Social Gaming Webinar Final

Catherine
Thorn
 August
27,
2009
 nGenera
Spotlight
Webinar


Agenda 

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The Marke-ng Challenge  Marketers need a new medium  •  
Consumers
are
paying
less
 aEenFon
to
TV
commercials
than
 ever
 •  Despite
the
recession,
2008
 video
game
sales
topped
$21
 Billion,
a
19%
increase
over
2007
 •  Video
games
account
for
1/3
of
 the
average
monthly
consumer
 spending
in
the
U.S.
for
core
 entertainment
content


“Broadcas-ng an ad on television or in a newspaper is  admi5ng you have no idea who your customers are.”  – Gary Loveman, CEO Harrah’s  3
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Agenda 

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What Makes Social Games BeAer? 

Viral
&
 Community
 Oriented
 Command
 Full
 AEenFon


Provide
 Value


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Social games can be used to  create marke-ng that gets  aAen-on, is enjoyed by  consumers and is passed on  to their friends.  

What is Social Gaming? 

Popular Game Types  RPG


Investment 

FS  ARG


FPS


Racing 

RTS


Sports
 Puzzles


Social 

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But do “Normal” People Play Games? 

52% of online  consumers in the US  play video games for at  least 2 hours a week 

Game
Socialiser
(24%)


TradiFonal
Core
(21%)


Family
Gamer
(23%)
 Weekend
Player
(23%)


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Online
Puzzler
(9%)


Agenda 

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Fantasy Sports: Different from your Usual Games 

• 

Though
very
different
from
a
video
game,
 fantasy
sports
involves
strategy
and
is
very
 compeFFve
&
social


• 

27
million
fantasy
sports
players
in
the
U.S.
 Mostly
18
–
40
year
old
men.


• 

Annual
revenue
esFmates
range
from
$
1
to
 $4
Billion.



• 

Premium
add‐ons
typically
include
scouFng
 reports
and
draa
kits
(usually
priced
at
about
 $10
/
year).


Yahoo!
Sports
was
the
most
popular
desFnaFon
for
sports
news
in
2008
–
beaFng
out
the
 likes
of
ESPN,
Sports
Illustrated,
CBS
Sports.
We
believe
that
their
enormously
popular
 fantasy
leagues
(in
1999
Yahoo!
was
the
first
major
media
company
to
offer
free
fantasy
 games,
and
they
conFnue
to
be
the
leader)
are
one
of
the
main
reasons
why.

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tvClickr: Adds Value to an Old Medium  This Facebook applica-on transforms watching television into  interac-ve, cross‐media experience  •  Provides
a
plajorm
 where
friends
can
 meet,
chat
and
engage
 in
friendly
compeFFon
 while
watching
their
 favourite
TV
 •  SFll
has
over
40,000
 monthly
acFve
users


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Sims Carnival: Allows Non‐Experts to be Prosumers  The Prosumer  Gaming Pla[orm  •  Sims
Carnival
 allows
anyone
to
 create
video
 games
by
simply
 answering
 quesFons
about
 their
game
 •  Game
creators
 discuss
Fps
&
 tricks
on
the
 forum


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Augmented Reality: One of the Newest Gaming Technologies  Digital items overlaid upon the real world  • 

Using
a
webcam,
real‐world
video
is
 overlaid
with
computer‐generated
graphics
 to
enhance
the
gaming
experience


• 

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Sony’s
Invizimals
use
 augmented
reality
to
baEle
 arFficial
animals
against
each
 other
in
physical
space


Agenda 

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Blurring the Line between the Game World and Reality 

Digital experiences extend  physical products  • 

Physical products extend  Digital experiences 

Webkinz
are
stuffed
animals
that
 come
to
life
in
the
digital
world.


•  Players
of
the
MMO
EverQuest
could
 order
pizza
through
the
game
 •  In
Japan,
food
can
be
ordered
through
 the
Wii


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Tohato’s Mobile Marke-ng  Mobiles: the planet’s most  popular compu-ng pla[orm  •  •  • 

3.4
billion
mobile
phones
on
the
planet
 40%
of
mobile
phone
users
would
 rather
lose
their
wallet
than
phone
 PCs
are
a
legacy
plajorm
–
mobile
 phones
are
the
new
plajorm


“World’s Worst War”  Tohato’s Marke-ng Campaign  • 

The
Japanese
snack
maker
created
a
 game
of
war
that
consumers
could
join
 when
they
bought
the
snack


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Games and Social Networks 

Games in social networks:  • 

Most
brands
are
on
social
networks,
 but
games
help
set
the
experience
 apart


• 

Simple
can
be
successful
   Roshambull
is
rock/paper/scissors
   Though
it’s
2
years
old,
it
sFll
has
 an
acFve
user
base
of
over
6,000


Social networks in games:  •  Microsoa
uses
Facebook
Connect
to
 personalize
the
Prototype
video
 game
trailer


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Adver-sing in Games 

BMW
in‐game
adverFsing
 Jay‐Z’s
Virtual
Brand
 In‐game
billboards


Ben
Sherman
virtual
clothing


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Alternate Reality Games  Game fic-on crosses into reality  •  •  •  •  •  • 

ARGs
cross
mulFple
media
 Dynamic
narraFves
blur
reality
&
ficFon
 Hidden
reality
known
only
to
parFcipants
is
part
of
 the
appeal
 Oaen
used
for
one‐off
events
and
promoFons
(e.g.
 movies
or
albums)
 Oaen
used
to
target
audiences
deaf
to
adverFsing
 Currently,
success
is
difficult
to
measure


 McDonald’s sponsored  “The Lost Ring” – an ARG  that engaged > 2.5 million  people 

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Nine
Inch
Nails
ARG


Agenda 

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What is the Same? 

