Instructions: This assignment is a THREE part assignment. This assignment must be
done in APA format. Each section has its own word count and instructions; so please pay
attention to details below. Although this assignment is done in APA format, it must keep the
question and answer format.
For Example: Question: XYZ
Answer: XYZ
Reference: XYZ
Book: Tuten, T.L., & Solomon, M.R. (2015). Social Media Marketing. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Part One (Discussion)
This part of the assignment has a minimum word count of 250 words. A minimum of two (2)
references, along with in-text citations, MUST be used. Please Note: The BOOK must be one.
Helpful hints are highlighted below.
1. What are the four (4) major game genres? Provide examples of each. What are the
distinguishing characteristics associated with each genre? Be sure to discuss
characteristics not included within the weekly reading.
Part Two (Complete)
This part of the assignment has THREE questions. Each question must be answered in a
minimum word count 275 words. THREE references along with in-text citations ( done APA
format) must be included in each question. Please keep answer and question format.
For example: Question: XYZ
Answer: XYZ
Reference: XYZ
1. Identify a brand that’s using some element of gaming to market itself. Pulling from what
you learned in this unit, assess the value of the brand’s gamification strategy and how it
fits within the brand’s overall social media marketing strategy.
2. Find and research two branded microsites and identify similarities and differences
between the two microsites. What are at least two (2) other concepts from this week’s
reading does one of the microsites use? How are the concepts used?
3. Of the six (6) key characteristics of games which three (3) are most beneficial to
marketers? Provide examples of two (2) brands that incorporate all or some of the
characteristics. Identify the specific characteristics within your response.
Part Three (Reponse)
Instructions: This part of the assignment is very simple. Write a response to each post. A
minimum of 75 words are required. No references are needed.
1. Social games make up the largest active area of social entertainment. In social games
there are genres. Genres are the method of play. There are four major genres that include
simulation, strategy, action, and role-playing. Simulation games are attempted to depict
real world situations. These games all have real life situations, for example, one of the
subgenres to these games are war simulation. These include war games; most wargames
revolve around a single war, campaign or battle in which the player can play out various
what-if scenarios by trying out different tactics and/or strategies. Strategy games involve
expert play to organize and value variable in the game system. These games are very
much different from the other ones due to their complexity. Board games are usually
strategy games such as Monopoly, checkers, and chess. Action games revolve around
battles, sports, and gambling. They have subgenres that include first-person shooters and
third-person shooters. Action games mechanics include Accuracy, Movement, Quick
Decisions, Reflexes, and Timing. (Genre Definitions, 2017) Examples of social action
games are games that are in sports or racing. Role-playing games are those in which the
players play a character role with the goal of completing a mission. The characteristics in
role-playing games include the main characters in the game that learn new abilities or
improves the capabilities of old ones. An example of a role-playing game is Dungeons
and Dragons. (Tuten & Solomon, 2015)
2. Social games are a big part of social entertainment. Social entertainment it engages
consumers to interact with the content that is why social games make up the largest part
of social entertainment; they revenue worldwide about $12 billion. Genres can be
referred as a method of play. Four major games genre are stimulation, action, roleplaying and strategy games. A distinguishing characteristic of stimulation games are
games that relate to the real world, example would be Farmville. A distinguishing
characteristic of action games are games that are played through someone else example
would be Texas Hold’em or live football games. A distinguishing characteristic of roleplaying games are games that you are played in the fantasy world, imagination; example
would be Dungeons and Dragon. A distinguishing characteristic of strategy games are
games that involve you gathering information to continue playing, good example of that
is Pokemon. Pokemon will have you going all around town to find him in order to gain
coins (Tuten & Solomon, 2015). Other characteristics of the four major games genre are
stimulation can be described as management skills; because you are managing real people
and objects. Action can be described as fast-pacing movement game playing and
adventurous. Role-playing can be time management, because over time you built
character and problem solve. Strategy can be described as unit construction and engaging
(Hanna).
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7
H
I
G
G
S
,
Social Entertainment
S
H
A
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
N
I
C
Q
U
When you finish reading this chapter you will be able to answer these
questions:
A
1
How can social media marketers use social entertainment to meet branding
objectives? What are the types of
1 social entertainment? Why is social
entertainment an effective approach for engaging target audiences?
2
What is branded entertainment? How is it distinguished from content
3
marketing used in social publishing?
3
2 games and gamer segments? How
What are the characteristics of social
can marketers effectively use social games? How are alternate reality
6
games different from other social games?
4
In what ways are marketers using social music, social television, and social
celebrity to share brand messaging?
2
202
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The FourANY
Zones
of Social Media
Copyright © 2015 by SAGE Publications, Ltd.
H
I
G
G
S
,
S
H
The Social Entertainment ZoneA
NPet Rescue Saga? Maybe you get your music
Have you played Candy Crush? Felt addicted to
fix on Spotify and watch and chat about your Ifavorite television shows on TVTag. The third
zone of social media is social entertainment. Broadly, social entertainment encompasses
the digital and social forms of media that areCotherwise addressed by the entertainment
industry. By that, we mean that social entertainment
channels are digitally connected,
Q
participatory, and shareable. As such, social entertainment includes social games, socially
U
enabled video games, alternate reality games, social music, and social television and film.
A in several ways. As paid media, marketMarketers can use aspects of social entertainment
Figure 7.1
Social Entertainment Zone
ers can buy advertising space in and around the source of entertainment. This is not truly
social media but instead feeds on the power of social entertainment properties. Product
1 can also be arranged. Brands can sponplacements within social entertainment vehicles
sor entertainment content in social channels.2Lastly, brands can create owned vehicles of
social entertainment by creating branded content (a category of branded entertainment)
3 is known as branded entertainment. We
whether it be games, music, or film. This option
will focus on social branded entertainment but
2 keep in mind that branded entertainment
also exists in traditional media.
6 marketing. Content marketing is also the
Branded entertainment is a subset of content
basis for social publishing strategies utilizing relevant, high-value information desired by
the target audience, as we discussed in Chapter 6. However, for branded entertainment,
the content seeks to capture attention and retain that attention for a prolonged period
of time (at least compared to the standard 30-second ads) and to do so by entertaining
203
the audience. Social branded entertainment goes a step farther to
encourage the audience to interact with the content and to share
the content and their interactive
experience with the content with
their social graphs. Social branded
entertainment is thought to generate word-of-mouth communication
H
about the respective brand as social
I
interactions occur among users.1 In
G
Chapter 1, Chipotle’s extensive use
of social media was highlighted.
G
One core aspect of that approach Photo 7.1
S
was social branded entertainment
in the form of a social game and a film series,published on Hulu. Branded entertainment,
whether social or not, is original content (just as we discussed in Chapter 6).
The value of owned content with social capabilities is clearly noted not only by brands
using this approach to market non-entertainment
S offerings but also by content producers.
For instance, Netflix has repositioned itself as a developer of original content with
H distributed exclusively by Netflix, like
Netflix Originals programming produced and
Orange Is the New Black and House of Cards.
A The Netflix Social Sharing app enables
viewers to share and discuss what they’re watching in Facebook. The social component
N
enhances the viewing experience while providing
a channel for word-of-mouth (WOM)
communication about the show and Netflix.IMedia-sharing sites traditionally thought of
as social publishing venues with social media components built in are creating their own
C
entertainment vehicles. This can be seen with YouTube’s entry into original content.
Brands can also produce curated entertainment,
Q just as they can develop curated content that is informative. Rather than buying ads in and around entertainment properties
U
or producing original branded entertainment, the value of curated entertainment for the
A entertainment that is relevant for the contarget audience is the access to a collection of
sumer. The value for the brand is the ability to use the social entertainment zone without
the expenses of paid media space or content production.
1
This brings us to the need to distinguish between
social publishing and social entertainment. Both utilize the principles of content 2
marketing to some extent (but not entirely).
Just as advertising has been associated with the goals of informing and/or entertaining,
3
so too is content marketing. The content marketing
aspects of social publishing are
focused on the goal of informing. The content
marketing
aspects of social entertainment
2
are focused on the goal of entertaining. As a review, remember that social publishing
6 one (whether brand, news organization,
is most akin to traditional media in that any
or individual) can publish content in online channels. These channels may be part of
a media-sharing site or owned media such as a blog. Across socially published content,
the primary goal is to express a point of view (POV) via information. For brands, this
POV is an opportunity to build reputation, encourage positive WOM about the brand,
Netflix © iStock.com/Brian McEntire
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Social Entertainment
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204
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The FourANY
Zones
of Social Media
Copyright © 2015 by SAGE Publications, Ltd.
and share relevant information. Social entertainment is most akin to the entertainment
industry, which provides amusement, distraction, and escape to audiences. In the marketing context, brands add value by producing social entertainment venues or leveraging
popular social entertainment venues to reach an audience.
