Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Why games and brands are a perfect match

Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne and his team have published a fascinating set of charts about the long, slow decline of old-fashioned broadcast and cable TV. There has been a 50 percent collapse in broadcast TV audience ratings since 2002 and the same time online video and mobile apps have exploded.



Games dominate the app usage and given the explosion of smart phones, you can reach over billion people instantly through games. Thats a bigger reach than Superbowl or most of the global media companies have. For brands games are the perfect media, since they are engaging by nature.


I´ve met with dozens of game studios and what still strikes me odd is that still only few of them see themselves as media or entertainment companies or take advantage their media-like posture. Many brands would gladly seize the opportunity to speak to an audience of hundreds of millions if given the chance. Of course it doesn´t work just by placing a logo in the game. Brands need to bring something more to the fans, not just billboards on the side of the road when you play Need For Speed, but really augment the game and have an active role in it. For example Michelin tires to make your car go faster or in-game currency handled by Visa. The level of engagement is in a whole another level so the brands should not be passive. Even with casual games that usually last minutes, the attention and focus is beyond anything you´ll get from a traditional TV ad.

But one should not limit themselves to just have an active role inside the game. Thanks to mobile gaming, augmenting can be done also in a physical place. The Angry Birds & McDonald´s campaign we did in China is a good example of this. By entering a McDonalds restaurant, Angry Birds players would unlock in-game currency called Power-Ups and hidden game modes, giving them chance to play as the pigs and use the power-ups to get a better score. These features could be unlocked three times a day, so that drives traffic to the actual restaurants several times a day.

There is also the question of should a brand develop a game by itself. In my opinion, the answer is yes and no. Yes, I you have the resources and are ready to promote and develop the game in a long run. No if you see this as a campaign gimmick, thats live for some weeks and then fades away (and the game is about using the product in a boring way). Like always, you should listen and respect the fans.


Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Content Wheel of Fortune

The way I see content marketing or effective distribution of any message should be done, is divided in three parts. Everyone of the parts affects the other and every part is vital. Of course when looked closely, everything comes complex, but I think this is a good way to model your content development and distribution. I call it the Content Wheel, but my colleagues call it "väkkärä", which means a crooked bunch of things, or something.


First there has to be an Understanding of the needs and motives of the audience and the state of the brand or an IP. I´ve also used the word Analytics here, but that seems to guide the thinking into gathering data instead of using all the data to develop the content. What this means is that every time content is distributed, there has to be a clear set of KPI´s as well as data gathering. Also just as important is studying the audience. The old school demographics of "urban females aged 25-44" no longer apply, we need to profile our target groups through needs and motives and keep in mind that these differ depending on time, place and economy for other things. Understanding what distribution method works for particular content gives the message a chance to get through the static.

Second comes Content, although the crucial piece of the puzzle (without it there´s nothing to understand or distribute), relies heavily on understanding and distributing. The ideal would be a steady stream of charming, exiting and emotional content, developed to engage the audience according to their needs and motives, in a format or channel of their choosing. This is something that often is overlooked. The media consumption is changing rapidly and understanding how the audience wants to consume the media is vital for any brand or an IP. Finding the balance between the brand message and audience motives is a delicate work, but no rocket science. Nobody wants to listen to a brand or a person, who goes on blabbering about their ideas instead of listening and contributing to a conversation. Basic human communications really.

Third piece of the puzzle is Distribution. The right content, in a right channel, at the right moment. Here the format of the content and the media channel play the central role. No point of showing 30 second pre-roll ads before a 60 second YouTube-video about cats unless you´re absolutely sure your message is more interesting than a grumpy cat (be honest). Good question also is should one use the existing channels or create one of its own. Creating your own media has never been so easy and although the cost of cutting through the static has risen, it´s still relatively cheap if you have content that your audience loves.

Monday, September 2, 2013

All brands should be Lost

The idea of broadcasting is deteriorating as more entertainment is distributed online and that is making an impact on advertising too. TiVo and other digital recording services offer viewers the option to skip the commercials and watch the content they want at whatever time suits them the best. Netflix has started to created their own content and are releasing it all at once to indulge binge-watching, without commercial breaks. And the experience doesn´t stop anymore to television. Shows like `Lost` let the viewers explore the islands twisted history in an online game, making the engagement more deeper. Creative storytelling has evolved into transmedia engagement where every channel takes the story forward in a way that best suits the media as well as consumers mindset.

So what happens to advertising in the middle of all this? Unfortunately brands still rely on the strategy of disturbing. Instead of continuous flow of entertainment, we get steady stream of bland commercial breaks that keep us from the conclusion of the season finale. None of the brands seem to bring anything more to my TV-experience or deepen the engagement. They just want to ram their message down my throat instead of adding value to the content. The same can been seen in almost every channel. Take in-game advertising for example. Ever so often we see brands trying to engage the fans by painting their logo inside the game or better yet, showing static banner ads while i´m trying to make a high score. Brands have a lot to learn from shows like `Lost`.

A part of the blame seems to be the advertising industry. Instead of creating engaging brand content worth the consumers time, the toolbox seems to have the same tools that were used in the 50´s (yes, there is a thing called internet, but all the banner ads are just animated prints). Same formats, same messages, none of the engagement. No connection to the consumers current mindset, motives or the media they are consuming.

But a change is coming. Hollywood and the entire entertainment industry is forced to find new revenue streams because of the declining DVD markets and the ever growing piracy. The same time brands need to start creating relevant content that engages the consumers, not just in the traditional media and not just in a traditional format. The entertainment industry has the tool box needed for deeper engagement. The IP´s, writers, directors, producers, channels, game studios and so forth. The only thing keeping them from devouring the advertising industry is their lack of knowledge and experience in traditional brand managing, but that is changing too. Couple of good recruitments will do the job. First indications can be seen in collaboration between Ridley Scott and Coca-Cola or the whole media business of Red Bull. I know, it´s easy to refer to Red Bull and yes, there are no other benchmarks, but that also tells us something. It´s possible to make money with brand content and few brands are doing it.

But it doesn´t have to be a match between Hollywood and brands, since most of the local brands can´t afford it and they already produce content - just not in a way that engages consumers. Take food industry for example. Every food brand produces hundreds of recipes every year, have their chefs, web sites and YouTube channels and appear in TV almost every night. To me, that sound like a framework for a hit cooking show and this would also have the products to back it up.