Primark

Background

When "Click Here" Becomes a Corporate Crisis

The objectives:

*Improve employees' ability to recognise phishing red flags and unsafe attachments

*Build understanding of core cyber terminology through interactive puzzles

*Reinforce good security behaviours (password handling, document disposal, shoulder surfing awareness)

*Drive engagement through gamification – countdown timers, password collection mechanics, and a competitive leaderboard

The timeline was tight: kick-off in July 2025, go-live by late September – ready to be the hero asset for Primark's Cyber Security Month campaign reaching approximately 20,000 employees.

Solution

Escape the Ordinary

We built a single-player, web-based escape room set within a Primark office environment. Players explore different areas – meeting room, courtyard, buying office – completing four interactive puzzles before assembling a final password to win.

Each puzzle reinforced a different cyber skill: a crossword covering terminology like malware, ransomware and VPN; a password challenge testing secure practices; phishing email identification spotting red flags; and a workplace security puzzle highlighting unsafe behaviours. A countdown timer with penalties and a live leaderboard added competitive edge.

Built on Umbraco CMS with .NET Core and Angular, hosted on Azure with SSO integration via Azure AD – no separate logins, no friction. A secure admin dashboard gave the L&D team self-service access to participation data without relying on IT.

Modular puzzle design supports future updates with minimal rework, while simplified animations (informed by previous projects) improved load times and completion rates.

Impact

Gamification That Actually Works

Cyber Retail Rescue launched as the centrepiece of Primark's Cyber Security Month 2025 – and delivered real engagement where traditional training had struggled.

The escape room achieved over 1,250 plays across the campaign, with participation spanning Primark's entire corporate structure – from Technology and Finance to Retail, Quality & Sourcing, and Brand & Marketing. Rather than passive clicks through slides, employees actively problem-solved their way through phishing scenarios and security challenges, with an average completion time of under seven minutes.

For Primark's L&D team, the self-service reporting dashboard transformed how they track training engagement – no more chasing IT for participation data. The leaderboard sparked genuine competition between departments, driving repeat plays and deeper learning.

The modular framework we built means Primark can easily add new puzzles or refresh content as cyber threats evolve – turning a one-off campaign into a sustainable training asset.