Social Entertainment as Play
Entertainment can be thought of in the context
H of play and brands that utilize entertainment as a channel (whether via paid or owned media) are ingratiating themselves into
I
the consumers’ realm of play.2 Individuals voluntarily
choose to actively participate in
entertainment media just as they may other G
enjoyable activities – they play! Play and the
motivations for individuals to participate include power, identity, fantasy, and frivolity.
G entertainment and make Play Theory
These four aspects of play are present in social
relevant for our study of the social entertainment
S zone: social entertainment that builds
on the ‘play as power’ concept provides participants with a competitive task. Play as
,
identity provides symbolic benefits to the participant
in that the form of entertainment
is self-expressive, reveals affinities and interests, and provides for a sense of affiliation. Social music and social film are largely thought to be most relevant to those who
S encourages participants to engage in
are motivated by play as identity. Play as fantasy
creative, imaginative experiences. Play as frivolity
provides for fun, plain and simple.
H
The goal is not challenging but relaxing. These four aspects of play are easily identifiA
able in all components of social entertainment. To the extent that we can understand
N as marketers, we can then find ways to
why consumers engage in social entertainment,
provide value for those target audiences that are consistent with our brand message and
I
marketing objectives.
C
Q
Social Entertainment and Marketing Objectives
U
Why are brands turning to social entertainment? Edelman’s Brand Engagement in the Era
Aof people and 52% of those between 18 and
of Social Entertainment Survey found that 34%
34 years old perceive value in online branded entertainment.3 It is because of this perception of value that people seek out social entertainment and choose to engage with it. All
1
forms of social entertainment, whether branded or not, provide for a more immersive and
longer-lasting experience with the brand. In2this chapter, we’ll explore how brands can
use social games, social music, and social television to meet branding objectives.
Social Games
3
2
6
Social games make up the largest active area of social entertainment. At their core, they
are games but, importantly, they are social—that is to say, they are digital, interactive,
and shareable online with one’s network. The context of a social game revolves around
goal-oriented activity with defined rules of engagement and online connectivity among a
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Social Entertainment
Copyright © 2015 by SAGE Publications, Ltd.
205
community of players. Estimates vary but one source claims that 500 million people play
social games. Social game revenues worldwide are estimated at $12 billion.4
What makes a game social is largely what makes any form of social media social—
the existence of and participation in a community and sharing within the community.
Games are social when players share their game play with others. This means that by
definition social games are multiplayer games. The social components of the game will
be enhanced if there is communication among the players, tools to share activities and
achievements, and methods to encourage others to join in the play. Therefore, we define
a social game as a multiplayer, competitive,H
goal-oriented activity with defined rules of
engagement and online connectivity among a community of players. Most social games
I
include a few key elements:
G
•• Leaderboards: a listing of the leaders in the game competition
G
•• Achievement badges: symbols awarded to show game levels achieved and shared
S
with the community
•• Friend (buddy) lists with chat: a list of,contacts with whom one plays and the ability to communicate within the game
S
The characteristics that appeal to serious gamers—the
sense of competition and immersion within a dedicated community of players—can
be
heightened with the addition of
H
social elements. And, people who once felt games were nothing more than a waste of
A among discarded pizza boxes now find
time for teenage boys who huddle in basements
casual, social games an enjoyable way to chase
N away boredom, spend time online with
friends, and, quite simply, play.
I
C
Gamer Segments
Q
At one time, we could easily categorize gamers
U based on the centrality of gaming in
their lives. Gamers were either casual or hardcore, and the games they played reflected
A
this division within the gaming community. Casual gamers played casual games and
hardcore gamers played core games. Casual games are distinguished by low barriers to
entry. They require only a small amount of time per session, are easy to learn, and are
1
readily available online. For example, someone who wants to play Pet Rescue Saga can
2for whatever brief time he or she has availjust hop online and start matching gemstones
able. Most casual, social games even offer a mobile
app for those who want to play while
3
they wait in line at the grocery store. That’s because mobile use of casual, social games
2 gamers, 44% report playing games on a
is the most popular game variant. Among active
smartphone. In fact, estimates suggest that 32%
6 of the time people spend on a smartphone
is dedicated to game play.
In contrast, a core game such as Call of Duty: Ghost requires a much larger time
investment. Core games typically require extended lengths of time per game-play
session (90 minutes to several hours), are highly immersive, and demand advanced
skills for ongoing play. They may be available online, or may have specific hardware
206
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The FourANY
Zones
of Social Media
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and software requirements. Hardcore gamers value realism in the game’s contextual
clues and challenge in the game’s activities; casual gamers value ease of use and
immediate gratification. Although the stereotypes of casual versus hardcore gamers
still hold some truth, social games are blurring the distinctions between these two
types, and indeed they are bringing new gamers (and crossover games) into the mix.
Gaming is not limited to male teens, as most of us assume. Jason Allaire, co-director
of the Gains Theory Gaming Lab said, “There is no longer a ‘stereotypical game player,’
but instead a game player could be your grandparent, your boss, or even your professor.”5
Let’s take a look at the demographic characteristics
of gamers.6 Today a staggering 72%
H
of American households play computer and video games. The gender mix of gamers no
I
longer skews male (52 % male, 48% female). As a rule, women tend to prefer games that
stress relationships (such as The Sims). The G
average gamer is 31 years old with 14 years
of gaming experience. Thirty-nine percent of gamers are over 35. The number of female
G
gamers 50 and older is a fast-growing segment that is expected to continue growing as
S entertainment experience. Historically,
seniors recognize the value of gaming as a social
casual gamers trend older and female whereas
, hardcore gamers skew younger and male.
Early studies on social gamers suggest that a single profile would paint a picture that looks
very similar to that of the casual gamer (and most social games share the characteristics
of casual games). That said, the sheer number
Sof people playing social games means that
social games pull from both types of gamers (as well as recruiting a new breed of gamer
who developed an interest in games within H
the context of social media).
There are differences in the dedication of gamers
to their respective games, but overall
A
games exhibit a high degree of stickiness. As a reminder, stickiness describes the ability
N that audience. Game designers attribute
of a medium to attract an audience and keep
stickiness to design: games are designed with
I a compulsion loop such that every action
you experience produces a response that makes you want to do it again.7 When we feel
C
pleasure, a substance called dopamine is released in our brains. Common addictions
including sex, nicotine, and gambling all stimulate
dopamine production. Gamers as a
Q
cohort tend to be dedicated hobbyists who spend countless hours embroiled in intense
U
games (yes, in some cases even while they pretend to work at the office or study in the
AIn fact, gamers spend more time gaming
library). People are passionate about games.
online than they do on the Internet in all other activities except social networking—which
is increasingly linked to game activity.8 Online gaming even surpasses email in terms of
average time spent weekly on the activity. 1
Casual gamers do spend less time on games
2 each week than do core gamers, but even
in these cases eMarketer estimates that 34% of gamers spend more than 4 hours a week
playing games, 8% spend about 3 hours, 17%3spend about 2 hours, and 9% spend 1 hour.
That’s a lot of game time—and a lot of opportunities
for brands to interact with prospec2
tive customers.9
Gaming involves more than an investment of6time, however. These activities require attention and active involvement. Unlike many other forms of media consumption, players are
not likely to be multitasking during a game or consuming multiple forms of media simultaneously. Gamers aren’t texting, talking, or using the remote to channel surf when they’re
engrossed in killing orcs or acquiring farmland. Many gamers play through game consoles.
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Social Entertainment
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207
The game console is one of the reasons we increasingly see a socialization of other forms of
broadcast media. The Entertainment Software Association reported that 50% of people with
a game console also used the console to watch movies and 26% also used the console to
watch television programming. All in all, we can safely say that gaming is a viable medium to
market promotional messages. Games meet all of the criteria for viable market segmentation:
•• The market is substantial, reachable, and measurable.
•• The gaming demographic has broadened so that games are now considered viable
H
vehicles to reach women and older consumers
as well as young males.
•• Gamers spend sufficient, dedicatedI time with games to achieve valuable ad
impressions.
G
G
How We Categorize Social Games
S
Game design is built upon several layers, including platform, mode, milieu, and genre.10
,
In fact, any platform can potentially support a social game environment. If the game can
H
A
Game Platforms
N
A game platform refers to the hardware systems on which the game is played. Game
platforms include game consoles (consolesI are interactive, electronic devices used to
display video games such as Sony’s PlayStation,
C Microsoft’s Xbox, and Nintendo’s Wii),
computers (including both online games and those that require software installation on
Q devices that may include smartphones or
the player’s computer hard drive), and portable
devices specifically for game play
U
such as the Sony PSP or Nintendo
A
DS.11 However, it’s important to
keep in mind that social games
often appear on multiple platforms:
gamers have a strong tendency to
use two or more platforms, so marketers can reach them as they move
back and forth.