In‐game adver-sing  •  Billboards
&
product
placement
in
games
is
 similar
to
tradiFonal
billboards
&
TV/movie
 product
placement
but
with
beEer
targeFng
 and
improved
aEenFon


Sponsoring a Game  •  Game
sponsorship
is
similar
to
event
sponsorship



Extending digital experiences with  physical products  •  Offering
food
or
other
products
through
 games
is
simply
adding
another
order
 placement
channel
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What is Different? 

Challenges 

Strategies 

Gaming
and
Social
Media
are
sFll
 Begin
with
small
experiments
to
find
the
 rapidly evolving
 strategy
that
works
best
for
you
 For
in‐game
adverFsing,
how
do
 you
earn
the
right
to
join
the
 game?


Create
value
with
funcFonal
benefits
or
by
 improving
realism


Many
mobile
and
social
networks
 CreaFng
a
community
around
the
game
can
 games
are
fads
 help
prevent
this
 It
can
be
difficult
to
make
games
 relevant
to
a
brand


Create
tangenFal
links,
such
as
Tohato’s
rivalry
 between
two
flavours


ARGs
are
extremely
complex
and
 difficult
to
control


Don’t
aim
to
control.
Monitor
the
game
closely
 to
ensure
parFcipants
don’t
get
frustrated


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What is Different?  Opportuni-es Common to Other Digital Marke-ng  Extending Physical Products with  Digital Experiences  •  FacilitaFng
social
interacFon
through
 digital
experiences
can
create
a
 community
that
engages
with
your
 brand
when
interacFng


Social Games on Mobiles and Social  Networking Sites  •  Facilitates
viral
spread
of
markeFng
 •  Easy
to
target
individuals
 •  Allows
you
to
be
a
part
of
the
“in
 between”
moments
of
each
day
–
siwng
 on
the
train,
between
tasks
at
work,
 waiFng
in
line,
etc.


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What is Different?  Opportuni-es Unique to Social Games  Alternate Reality Game Marke-ng  • 

Great
engagement
‐
mystery
and
intrigue
 keeps
the
game
close
to
top
of
the
mind


• 

Can
reach
an
audience
that
acFvely
ignores
 mainstream
media


Extending Digital Experiences with Physical Products  •  Can
reach
an
audience
that
values
convenience
because
they
are
capFvated
by
the
 game,
parFcularly
for
tradiFonal
core
gamers


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What is Different?  Opportuni-es Unique to Social Games  In‐Game Adver-sing:  •  BeEer
metrics
due
to
the
digital
footprint
 and
perfect
informaFon
 •  Consumers
interact
with
products
&
learn
 their
features
 •  Dynamic
adverFsing
allows
for
Fme‐ sensiFve
campaigns
 •  In
the
digital
world,
you
can
define
the
 funcFonality
of
your
product,
thus
creaFng
 inferences
about
the
quality
of
your
brand
 •  EmoFonal
investment
in
character


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What is Possible?  Future Developments in Social Game Marke-ng  Loca-on‐based Gaming:  •  ApplicaFons
that
track
your
locaFon
and
connect
you
 with
people
in
the
area
that
frequent
similar
places
 already
exist
for
the
iPhone
 •  Geo‐Caching,
a
high
tech
version
of
scavenger
hunt,
is
 surprisingly
popular
   Over
800,000
geocaches
are
acFve
worldwide
 •  LocaFon‐based
gaming
can
lead
consumers
to
your
 store,
provide
you
with
locaFon
informaFon,
&
provide
 consumers
with
a
fun
experience


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BrightKite
Friends
Map


What is Possible?  Future Developments in Social Game Marke-ng  BeAer In‐Game Metrics:  •  With
the
technology
in
Natal,
it
will
be
 possible
to
gauge
emoFonal
response
using
 the
expression
on
a
players’
face


•  Biometrics
are
starFng
to
be
captured
 during
game
play:

   Bunnyfoot
provides
eyetracking
and
 bio‐physical
measurements
(such
as
 heart
rate
)
   Wii
created
the
Vitality
Sensor


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Agenda 

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Developments in Social Games Applied to Marke-ng 

Personalized Marke-ng  •  Games
&
game
trailers
are
tailoring
the
 experience
to
each
player
 •  Marketers
can
similarly
take
advantage
 of
rich
profile
data
and
reality
mining


Enabling Prosumerism  •  Mods
–
games
that
are
modified
by
users
 •  ParFal
open
sourcing
&
enabling
non‐experts
 to
co‐create
can
provide
value
to
consumers
 and
the
enterprise


Lego
Mindstorms
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Augmented Reality Applied to Marke-ng 

• 
My.IKEA
concept


• 
GE
uses
AR
to
promote
 renewable
energy
sources



• 
Layar
and
FoodTracer

 overlay
informaFon
 onto
real
world
objects


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Catherine Thorn  www.nGenera.com


Paul Ar-uch  [email protected]
 (416)
863‐8858

 www.nGenera.com


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