GameStop is using goats and farmers to convince you to trade in old games

Four out of 10 GameStop customers use its trade-in program, and now the world’s largest gaming-specific retailer is working to convince more to do the same.

GameStop is launching a marketing campaign to tell you all about what it sees as the benefits of its used-games business. The company partnered with advertising firm The Richard Group on a new commercial where a young guy explains to a man holding a goat why he should consider trading in his old animal for a new one. You can expect to see this ad on television, before YouTube videos, and on Facebook. This is the first time GameStop has produced a nationally televised commercial that is not about promoting a new game or console release, and it reflects how the company is looking to bolster its position as a leader for used-game sales in the $99.6 billion gaming industry.

In 2015, GameStop grossed $1.11 billion in profit from $2.38 billion in used-game sales. That’s a huge margin, and one that the company wants to emphasize and grow.

“The campaign will target a core gamer and non-core gamer [between the ages of 18 and 49] who is not familiar with the simplicity and value of our buy-sell-trade program,” GameStop chief marketing officer Frank Hamlin told GamesBeat. “Through the use of the broader medium of TV, we are targeting the gaming audience and anyone who needs to be made aware or reminded that GameStop not only will give them cash or credit for their pre-owned video games and hardware, but also will provide them with a human, no-nonsense, often humor-filled, and sometimes irreverent retail experience.”

Hamlin says that GameStop associates are gamers, and this ad campaign highlights that.

“Our stores are the physical, visceral place where gamers can commune, connect, and kibitz,” said Hamlin. “These benefits are the subtext of this campaign. We’re a fun retailer, and we offer a fun experience to our customers.”

The “Goat” spot is the first of a pair that GameStop has prepped along with The Richards Group. The second will come later and will focus more on the traditional core-gaming audience. For now, however, the company wants to invite in people who have never broken the seal on the trade-in process. Hamlin explained that the biggest roadblock preventing a customer from selling their used games is that they’ve simply never tried it and are not sure how it works.

“Education is the key to creating an understanding of how simple the program is and the value that trading in preowned video games or hardware can provide our guests,” said Hamlin. “Through the use of an arresting comedic device to create juxtaposition and irony, we believe the campaign communicates the fact that trading preowned video games and hardware at GameStop is as simple as swapping goats.”