Mode and Milieu
Mode refers to the way the game
world is experienced. It includes
aspects such as whether a player’s
1
2
3
2
6
Photo 7.2
Game controllers © iStock.com/MrKornFlakes
operate as multiplayer and includes online connectivity for communication and sharing
among the players, it is social. Let’s take a closer look at the dimensions we use to charS
acterize games.
208
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Zones
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activities are highly structured, whether the game is single player or multiplayer, whether
the game is played in close physical proximity to other players (or by virtual proximity),
and whether the game is real-time or turn-based.12 Milieu describes the visual nature of
the game, such as science fiction, fantasy, horror, and retro.
Genres
The genre of a game refers to the method of play. Popular genres include simulation,
strategy, action, and role-playing. Each of these
H genres is represented in the game market
whether the games are casual, core, or social games.
I
•• Simulation games attempt to depict real-world
situations as accurately as possible.
G
There are several subgenres including racing simulators, flight simulators, and “Sim”
Gthe development of an environment. Among
games that enable the players to simulate
social games, simulations include FarmVille,
S Pet Resort, and FishVille. Gamers trace
most of the innovations in today’s simulation games to the pioneering Sim City game.
,
•• Action games consist of two major subgenres: first-person shooters (FPS) where you
“see” the game as your avatar sees it and third-person games. Contextually there is
little difference in these subgenres given
S the extent to which gamers identify with
their avatars. The avatar acts as a virtual prosthetic connecting the player and the
H
environment.13 Action games are performative
in that the player chooses an action
that the game then executes. The actions
may
revolve
around battles, sports, gamA
bling, and so on. Examples of social action games are Epic Goal (a live-action soccer
N
game), Paradise Paintball (a first-person shooter social game), and Texas Hold’Em
(a social gambling game).
I
•• Role-playing games (RPGs), games in which
C the players play a character role with
the goal of completing some mission, are closely tied to the milieu of fantasy.
Perhaps the best-known RPG started Q
its life as a tabletop game—Dungeons and
Dragons. Players adopt the identity ofU
a character in the game story and go about
completing tasks and collecting points and items as they strive to accomplish the
A
intended goal. MMORPGs—massive multiplayer
online role-playing games—are a
type of RPG that truly encompasses the social aspects of gaming. For years, World
of Warcraft was the largest of these with millions of paid subscribers. However, in
1
recent years, the entry of “free to play” games and the popularity of The League of
2
Legends has resulted in a decline in popularity
for the once juggernaut game. The
League of Legends has grown into the most played PC game in North America and
3
Europe with more than 67 million people playing each month.14
2 play to organize and value variables in
•• Strategy games are those that involve expert
the game system. These games may involve
contextualizing information available
6
from secondary sources outside the game itself, including previous experience with
game play. Later in this chapter we will discuss alternate reality games as a game
form for marketing. Although these games stand apart from other social games
due to their complexity, they are also strategy games that involve the solving of
puzzles and the systematic evaluation of new information and choices to be made
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Social Entertainment
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209
to continue in the game. Puzzle games, a common variant in the realm of social
games, are also a type of strategy game. Social strategy games include Kingdoms
of Camelot, Highborn, KDice, Word Cube, and Lexulous. Of course, there is quite
a bit of blurring between the genres; you can play other games strategically even
though they may best be categorized as sims, action, or role plays.
It’s clear that play theory, explained earlier in the chapter, is useful for understanding
the design of these games and gamer motivations for playing. More than 50 million gamers
H currently are Candy Crush (93 million
are active daily and the most popular social games
users), Farm Heroes Saga (11.28 million users),
I Pet Rescue Saga (10.18 million users), Hay
Day (9.39 million users), and Criminal Case (6.58 million users).
G
G
Game-Based Marketing
S
Brands can utilize social games for marketing
, in several ways—and they should! Games
offer a targeted audience, large reach, a high level of engagement, low intrusion methods
of promotion, and a way to interact with brand fans.
The Social Gaming Market Global IndustrySAnalysis Report from Transparence Market
Research suggests that worldwide revenues will reach $17.40 billion by 2019, with the
H ($7.59 billion).15 Ad revenues represent
largest revenues earned in the Asia Pacific region
just a portion of these revenues as game producers
also earn revenues from the sale of
A
virtual goods in games and game purchase or subscription fees. Revenues are growing
N due to the popularity of tablets.
most rapidly in the mobile game market, largely
Brands have many choices when it comesI to marketing with social games. They may
choose to promote a brand’s message in an existing game property. In these cases the
brand can advertise in and around the game C
using display advertising and product placements, sponsor aspects of the game, and integrate
Q the brand into game play. In addition, a
brand can take an even bigger step and develop its own advergame, a game that delivers
U
a branded message. We’ll review each approach.
A
In-Game Advertising
In-game advertising is promotion within a 1game that another company develops and
sells. Ads delivered in social games (online and mobile) have higher clickthrough rates,
2 rates than do other online ads.16 Brands
higher completion rates, and higher engagement
advertised in games have higher rates of recall,
3 too.17 Marketers can choose from among
three general methods for in-game advertising:
1
2
Display ads are integrated into a game’s
6 environment as billboards, movie post-
ers, and storefronts (depending of course on the game’s context), or simply as ad
space within the game screen. The display advertising may be static or dynamic
and include text, images, or rich media. Rich media advertising can run pre-roll
(before the game begins), interlevel (between stages of the game), or post-roll
(at the game’s conclusion), though interlevel is the most common placement.
210
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2 Static ads are hard-coded into the game and ensure that all players view the
advertising. The Obama campaign ran ads in 18 games including Burnout Paradise
prior to the 2008 election.18
3 Dynamic ads are variable; they change based on specified criteria. This technique
is managed by networks such as MediaSpike and Massive, which offer insertion
technology to place ads across multiple games. The networks contract with game
publishers to place advertising in their games. By combining games from several
publishers, networks create a large portfolio of in-game media opportunities for
H
advertisers. The network works with publishers
to strategically embed advertising,
sell the placement to advertisers, serve
the
ads
into the games in the network,
I
and manage the billing and accounting for the process.
G
Dynamic advertising is valuable because of the high degree of control and realtime measurement it offers. In addition,G
this approach makes it possible to develop
an ad network within game families. ItSmakes it possible to aggregate numerous
games, platforms, and genres into the ad network. Massive Inc. conducted a series
of research tests to gauge the impact of ,dynamic in-game advertising. It found that
in games using dynamic advertising, brand familiarity, brand ratings, purchase
consideration, ad recall, and ad ratings all increased significantly compared to a
S more than 1,000 gamers across North
control group. The study, which involved
America, included tests of several advertising
categories, including automotive,
H
consumer packaged goods, and fast food.19
A
Is in-game advertising effective? You be the
N judge. A report by MediaBrix gives these
highlights:20
I
•• Ads in social games achieve an average
Cclickthrough rate (CTR) of 3.8% online or
3.2% mobile, while the average online ad earns just 0.2% or less and a Facebook
Q
sponsored ad between 0.3% and 3.2%.
•• A rich media ad placed in a social gameUearns an average clickthrough rate of 11.5%
online or 10.0% on mobile, while the A
rate for the average online rich media ad is
just 3.3%.
•• Do you finish watching video ads served to you online? You aren’t alone. Video
1 58%. But video ads delivered in social
completion rates for ads online is under
games are completed 89% of the time.2
•• And the rate for “value-exchange ads” (those are the ads that offer you game-related
3
goods)? These are opened 100% of the time online and 91.4% for mobile play.
Product Placement
2
6
A product placement is simply the placement of a branded item in an entertainment
property such as a television program, movie, or game. A placement can be very
simple—involving nothing more than having a brand visible in a scene—or it can be
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211
heavily integrated into the entertainment property (and then product placement begins
to overlap with immersive in-game advertising, which we discuss later).21
Screen placements that visually incorporate the brand into the scenery are the most
common form of product placement. The placement may be as simple as a brand of soda
present in the background or branded attire on in-game characters. For example in FIFA,
players may wear Adidas shoes.
Script placements take the process one step farther: they include verbal mentions of the
brand’s name and attributes in the plot. In the Japanese version of Metal Gear Solid: Peace
Walker, the character could drink Mountain Dew,
H eat Doritos, and spray himself with Axe
to recover or develop additional strength for game play. Gamers note that product placeI
ments that are realistic enhance the game’s realism and make the game more enjoyable.
