Pinball
Open the game- Brand
- Sephora
- Year
- 2024
- Objective
- Loyalty
- Industry
- Fashion & Beauty
- Mechanic
- Arcade & Action
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- Press Play On Tape
- With
- Cosmic Shelter
Objective
Sephora built the game to promote its reformulated Cream Lip Stain and turn product discovery into something playful rather than a straightforward promotion. Running it inside the Southeast Asia app's loyalty programme let the brand test whether play could drive engagement with Gen Z shoppers and convert into store visits, since a high enough score unlocked a discount code redeemable in store. The same experience doubled as an omnichannel showcase, touring as a physical pinball cabinet at brand events and later appearing on the LVMH Dreamscape at Viva Technology 2025.
Solution
Players open the game straight from the Sephora Southeast Asia app, where it's linked to their loyalty account, or in any phone or desktop browser with no download required. A short loading screen and intro cinematic set the Cream Lip Stain scene before dropping the player onto the pinball table. From there it's classic pinball: launch the ball, work the flippers to keep it in play, and rack up as high a score as possible. The final score posts to a leaderboard, and clearing a high enough threshold unlocks a discount code to redeem in the Sephora app or in store. At live events the same game reappears as a physical cabinet — a digital screen framed by the mechanical flipper buttons of a real pinball machine — for players to work in person.
Results
91K+ players in the Sephora Southeast Asia app, averaging 3 games per user.
- 1
The player reaches the game either by opening a link in any desktop or mobile browser, where it loads instantly with nothing to install, or through the Sephora Southeast Asia app, where it opens in a webview tied to the player's loyalty account.
- 2
A branded loading screen tracks the 3D table's progress, then an intro cinematic flies the camera across the table dressed in Cream Lip Stain theming with retro-arcade styling, before settling on a title screen with a PLAY button over the slowly orbiting table.
- 3
Pressing PLAY opens a tutorial state that spells out the controls before the round starts: arrow keys work the two flippers on desktop, while mobile uses an equivalent touch/gesture layout.
- 4
The ball launches onto the table and the player keeps it in play with the flippers, racking up score by hitting bumpers and targets for as long as the ball survives.
- 5
At the end of a run the score is submitted to a leaderboard, where the player sees how it stacks up against other players.
- 6
Reaching a high enough score unlocks a discount code in the Sephora app, redeemable on the Cream Lip Stain in store.
- 7
The same game also runs on a purpose-built arcade cabinet with real mechanical flipper buttons at Sephora events, letting visitors play it physically.
