by: Alain Thys
When she was eight, my wife invented a game called "The Yellow Car Conspiracy". In this game, all the kids who participated, were on watch to spot yellow cars which might drive through their street, stop in front of buildings or engage in other types of suspicious activity. If all kids worked together - the theory went - they would surely uncover the mystery that lingered about all these yellow cars hovering through town.
For few weeks the game was a smash hit at her school and dozens of kids on bycicles were on the lookout for yellow cars, writing down their findings in little books and joining the next day in the schoolyard to compare notes and come up with the next conspiracy theory. The props were 99% imagination and a one-page gamesheet.
While in an embryonic form, "The Yellow Car Conspiracy" was an Alternate Reality Game (see Wikipedia for a definition or click here for an excellent white paper) and with all the recent talk about brands, advertising and games I can't shake the feeling that it holds the key for the real insertion of in-game advertising into the mainstream.
ARGs have gone temporarily out of fashion since EA crashed when introducing Majestic, yet ever since Michael Douglas played The Game, have been looming on the edge of the gaming industry, waiting for a break. They have been toyed with by some, and not so long ago Audi made a notable effort , yet never really made it to many marketer's radar.
This while, I think, ARGs are in fact more exciting than traditional computer games. Some benefits off the top of my head:
In short, while it's experimental and the real formats still need to be figured out, my gut tells me that ARG's are going places when it comes to brands and games.
That is why I have this dream of a doing an experiment with a multi-branded ARG taking place across multiple countries. Anyone wanna play with me … ?
While in an embryonic form, "The Yellow Car Conspiracy" was an Alternate Reality Game (see Wikipedia for a definition or click here for an excellent white paper) and with all the recent talk about brands, advertising and games I can't shake the feeling that it holds the key for the real insertion of in-game advertising into the mainstream.
ARGs have gone temporarily out of fashion since EA crashed when introducing Majestic, yet ever since Michael Douglas played The Game, have been looming on the edge of the gaming industry, waiting for a break. They have been toyed with by some, and not so long ago Audi made a notable effort , yet never really made it to many marketer's radar.
This while, I think, ARGs are in fact more exciting than traditional computer games. Some benefits off the top of my head:
- Faster. Getting a brand included in a traditional game title can take years of planning. Doing an ARG is a matter of months, a year tops.
- Safer. Placing your brand in a computer game is like playing the movies. If the movie's a hit, everyone wins. If it crashes, the amounts you invested may go with it. With an ARG this risk also exists, yet if well done you'll at least get your media exposure out of it.
- More integrated. As you can manage the timing of an ARG, you can actually co-ordinate the various media efforts you undertake so that you create a true experience for your gamers;
- More relevant. Even with the best of intentions, brands in games are often more of an irritation than a benefit. In ARG's you can actually write your brand into the narrative without it being obvious (e.g. letting the players have coffee at Starbucks could be a perfectly logical step in a mystery game).
- More (brand) engaging. Play it smart and the multiple contact moments (web, phone, IRL, in-world, mail, …) can be a great way to build a communication relationship where consumers actually invite you to send them things (scary, huh ;-).
- More immersive. Computer games are great and can absorb you, yet if really well done, there is nothing like the real world. For my wife, The Yellow Car Conspiricy was reality, if only for a few weeks. After all, why make a virtual burger, if you can have the real thing?
In short, while it's experimental and the real formats still need to be figured out, my gut tells me that ARG's are going places when it comes to brands and games.
That is why I have this dream of a doing an experiment with a multi-branded ARG taking place across multiple countries. Anyone wanna play with me … ?
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