G into the game. This form of in-game
Transactional advertising is more integrated
advertising rewards players if they respond to a request.22 This technique is part product
G
placement, part direct response advertising, and part sales promotion. The offers can be
S game or offer as gifts to friends), currency
for virtual goods (which players can use in the
(used to advance in the game), or codes (used
, to unlock prizes and limited-access player
experiences). Players are rewarded with the virtual goods, currencies, or codes if they
take certain actions such as interact with the brand in the game, make a purchase, “like”
the brand on Facebook, watch a commercial, S
or perhaps answer a survey. A more unusual
take on transactional in-game advertising was used by Pizza Hut in Everquest II. Players
could order pizza straight from the game by H
using the “/pizza” command. The pizza was
charged to the player’s monthly subscriptionAbill.23
Entertainment Arts (EA), one of the most successful social and mobile game developers,
N marketers who wish to place their brands
identified four types of advertising it offers for
in EA games: (1) traffic drivers, (2) quests, (3)
I store tabs, and (4) media integrations. All
are forms of transactional in-game advertising. Traffic drivers seek to drive players to a
C
brand’s Facebook page in exchange for a free virtual good. For instance, in EA’s The Sims
Social, players could download Dove Hair Spa
Q virtual goods with a visit to the Facebook
page. Quests involve multiple tasks in game during which the player interacts with the
U
brand. Toyota used a quest integration for players to earn a virtual Prius. Store Tabs are
sections of the virtual store in-game that areAtotally dedicated to the brand. Media integrations require players to watch a short video advert to unlock a virtual good. Some
of the brands that have used one or more of these tactics in EA games include Dunkin
1
Donuts and Wendy’s.
Bounty developed a transactional in-game approach
for the social game, Restaurant City.
2
Players completed quests to unlock rolls of Bounty towels that clean more quickly than
3
the game’s standard paper towels. A more challenging
quest unlocked a Bounty janitor
who was 30% more effective at cleaning than2the standard janitor. More than 2.5 million
players unlocked the paper towels and more than one million scored the janitor. The cam6
paign is also credited with the addition of 500,000
“likes” to the Bounty Facebook page.
There is evidence that this interactive form of brand engagement pays off in sales, too.
For instance, EA commissioned a Nielsen study to assess sales impact related to Gatorade
in-game ads in sports games. The study found that spending on Gatorade increased by
24% in households that had seen the in-game ads.24
212
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Brand Integration
In-game immersive advertising opportunities include interactive product placements,
branded in-game experiences, and game integration between the game and the brand.
In the film industry this is known as a plot placement. Plot placements involve situations
in which the brand is actually incorporated into the story itself in a substantive manner.
Whether a plot placement or some other form of integration, research suggests that brands
achieve enhanced brand attitudes, recall and recognition, and purchase among consumers
exposed to the brand message in-game.25 H
The campaign to launch the release of the Public Enemies DVD illustrates how a brand
I
can integrate its marketing messages very closely
into a game. The movie studio that
released the film worked with the social game
Mafia
Wars to create a truly integrated
G
game experience. Players in Mafia Wars start their own Mafia family, run their empires,
G
S
,
THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIAL MEDIA
Gatorade Portrays Water as
the Enemy
What’s your favorite workout beverage? Water? Gatorade? While Gatorade
is known to provide benefits to hydrating athletes in extreme situations like
marathons or professional play, for most
of us, water is the better choice. Gatorade took action when it learned that
one of its key target audiences—teenage athletes—tended to choose water
during practice because they believed
it provided the hydration they needed.
Gatorade responded by integrating the
brand and an anti-water message into an
existing mobile game called Bolt! Bolt,
developed by Rock Live, Inc., features
athlete Usain Bolt, a Gatorade-sponsored
athlete. The brand integration explained
that Gatorade helped Bolt (already identified as the fastest man in the world) have
even better performance but that water
was the enemy, hurting performance.
In the game, players make choices that
Saffect how fast Bolt’s character moves
Hthrough the course. Gatorade resulted
in faster times and higher scores while
Awater slowed Bolt down. The game was
Ndownloaded more than 2 million times,
played as many as 87 million times, and
I resulted in 4 million new online fans.
COverall, 820 brand impressions were
served, reinforcing the message that
QGatorade is better than water at enhancUing athletic performance. The game
was a Bronze winner in the
Aintegration
2013 Interactive Advertising Bureau’s
MIXX awards. Seventy-three percent of
were 13 to 24 years old, consis1players
tent with the brand’s key demographic.26
2Gatorade’s in-game advertising success3fully delivered the misleading message
that water is the enemy to its teenage
2target audience. The case study video
6submission was posted on the IAB MIXX
website with other winners until it was
removed shortly after following outcries
about the ethics of the tactic from nutritional bloggers and journalists.
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213
and fight for the position of most powerful of Mafia families. During a one-week campaign, Mafia Wars featured Public Enemies Week. Players could complete tasks to unlock
branded virtual goods such as wooden guns and prison stripes. After they completed
tasks, players saw movie clips and trivia about the movie characters. A success? You bet.
Nineteen million players took part in Public Enemies Week: they completed 44.5 million
branded tasks, watched 1.5 million movie clips, and posted 7.6 million news feed posts
on game tasks and virtual goods. The promotion also generated 25,000 Facebook “likes”
and 26,000 comments on the Mafia Wars Facebook page.27
H
I
With advergaming, the game itself is a form G
of branded entertainment. It is designed by
the brand to reflect the brand’s positioning statement. Advergames are almost exclusively
G
available online rather than in hard media because
of the desire to have a cost-effective
method of distributing the game to a large S
audience. Likewise, they tend to be casual
rather than core games because of the costs associated with creating and promoting core
games. When they include social components, like friend lists, sharing of experiences and
Advergames
results, and badges, they are known as social advergames. In Chapter 1, we shared the
social media strategy for the global, fast-casual restaurant brand Chipotle. Its Scarecrow
campaign included a social advergame. TheScampaign won a 2014 Grand Prix and two
Gold Lions at Cannes, possibly the most prestigious
award for creativity. In addition to
H
being well integrated with the social publishing aspects of the campaign, the game also
included a social commerce element in that A
players achieving average to high marks in
the game earned coupons for redemption atN
Chipotle locations.
The shift to social games is a boon to advergaming given the goal of the game—
I
to spread a branded message. Studies on the effectiveness of social advergames
found that when advergames were social C
they resulted in more positive brand attitudes and more positive word-of-mouth communication about the brand than when
Q
the advergame was not social.28 There are developmental costs to be considered, but
U
advergames are sometimes “reskinned” versions
of existing games. This means that
a game is reprogrammed to contain brand A
logos or other sponsored images. The key
to success in the advergaming market is the quality of the game and the congruence
between the brand and the game context. Gamers tend to be thought of as people
who eschew traditional advertising, but they
1 welcome a good game, whether or not
it appears as an advergame.
2 to make money, but rather to serve as
Perhaps because advergames are not intended
a promotion vehicle that builds awareness for
3 the sponsoring brand, many have lagged
behind in terms of their technical sophistication compared to social games. However,
some success stories illustrate the potential2for advergames. Take, for example, Swiss
watchmaker Tag Heuer.
6
It created a social game, working with French social media agency KRDS, called Mystery
on Board available via Facebook for mobile, tablet, or desktop play. The game story is set
on the Glacier Express, tied to the sub-brand name of the timepiece, the Aquaracer Glacier
Express. Similarly, Longchamp used an online game to show its Fall 2013 collection. The
campaign, “Bigger than Life,” featured a giant model walking through the streets of New
214
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York carrying a Longchamp bag. Captain Morgan developed a mobile social game called
Captain’s Quest that included geo-location technology incorporating Foursquare and QR
code readers that unlocked virtual goods when bar codes on bottles of Captain Morgan
were scanned. Social advergames aren’t just for B2C marketers. IBM developed its CityOne
social advergame to target city managers and urban planners. Players are tasked with
solving a city’s most pressing problems in the areas of banking, retail, energy, and water
with technology.29 The game has an underlying goal of teaching city planners about new
technologies and examining the consequences of possible choices they make in addressing common urban issues. Thousands of people
H in more than 100 countries have played
since the game launched.
I
Jane Chen of Ya Ya Media, a video game developer, had this to say of advergaming’s
G
potential: “It is one of the few advertising mediums
that effectively reaches target audiences in all day-parts—including hard-to-reach at-work hours … The most effective
G
advergames push deeper down the purchase funnel and can serve to qualify buyers and
Seven purchase directly online. The natural
incentivize consumers to visit retail outlets or
interactivity of games provides the perfect stimulus
and ongoing communication channel
,
between brands and their customers.”30
S
The Bottom Line: Why Do Social Games
H Work for Marketers?
Social games have the potential to be a major
A weapon in a marketer’s arsenal. As gaming continues to explode as a consumer activity, we expect to see many more of these
Nbe in a receptive mood when gaming and
vehicles—and you should too. Players tend to
branding efforts result in more positive brand
I attitudes. And, it’s relatively inexpensive
to use this medium, brand exclusivity is available (where a sponsor is the sole advertiser
C
in a gaming environment), and metrics are available
to measure just how well the game
works to attract players.
