Milind Bharvirkar

More than a decade ago, I realized something very important. Advertising, marketing, and sales don’t need to be forced, aggressive, or interruptive to be effective.They just need to be fun!In the late 90’s, I entered the world of fun and gamification when I founded Global VR, a Silicon Valley-based gaming company. We designed and launched seven co-operated products that were voted number one earning products by owner operators. We earned software agreements with well-known publishers Electronic Arts, Activision, and Infogrames for titles such as EA Sports PGA Tour, EA Sports Madden NFL Football, and EA Sports Nascar.In 2002, we launched our most popular game, Tiger Woods EA Sports PGA Tour. Over 500,000 people signed up to play from the U.S. To Canada, England, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia, and we gave away over $1 Million/year.From there, I saw how fun and prizes could redefine gamification and reinvent the advertising model.I established business relationships with Walt Disney World, Intel, Microsoft, Activision, and international distributors in Asia, Europe, South America, and Australia. And in 2010, I launched Priatek -- a performance-based prize promotions company that engages customers through fun experiences.Using patented touch-screen technology and gaming licenses to fan favorites like JEOPARDY! and Wheel of Fortune -- Priatek delivers sponsored games that audiences play for fun and prizes.It’s a win-win advertising environment where both sponsors and consumers get what they want.Our new approach to consumer engagement reinvents the traditional, interruption-style model of advertising, which is why Priatek is growing quickly and receiving industry recognition. Priatek was winner of the Best of the Best: People’s Choice Awards, voted Best of the Best by the Tampa Bay Area community, and won the 2016 Start Up of the Year Award by TiE Tampa Bay.To learn more, please visit: priatek.com.