Context
It was 2020, mid-pandemic. Responde Aí's main acquisition channel was in-person events on university campuses — and that channel simply ceased to exist. No events, no campus, no physical contact. University penetration — one of the company's core KPIs — was about to drop without immediate action.
The Problem
Conversations with the existing base revealed what students missed most: the experience of being at university — the collective intellectual challenge, the sense of belonging, "playing together" with other students. It wasn't just entertainment they were missing. It was context.
Traditional digital campaigns couldn't replicate the experience and community that in-person events created. We needed something that solved two problems at once: emotional brand engagement and acquisition of new users at target universities.
The Solution
I created Desafio do Dexter from scratch: concept, game mechanics, puzzles, digital tools, and prize structure. The game worked as an ARG — participants solved puzzles in sequence, with narrative elements and online interaction.
Decisions that defined the product:
- Mixed prizes (product + hardware) — offering only platform access wouldn't generate enough buzz. High-value physical prizes (laptop, iPad) raised the stakes and motivated organic participation.
- Building on documentation from a previous version — the company had tested a similar game called Enigma before. Repurposing that base saved time and reduced risk.
- 4 editions instead of 1 — the first edition's success opened space to scale. Recurring editions turned Desafio into a recurring acquisition asset, not an isolated event. Including a Christmas Pocket edition.
Execution
I led the project end-to-end — managing the designer (visual identity), copywriter (narrative), marketing team (distribution), and tech team (puzzle tools and infrastructure). Without AI tools available (pre-ChatGPT), I prioritized creative solutions with existing tools.
Participant growth across editions: ~1,000 → ~1,500 → ~1,000 (Christmas) → ~2,700.
Results
Positive ROI across all editions. 170% growth in participants from the first to the last edition. Effective replacement of the in-person channel throughout the pandemic, with direct growth in the university penetration metric.
Desafio do Dexter proved that digital experiences could match the engagement power of in-person events — and opened a new acquisition playbook for the company that didn't depend on physical presence.
What I'd do differently
Use in-game behavioral data to qualify leads. Participants revealed a lot about themselves while solving puzzles — persistence, reasoning, engagement time. With proper instrumentation, that data could have qualified leads far better than a traditional form.
Build explicit viralization mechanics from the first edition. Growth between editions was organic. Puzzles that only solve in pairs, or clues that depend on other participants, would have made the growth curve more aggressive from the start.
Document the full playbook to scale without me. In the fourth edition, part of the process still relied heavily on my direct involvement. A structured playbook would have made future editions delegatable with more confidence.