Q
Of course, like any advertising medium games do have some negatives that the industry
U pervasive problem of advertising clutter
has to deal with. One is game clutter; like the
in other formats, this means that there are way
A too many games out there that compete
for players’ attention. Facebook alone offers hundreds of social games, and this number
multiplies when you consider the massive inventory available on games offered on game
networks (such as Pogo.com), microsites, and 1
via consoles and software. Unlike advertising
clutter, however, the problem is compounded by the time investment involved in playing
2
a game. You can either look at or not look at a popup ad on a website and move on, but
3 time to learning the rules and masterif you choose to play a game you need to devote
ing its tricks. Even for avid game geeks, there
2 are only so many hours in a day (OK, a
few more if you skip class to play your favorites). Another issue is available inventory for
6 game titles and genres, but the invenadvertising in-game. Granted there are numerous
tory of space available for display advertising, product placement, and brand integration
is still in limited supply.
There are some key characteristics of games—in addition to cost and ease of targeting—
that make this domain especially attractive to marketers going forward:
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1
215
Gamers are open to advertising content in games. It’s not that they’re “adverholics”—
just that they crave realism and many real-world venues (for better or worse)
like stadiums are saturated with marketing messages. In fact, a study by Nielsen
Entertainment conducted on behalf of Massive Inc. revealed that after exposure to
in-game ads on Massive’s advertising game network, brand familiarity, a measure of
brand recognition, increased 64%.31 In addition, the study found that positive attitudes
toward the brands studied increased by 37% and purchase consideration increased
by 41%. The advertising itself also performed well; respondents reported an increase
in advertising recall and a positive attitude
H toward the ads they encountered in the
games. These results are consistent with other research on the effectiveness of ad
I
placement, which found that placing ads in creative locations such as games over
G resulted in positive feelings toward the
traditional placements such as magazines
brand.32
G
2 Brands benefit when they associate with a successful game. When players love
S rub off on the brands they encounter
a game, some of these positive feelings
within it; we call this spillover a transference
effect. This is the same thing that
,
tends to happen with event sponsorships. Brands often try to link to sports and
music events like the Olympics or a Rihanna concert to gain residual benefits
S only difference is that a game/brand
from the brand–event association. The
linkage is more intimate; the player encounters the sponsoring product on his
H
or her screen rather than in an arena packed with 10,000 other fans. Like event
sponsorship, a prerequisite for successA
is congruence between the brand’s image
and the image and atmosphere the game
Nconveys. It’s unlikely that a conservative
clothing chain such as Talbot’s would sponsor a Lady Gaga tour, and similarly the
I to create a role-playing military game
U.S. Army is probably a better candidate
like Call of Duty than is, say, the Methodist
C Church. In other words, there must
be a good fit in order to maximize the value of the association. To pick the right
Q (or game concept) just as they would
game, marketers must choose the game
choose any other media and vehicles U
for a media plan—they need to consider
the demographic profile of game players, the size of the player market, and the
A Ford or Chevrolet in Grand Theft Auto?
quality and content of the game franchise.
Probably not a great idea.
Not only do brands benefit from association
with the game, but they can also
1
achieve outcomes similar to when they use celebrity endorsers. Famous people
2 create a transference effect. That’s why
whom the target audience admires also
companies pay millions to movie stars;
3 they hope that the knowledge that an
admired person likes the brand will in turn encourage the star’s fans to like it as
2 of the target market accept the beliefs
well. Internalization occurs when members
of an endorser as their own. In a game 6
context, the characters in the game’s story
and setting can act as brand endorsers.
The meaning transfer model states that consumers associate meaning with
the endorser and then transfer the meaning to the brand in question.33 The
consumer first chooses to assign the meaning associated with the endorser
216
3
4
5
6
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to the product or brand. Thus, meanings attributed to the endorser become
associated with the brand in the consumer’s mind. For game advertisers, the
meaning transfer model suggests that a character’s attributes can be transferred
to a brand a character uses in the game as part of an in-game product placement. The key to using character endorsers successfully parallels the choice of
celebrity endorsers. The character endorser should have the appropriate set of
characteristics the brand desires.
Players identify with the brands their characters use, and this increases their
brand involvement. Players may be H
particularly invested in their characters
because they spend weeks, months, and
I even years on building their character
identity and developing the attributes that will enable the character to compete
G Even the name of the RPG genre itself,
at the highest possible level of the game.
“role-playing,” implies just how involved
Gplayers are with their characters. When
brands are embedded using immersive techniques such as enabling players in a
racing game to choose their brand of S
race car, the players can actively interact
with brands during the game experience.
, This “bonding” results in a heightened
sense of brand identification.
Branding within a game’s story is an unobtrusive way to share a brand’s core
S the immersive experience of watching
message. In many ways, games approximate
a movie. Games, like movies, are capable
H of transcending barriers of class and
culture. However, games offer more than stories told through film and literature,
A participate in the story. When spectain that they allow the audience to actually
tors become actors, they are less likelyNto sit back and think of reasons why the
advertising message on the screen doesn’t apply to them (psychologists call this
I
common process counterarguing). Narrative
transportation theory explains how
even imagined interactivity can build C
positive brand attitudes. This theory proposes that mental stimulation through narrative storytelling encourages players
Q
to become lost in the story. Once immersed in the plot, players are distracted
U They do not counterargue against these
from advertising embedded in the game.
messages, and as a result they are more likely to form attitudes toward the brand
A
simply based on the positive feelings the story evokes.34
Targeting is possible for most in-game ads using gaming ad networks like Rock
You and MediaSpike. Social games were
1 already a high value for effective reach
based on game/player fit, but ad networks can tailor and customize product
2
placements dynamically to deliver different ads based on geographic location
and other segmentation variables.
3
Marketers can measure a game’s promotional
value. For both game advertising
2
and advergaming, the game environment creates a higher impression value for the
6 media placements. This is attributed
ad compared to that earned from traditional
to the frequency of exposure, the potential for interactivity with the brand’s
message, and the entertainment value of the platform. Millions of advertising
impressions can be delivered in just a few weeks of game play at a cost as low
as 25 cents per impression. In addition to the low cost, there is little advertising
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Social Entertainment
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217
clutter in games, particularly when compared to other media choices. But what’s
equally or even more important is that marketers know how well a game works to
deliver these impressions. Unlike many other forms of advertising, a sponsor can
measure who saw the message and in some cases even link these exposures to
sales of its product. We’ll talk more about the vital issue of measuring marketing
results in Chapter 10.
Industry and academic research supports the use of social games for branding purposes.
Though there are many factors involved in whether
H this approach will be successful, studies suggest that brands affiliating with social games are more memorable, talked about
I liked than if a social game were not used.
more often and more positively, and are better
Effectiveness can be influenced by game–brand
G congruity, target audience, type and realism of brand integration, and individual factors of the players.35
G
S
Alternate Reality Games: A Transmedia
Genre
,
So far in this chapter we’ve focused on social games. But in addition to all the Mafia Wars
and World of Warcraft players out there, other people are getting into an even newer genre
that’s even more immersive—one that vividly S
demonstrates the stunning potential of digital
media. We refer to alternate reality games (ARGs).
H Unfiction.com, a leading website for the
ARG community, defines an alternate reality game as “a cross-media genre of interactive
A
fiction using multiple delivery and communications
media, including television, radio,
newspapers, Internet, email, SMS, telephone, voicemail,
and postal service.”36 ARGs are still
N
social games, with a community of geographically dispersed players who compete and colI are like others of the strategy genre—but
laborate to solve a complex puzzle. These games
on steroids. When a sponsoring brand develops
C an ARG it also resembles an advergame.
And, because ARGs involve two or more different media, they are transmedia social games.
The Marketing Value of ARGs
Q
U
A
Brands such as Levi Strauss, McDonald’s, Nine Inch Nails, and Audi have used ARGs
for marketing. In fact, to date, the most successful ARGs in terms of participation are
1
brand-sponsored. Most ARGs are tied to entertainment
properties such as movies, books,
and video games (yes, games to promote games!).
For
instance, the movie The Dark
2
Knight was promoted with an ARG called Why So Serious? that was played by more
than 11 million people in 75 countries. It’s 3
natural that story-oriented products would
promote themselves using a story-based promotional
tool, but other brands can benefit
2
from ARGs too. The key, just as with other forms of social games, is to ensure a high
level of congruence between the game and 6the brand.
The movie launch of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) in 2001 started it all with the ARG
game The Beast that a Microsoft team created. This groundbreaking promotional vehicle
was set in the year 2142, 50 years after the events in the movie. This game offered three
rabbit holes:
218
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1 A clue hidden among the credits for A.I.
2 A trailer for the movie that invited players to call a phone number in order to
receive a clue by email
3 A promotional poster the producers sent to technology and media outlets that
contained another clue
The prevalence of brand-initiated ARGs is at least in part due to the funding necessary to
build an intricate, multimedia, multi-channel narrative
with characters and clues spread online
H
and off. Take, for instance, The Art of the Heist ARG that Audi used to promote its A3 model.
