Social Media Marketing Awards: CenturyLink Business

Integrated (Tech): Runner-up

Program: Ultimate Problem Solver

Agency: McKinney, Durham, N.C.

Why we liked it: CenturyLink Business lacks the financial resources of its largest competitors, so it has to find creative ways to reach the prospects for its business communications products. Knowing that its technology-oriented customers enjoy challenges and puzzles, the company created an interactive, 50-stage trivia game that rewards players who work through an increasingly challenging series of clues. UltimateProblemSolver.com presents players with puzzles they must solve to unlock passwords that lead them to the next level in the game. Some answers involve Web research or digging through CenturyLink marketing material. Players who are really stumped can tweet a request for a hint to @usolver on Twitter and get advice from other participants. Players are encouraged to interact and share their experiences. Over an eight-month period, almost 90,000 people played the game and 46,000 registered on the site, giving CenturyLink a valuable well of leads. Even more remarkable, about 17,000 players answered all 50 questions.