine, modern materials that keep employees focused, consistent, and ready for growth.

We built a robust, fully-featured website that every storefront can rely on. The site’s functionality drives daily operations at each location and its messaging is the keystone for sales. Thousands of games are played every week — across the country and beyond — and they’re all booked online. Our team provides ongoing expertise, keeping the well-oiled machine running and the breakouts happening.

A deeply-rooted SEO strategy and exceptional timing guide new players to the site. No one is asking “how to get locked in a room.” But they are asking for “fun things to do this weekend.” We make the connection with strategic content, like SEO-focused blog posts and landing pages that position Breakout as thought-leaders in their industry. Efficient, user-focused development provides a strong foundation by maximizing page rankings.