I
ARG-related expenses ran about $5 million.37 Compared
to television advertising, the cost of
an ARG is minimal. Still, the resources required
are
substantial
enough to warrant the need
G
for a brand sponsor. However, this investment can pay off handsomely. For instance, Audi
G
claims that 500,000 consumers, in its target audience
of 25- to 35-year-old, upper-income
males, participated in its Art of the Heist ARG,
with
average
exposure of 4 to 10 minutes
S
spent on numerous websites and pages used to embed game clues.38 Hits to Audi’s website
,
increased 140% during the game with the most hits originating from game sites. Its dealers
earned 10,000 qualified sales leads, and 3,500 test drives could be attributed to the game.39
Although an ARG benefits from a sponsor’s deep pockets, many of the games do not
S
identify who is behind the effort. Instead, players play until the mystery is solved (or the
H to the community) and the brand sponsor
sponsorship is inadvertently discovered and leaked
is revealed. This type of branded ARG is known
A as a dark play ARG; it’s one of the ways that
brands can use dark marketing, which refers to a promotion that disguises the sponsoring
N brands should acknowledge their role in
brand. Some say it’s an ethical question whether
an ARG (or other dark marketing promotionalI stunts), but thus far, both brands and players
seem to recognize that the game is best left as pure play space. In the end, players have a
C experience that translates into more posisense of gratitude toward the brand for the game
tive brand attitudes, along with potentially stronger
Q brand knowledge because participants
stick with the game for days, weeks, or even months before they solve the mystery. Table
7.1 on page 222 summarizes the pros and consU
of the ARG strategy. All of this sounds pretty
complicated, so let’s first review the characteristics
A and vocabulary of ARGs.
1
2 over time an ARG will also become a
ARGs begin with a scripted scenario. However,
form of consumer-fortified media as the network
3 of gamers participates in the game by
discovering clues, sharing information with others, and literally changing the structure
2 an ARG, players not only share tips, clues,
and plot of the game with their responses. In
and accomplishments with the player community,
they also help to direct how the story
6
Characteristics of ARGs
underlying the game develops. In fact, that’s why sometimes ARGs are referred to as
immersive fiction. For branded ARGs, marketers have an unmatched opportunity to share
a brand story with the audience.
The games unfold over multiple forms of media and utilize many types of game elements, each tailored to specific media platforms. ARGs may utilize websites (story sites
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Social Entertainment
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219
and social networking sites), telephone, email, outdoor signage, T-shirts, television, radio
play, and more to reveal story clues, compose scenes, and unite gamers.
ARGs are ideally suited to social media because it would be impossible to solve the puzzle
alone. Among players, the term “collective detective” acknowledges the need for a team approach
to solve the mystery. Because players from around the world participate, online communication
is a necessary component to play. Many ARGs use other media channels including live events,
television, radio, and so on, but social media ensure a hub of communication for the players.
We summarize the basic characteristics of ARGs as follows:
H
•• ARGs are based on a fictional story. Game characters, events, places, and plot are
I
imagined and explored by the game writers, known as puppet masters.
G unfolds as a mystery that invites players
•• ARGs are strategy/puzzle games. The story
to solve clues before more of the narrative
G is revealed.
•• Because they are transmedia social games,
S ARGs offer clues on multiple platforms
that range from traditional media like television and newspapers to text messages
and messages hidden in code in movie, trailers or even concert T-shirts.
•• The story is fictional as are the game characters, but the game space is not. The
players are real people and the clues are revealed in real time. Consequently, real
S
life is itself a medium. This characteristic has led to the ARG “TINAG” credo—“This
H
is not a game!” Telephone numbers, websites,
and locations revealed in-game are
all real and functioning. Oh—and if you meet an ARG enthusiast, beware. He or
A
she won’t take kindly to references to ARGs as games (even though they are).
N
•• Players collaborate to unravel the meanings
of the clues offered but they also
compete to be the first to solve layersI of the mystery. Players are geographically
dispersed, sometimes worldwide.
C
•• The story unfolds, but typically not in a linear fashion. The speed of disclosure
Q speed in solving clues and sharing them
is influenced by the players’ success and
with the player population.
U
•• ARGs are organic; the story may not unfold as initially conceived. Because players
A
interact with the game, and player response can dictate the next scene in the story,
stories are fluid and unpredictable.
•• Players rely on the Internet, and especially
1 social communities including forums,
as the hub of communication.
2
•• The desire for players to share information with each other and even for the story
to be followed by observers attests to 3
the viral nature of ARGs.
The Vocabulary of ARGs
2
6
ARGs have their own vernacular—understanding the lingo is the first step to understanding the culture of alternate reality gaming. The website Unfiction.com is a major
clearinghouse for ARG fans. The site summarizes the basic lexicon of alternate reality
gamers:40
220
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•• Puppet masters: The authors, architects, and managers of the story and its scenarios
and puzzles.
•• Curtain: The invisible line separating the players from the puppet masters.
•• Rabbit hole: The clue or site that initiates the game.
•• Collective detective: A term that captures the notion of collaboration among a team
of geographically dispersed players who work together to flesh out the story.
•• Lurkers and rubberneckers: Lurkers follow the game but do not actively participate,
whereas rubberneckers participate in forums
but do not actively play. Consider this
H
common line from brand-sponsored sweepstakes: “You don’t have to play to win.”
I
From a branding perspective, lurkers and rubberneckers are just as critical to the
G Unfiction.com estimates that the ratio
success of an ARG as are the active players.
of lurkers to active players can range from 5:1 to 20:1, depending upon the game.
G
•• Steganography: The tactic of hiding messages within another medium; the message
S to look for it.
is undetectable for those who do not know
,
•• Trail: A reference index of the game including
relevant sites, puzzles, in-game characters, and other information. Trails are useful for new players coming late into a
game and to veteran players who eagerly try to piece together the narrative.
S
H
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Brand-Sponsored ARG
A
How can we measure the effectiveness of ARGs as a branding tool? ARG effectiveness
Nsocial media approaches with a focus on
measures are similar to those used for other
site traffic and participation. We’ll discuss these
I in greater depth in Chapter 10. The most
common indicators for ARGs include:
C
•• Number of active players
Q
•• Number of lurkers and rubberneckers U
•• Rate of player registration from launch or from specific game event
A
••
••
••
••
••
Number of player messages generated
Traffic at sites affiliated with the ARG
1 Unfiction.com)
Number of forum postings (at sites like
2
Average play time
Media impressions made through publicity
3 generated about the ARG
Social Music
2
6
Just as marketers can use social games as vehicles for in-game ads, integrated placements,
or fully branded games, similar options are available for social music. This category of
social entertainment has developed substantially in recent years with the entry of social,
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221
FROM BYTES TO BUCKS
Disney’s The Optimist
The heart of Disney is immersive
storytelling so it shouldn’t come as a
surprise that Walt Disney Imagineering
Research and Development planned and
executed an ARG, Disney’s The Optimist.
Imagineering, the laboratory that brings
Disney stories to life in the form of park
attractions, believes storytelling is in its
DNA. It developed The Optimist ARG
as a 6-week game culminating in a live
version of the game at the 2013 D23Expo,
the fan event for the official Disney Fan
Club. Why is Disney investing in ARGs?
Scott Trowbridge, vice president of
creative at Imagineering Research and
Development, explained that with an
ARG, “You are participating in the story,
not just being told a story.” Imagineering
didn’t stop at creating its own ARG. It is
also investing in the genre. Imagineering’s
Living Worlds (www.disneylivingworlds.
com) program invites transmedia
storytelling submissions with a goal of
nurturing a community of storytellers.
The top submissions will be produced
by Imagineering.
The Optimist story began with a character
named Amelia and her hunt for clues
about a story her grandfather sold to Walt
Disney.41 Through blog posts, tweets,
and images, players found clues based
on history that were woven into the
fictional story. Many ARGs are based on
futuristic themes, but The Optimist’s use
of historical fiction served to pay homage
to the cultural expertise of Disney fans.
Clues related to the 1964 World’s Fair,
where It’s a Small World first debuted,
and many of Walt Disney’s favorite
locations. Real-world meetups provided
Hopportunities for players to meet with
game characters playing a part of
I the
Walt’s secret society (which used the
Gsymbol 1952—the year the Imagineering
and Development group was
GResearch
established) and receive additional game
Sparaphernalia. Puzzles in the game
, couldn’t be solved alone, ensuring that
fans collaborated. Even fans playing from
afar could participate using the game
Swebsites and, if registered, even receive
mailings and audio recordings. Curious
Habout the entire story? A full history of
Athe plot and clues as they were 42revealed
is available at Inside the Magic.
N
The official word is that The Optimist
I ended at the 2013 D23Expo, but
Crumors abound that The Optimist is
connected to a film called
Qsomehow
Tomorrowland, set to be released in May
U2015. Originally 1952, the film written
Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof
Aby
was retitled Tomorrowland. The 1952
symbols seen on Tomorrowland project
1materials are identical to those used in
the ARG, leading fans to ask whether this
2ARG is really over.43 Perhaps Amelia’s
3Twitter account (@storyorbit) is a clue
– her last tweet references seeing a
2beautiful tomorrow. Could it be a clue
6for Tomorrowland? A recap of The
Optimist, told from Amelia’s point of
view, is available at www.storyorbit.com/
tomorrow and on YouTube.
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Table 7.1
Pros and Cons of Using an ARG as a Social Entertainment Branding Channel
Pros
Cons
Reach can be substantial. In addition to active
players, lurkers and rubberneckers may also see
the messages.
The games attract media attention, resulting in
earned media in the form of publicity.
Exposures earned last longer than do those for
traditional media.
ARGs are high-engagement messages. The
games pull enthusiasts (players, lurkers, and
rubberneckers) into the story and encourage
them to seek out new information as it is
presented in the game.
ARGs require a lot of effort from initial conception
through planning and execution. And, because
the storyline can change depending upon the
response from players, ARGs require constant
monitoring and input from the game architects
Hthrough and even beyond (as players are
debriefed) the game’s end.
I
GBecause the game can evolve in ways the
architects did not originally plan, there is a risk
Ginvolved. As fans drive the plot, the game can
Sprogress in ways the sponsor didn’t anticipate.
brand loyalists may resent the influx of
, Hardcore
new people who express interest in the game.
ARGs are unlikely to reach the same number of
Sprospects as a brand could attract if it used mass
Hmedia.
A
N
Players welcome brand-sponsored ARGs
because they do not invade people’s space with
I
a brand message.
C
Q
streaming music providers like Pandora and Spotify. It’s important to reiterate that there
U
is a difference between advertising around social entertainment spaces and truly utilizA
ing social entertainment as a social media marketing
opportunity. Technically speaking,
advertising in and around social entertainment spaces is digital advertising – online or
mobile. It is not in and of itself social, even if the site is social. Despite this, we will cover
1
these options briefly.
2
3
In-Network Advertising
Social music is primarily based around cloud2services providing streamed sound. Though
podcast sites have long provided streamed audio,
6 we classify podcasts as a form of mediasharing site used primarily for social publishing. iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon Music
are retailers of music that may also be cloud-stored and streamed and, though these providers have some social features such as ratings and rankings, we consider these more
consistent with social commerce. What then are we referring to when we suggest that
marketers consider using social music for promotions? Brands can include many types of
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223
ads on social music sites, including audio ads, display ads, billboard ads (which serve as
a screensaver that appears when a listener has gone inactive), and homepage takeovers
(which ensure all site visitors are exposed to the ad). More integrated forms of advertising
with social music include the use of branded playlists and the use of microsites within
the social music vehicle.
Why should marketers consider social music sites as possible ad vehicles? Like games,
these social sites offer targeting and reach capabilities. Advertisers can target using age,
gender, preferred music genre, and location. Ad impressions are charged on a CPM basis
(cost per thousand). A benefit with social music
H is that production may be provided by
the site (at least for Pandora and Spotify at the time of this writing). As noted, simply
I
posting an ad in the social media space is not social media marketing. That action offers
G of truly engaging.
the benefit of reach and frequency but not that
Immersive Branding
G
S
, need
option
Brands that want a more integrated
to find ways that the brand itself
can add value to the content that the target audience values. Recent examples include
branded playlists and branded microsites that focus around artists or styles of music
that target markets value. This enables theS
brand to truly leverage the social community aspects of the vehicle in question. TheH
key here is for brands to find ways to add
value to music that people are already passionate about. This is not unlike what sponA
sorship marketing has been doing … except now we are doing it among social media
N provides a good example. Placelists is a
communities. Coca-Cola’s Placelists campaign
social music app hosted by Spotify. Visit www.coca-cola.com/placelists to experience
I
it for yourself. The concept is based on existing music and existing places. Do you
have a place that you love? Is there a soundCthat always brings you back to that place?
That’s how one of us feels about the Gypsy
QKings. Wherever she is, whatever she is
doing, if she hears a song by the Gypsy Kings, she is transported to Europe, sitting
U what Coca-Cola Placelists seeks to do.
at a café watching people go by. That’s just
Or even more! Do you wish to know whatA
people are listening to now in Argentina?
Placelists can do that too and let you feel that you are a part of that experience. It’s
all a part of a Coca-Cola Spotify app. The app uses folksonomies too – with people
tagging songs to geographic memories. Are
1 you worried your favorite locale doesn’t
have a Placelist? Not to worry! Coca-Cola has activated the campaign by seeding the
2 Coca-Cola wants every place in the world
app with 30 locations, 40 songs per location.
to have its own Placelist. Importantly, as a social
media campaign, you and others can
3
influence Placelists.
2
Another example? BMW – clearly a leader in the development of digital, branded content, it too sought to inspire fans with music.
6 With the campaign objective of increasing
awareness and consideration of the BMW 320i, it created a branded app on Spotify that
enabled a music set based on iconic American road trips. Each road trip generated a
custom playlist curated for that location. What’s your favorite road trip? The drive down
U.S. 1 viewing the Pacific Coast is a favorite. Of course, the brand is never far from reach
and the playlist is shareable.
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These are Spotify examples, but Pandora has done well too! Toyota has created
Toyota Sessions, a custom station featuring emerging artists. In this regard, Toyota
has aligned itself with the culture of Pandora, providing a discovery engine for worthwhile artists.
These examples suggest the ways brands can truly integrate with the passion fans
feel for music and provide something meaningful. To our knowledge, no brand has fully
adopted social music to the extent of developing branded music. But this area is new and
developing … we’ll see!
H
I
Social TV
G
ClickZ dubbed 2014 the year of social TV.44 It defined social TV as “technology that
G
supports communication and social interaction
in either the context of watching
television, or related to TV content.” For social
TV
to
be social media marketing, it not
S
only needs to be designed to meet marketing objectives, but also must be participa,
tory and shareable. We say this because we believe that most examples of social TV
to date leverage social community. They are engaging in conversations around the
social object of the show or the characters. In this regard, they belong in Zone 1 –
S
Social Community. However, we will cover this area of social media here due to its
close affiliation with social entertainment.HWe also recognize that the development
of technologies could rapidly create a situation
A that enables the true socialization of
entertainment programming.
N enhanced the experience of watching video
Primarily, social TV means that technology has
programming through the use of social media.
I This is to be expected given the prevalence
of media multitasking. Surely you’ve done it! That means to consume one medium while
engaged in one or more other media. One of C
my favorite annual pastimes is to tweet using
the hashtag #brandbowl while watching the Super
Q Bowl. That’s media multitasking. But it
is also the basis for what we now call social TV—video programming with a social twist.
It’s especially powerful because televisionUwas built on theatre, something that was
once a shared experience but now may notA
be. Still, we glean more from what we see
and hear if we share it with others. That is clear from the organic development of Twitter
communities around programming like Scandal.
That’s pure social media, but marketers can
1 leverage that power. How? Twitter knows.
It’s acquired Bluefin Labs, which has technology that identifies content in television and
2
ties that content to social media conversations.45 With that, ads can be delivered in real
3 data is known as the TV Genome. It allows
time as you watch television. The result of the
for media analysis and social media commentary
2 on a large scale.
There’s much to be seen still in the development of social entertainment. Outside
of the social realm, we see entertainment 6
hubs like Netflix shifting from syndicated
content to original content. Amazon is now competing in the area of syndicated
streaming video content and also producing original content. So is Hulu. These providers are socializing their own brands, but, to date, have not socialized individual
offerings – whether branded entertainment or not. Is that far behind? We anxiously
await the answer.
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225
S can d al b e ne f it e d by e nc o u r a g i ng
conversations and then leveraging them,
having characters engage in tweets and
conversations during episodes. Scandal
was not marked for success – until Twitter
H
chatter released a wave of interest that was
I
met with engagement from Scandal actors.
Watching in real time (not DVR time)Gis
relevant because the viewer can participate
G
in the Twitter dialogue alongside the
content. That’s powerful. ABC credits social
S
media dialogue with the success of the
,
show.
Kerry Washington: HYPERLINK s_bukley / HYPERLINK Shutterstock.com
Show Me!
S
H
A
N Photo 7.2
I
C
Q
Social Celebrity
U
Advertising has long relied upon celebrities to hawk
A their wares and social media are no differ-
ent. Increasingly, brands are calling upon social media celebrities to highlight their respective
brands. Brands may use ghost writers, but some brands wish to leverage the popularity of social
media stars. These stars typically specialize in a1particular vehicle and have amassed fan bases
of their own. That’s led to a whole new breed of celebrity. Social media talent agencies like
2
Niche and GrapeStory represent social media celebrities. You could be one! These celebrities
don’t have movies or fashion shows under their 3
belt. Instead, they are experts at user-generated
content (like we talked about in Chapter 6 on social publishing). Indeed, these celebrities built
2
their own brand using social publishing techniques and talent. They may focus on photography,
6
video, or narrative and may feature a specific vehicle
like Vine, Instagram, or Pinterest. What
they have in common is a unique POV (point of view) that relates with an audience – so much
so that they’ve been able to attract millions of followers and brands are willing to pay to reach
them. They are the social media versions of Lady Gaga or Beyonce. Just as brands will utilize
celebrities for affinity or expertise in advertising, they will leverage them for reach in social
media. Even dogs are getting in on the game! Check out Biggie’s endorsement of BarkBoxes.46
226
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CHAPTER SUMMARY
How can social media marketers use social entertainment to meet branding
objectives? What are the types of social entertainment? Why is social entertainment an effective approach for engaging target audiences?
Social entertainment provides opportunities for marketers to reach people with
H
content that is welcomed and with which people
want to spend time. By developing
marketing messages in, around, and integrated
with
social entertainment, marketI
ers can ensure the target audience spends more time with brand messages. Social
G music, and social TV.
entertainment includes social games, social
G
What is branded entertainment? How is it distinguished from content marketS
ing used in social publishing?
, that is produced by a brand rather than
Branded entertainment is entertaining content
by a third party. The Chipotle-developed Hulu series, Farmed and Dangerous, is an
example. It is a type of content marketing. Content marketing is also used in social
S
publishing strategies for social media marketers,
though social publishing strategies
focus primarily on content that provides opportunities
for thought leadership. Also,
H
social publishing can be utilized by users (to publish user-generated content).
A
What are the characteristics of social N
games and gamer segments? How can
marketers effectively use social games? How are alternate reality games difI
ferent from other social games?
Cgoal-oriented activity with defined rules
A social game is a multiplayer, competitive,
of engagement and online connectivity among
Q a community of players. Most social
games include a few key elements such as leaderboards, achievement badges, or
U
buddy lists that allow players to compare their progress with other players. TraditionA or hardcore, depending on how much
ally we distinguished gamers as either casual
time they spent playing and how important the games were to them. This distinction
is blurring as more “mainstream” players get involved. Today there are many women
1
and older people who are avid gamers in addition
to the base of young, male players.
2
An organization may choose to promote its message in an existing game property. In
these cases the brand can advertise in and 3
around the game using display advertising
and product placements, sponsor aspects 2
of the game, and integrate the brand into
game play. In addition, a brand can take an even bigger step and develop its own
customized advergame that delivers a more6focused and pervasive branded message.
Players tend to be in a receptive mood when gaming and branding efforts result in
more positive brand attitudes. In addition, it’s possible to finely target users because
most games attract a fairly distinct type of player. And, it’s relatively inexpensive to
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227
use this medium, brand exclusivity is available (where a sponsor is the sole advertiser
in a gaming environment), and metrics are available to measure just how well the
game works to attract players.
ARGs are a type of social game. They begin with a scripted scenario. However, the
game changes as the network of gamers participates in the game by discovering
clues, sharing information with others, and literally changing the structure and
plot of the game with their responses. The
H games unfold over multiple forms of
media and utilize many types of game elements, each tailored to specific media
I
platforms. ARGs may utilize websites (story sites and social networking sites),
telephones, email, outdoor signage, T-shirts,
television, radio play, and more
G
to reveal story clues, compose scenes, and unite gamers. ARGs are best suited to
G
brands that want to reach people who are willing to invest the time to engage in
S
this kind of activity.
,
How are brands using social music, social television, and social celebrity for
brand messaging?
Brands add value by curating content for S
fans, engaging content around conversations about social television, and affiliating
Hwith social celebrities. The brand is not
the main focus in these activities but they add value by understanding why fans are
A entertainment.
participating in the respective form of social
KEY TERMS
action games
advergame
alternate reality game (ARG)
branded entertainment
casual gamer
casual games
collective detective
core games
counterarguing
curtain
dark marketing
dark play ARG
display ads
dynamic ads
first-person shooter (FPS)
game clutter
game console
game platform
N
I
C
Q
U
genre
hardcore gamer
A
immersive fiction
in-game advertising
in-game immersive advertising
internalization
lurkers
meaning transfer model
milieu
MMORPG
mode
narrative transportation
theory
performative
plot placement
product placement
puppet master
puzzle games
1
2
3
2
6
rabbit hole
role-playing games (RPGs)
rubberneckers
screen placements
script placements
simulation games
social game
social music
social TV
static ads
steganography
strategy games
TINAG
trail
transactional advertising
transference effect
transmedia social games
TV Genome
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228
REVIEW QUESTIONS
1
What is social entertainment? What
are the types of social entertainment?
6
What is an advergame? How do we
distinguish it from other social games?
2
How do casual gamers differ from
hardcore gamers? Are social gamers
casual, a hybrid of casual and hardcore, or a new segment of gamer all
together?
7
How is brand integration and
immersive in-game advertising different from other forms of branding
in social games?
3
What are the four major game
genres? Provide examples of each.
What is the distinguishing characteristic associated with each
genre?
4
What makes a game social? Explain
the characteristics of social games.
5
Explain the differences between
pre-roll, post-roll, and interlevel ingame advertising.
EXERCISES
1
Are branded offers in social games
ethical? Choose a side and debate this
issue with a classmate. Then post your
opinions and find out what your social
graph thinks of this common practice.
2
Choose a social game to play. As you
interact with the game, keep a journal
of your experience. In particular, note
the advertising and branded components and your reactions to them. How
does your experience affect your attitude
toward the brands?
3
Choose three people you know who play
social games. Interview them about the
time they spend online as they play social
H
I
G8
G
9
S
,
S
H10
A11
N
I
C
Q
U
A
Define transactional advertising and
provide an example.
Why is the entry clue to an alternate reality game called a rabbit
hole? What term refers to the game’s
writer and director? Why are lurkers
and rubberneckers just as valuable
to brand sponsors as players?
What is social music?
How can entertainment brands leverage social TV?
games. Have they responded to branded
offers? Write a blog post on their brand
experience in social games and their
resulting perceptions of the brand.
14
2
3
2
6
Visit Unfiction.com or argn.com to see
what ARGs are playing now. Explore
one of the current games. Is it associated with a brand (or is it a dark play
ARG, with the brand yet to be identified)?
Make a list of non-entertainment brands
that could use an ARG to tell their story
and immerse their brand fans.
5
Visit our YouTube channel to learn more
about The Lost Ring and other campaigns noted in the chapter.
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229
Chapter Notes
1
Jie Zhang, Youngjun Sung, and Wei-Na Lee, “To Play or Not to Play: An
Exploratory Content Analysis of Branded Entertainment in Facebook,” American
Journal of Business 25, no. 1 (2010): 53–64.
2
Jie Zhang, Youngjun Sung, Wei-Na Lee, 2010, “To Play or Not to Play: An
Exploratory Content Analysis of Branded
H Entertainment in Facebook,” American
Journal of Business, 25 (1), 53–64.
3
“Brand Engagement in an Era of Social Entertainment,” Edelman Insights,
G
2012, http://www.edelman.com/insights/intellectual-property/matter-brandengagement/, accessed November 14,G2013.
4
S Video Game Industry,” Entertainment
“Essential Facts About the Computer and
Software Association, April 2014, http://www.thesa.com/facts//pdfs/esa_ef_2014.
,
pdf, accessed June 14, 2014.
5
Entertainment Software Association, “Essential Facts About the Computer And
S
Video Game Industry,” April 2014, www.thesa.com/facts/pdfs/esa_ef_2014.pdf,
accessed June 14, 2014.
H
6
Entertainment Software Association,AEssential Facts about the Computer and
Video Game Industry, http://www.theesa.com/facts/pdfs/ESA_Essential_
N
Facts_2010.PDF, accessed July 12, 2010.
7
Steve Hicks, “Does the Video Game IIndustry Hold the Keys to the Future of
Advertising? Engage Consumers via Brain
C Chemistry,” Adweek, February 16, 2014,
http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/engage-consumers-brainQ
chemistry-155531, accessed June 25, 2014.
I
8
9
“What Americans Do Online: SocialUMedia and Games Dominate Activity,”
NielsenWire, August 2, 2010, http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/
A
what-americans-do-online-social-media-and-games-dominate-activity/, accessed
December 21, 2010.
1 Getting to the Next Level,” eMarketer,
Paul Verna, “Video Game Advertising:
April 2007, http://www.emarketer.com/Reports/All/Emarketer_2000386.
2
aspx?src=report_head_info_site earch, accessed December 10, 2007.
3
10
Thomas Apperley, “Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to
2
Video Game Genres,” Simulation & Gaming 37, no. 1 (2006): 6–23.
11
Interactive Advertising Bureau, Game Advertising Platform Status Report: LET
THE GAMES BEGIN, October 2007, http://www.iab.net/media/file/gamesreportv4.pdf, accessed August 8, 2011.
6
(Continued)
230
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(Continued)
12
Thomas Apperley, “Genre and Game Studies: Toward a Critical Approach to
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