The media landscape is, as they say, in constant evolution.
The Slate has just broken into new territory by creating a celebrity interview that is the very definition of a non-exclusive. Jonah Weiner has created an interview with the erstwhile king of hip-hop (no-one tell JayZ) based entirely on his Twitter stream. It’s a brilliant idea and a very amusing read.
The addictiveness of online games is fairly well documented now; the value of keeping players coming back, over and over again pretty obvious to most.
The techniques used to capture and retain the attention of players is usually a carefully guided secret that gaming companies guard with both their physical and legal resources.
As such, I was quite interested by the release of the SCVNGR gamedeck on TechCrunch. As Erick observes, gaming mechanics are popping up everywhere these days, and these logic blocks can be mixed and matched to create something that captures the one thing marketers like me value above almost everything else, attention.
Take a spin through these next time you’re trying to hook people in to a campaign, they can springboard some pretty interesting ideas.
1. Achievement
Definition: A virtual or physical representation of having accomplished something. These are often viewed as rewards in and of themselves.
Example: a badge, a level, a reward, points, really anything defined as a reward can be a reward.
2. Appointment Dynamic
Definition: A dynamic in which to succeed, one must return at a predefined time to take some action. Appointment dynamics are often deeply related to interval based reward schedules or avoidance dyanmics.
Example: Cafe World and Farmville where if you return at a set time to do something you get something good, and if you don’t something bad happens.
3. Avoidance
Definition: The act of inducing player behavior not by giving a reward, but by not instituting a punishment. Produces consistent level of activity, timed around the schedule.
Example: Press a lever every 30 seconds to not get shocked.
4. Behavioral Contrast
Definition: The theory defining how behavior can shift greatly based on changed expectations.
Example: A monkey presses a lever and is given lettuce. The monkey is happy and continues to press the lever. Then it gets a grape one time. The monkey is delighted. The next time it presses the lever it gets lettuce again. Rather than being happy, as it was before, it goes ballistic throwing the lettuce at the experimenter. (In some experiments, a second monkey is placed in the cage, but tied to a rope so it can’t access the lettuce or lever. After the grape reward is removed, the first monkey beats up the second monkey even though it obviously had nothing to do with the removal. The anger is truly irrational.)
5. Behavioral Momentum
Definition: The tendency of players to keep doing what they have been doing.
Example: From Jesse Schell’s awesome Dice talk: “I have spent ten hours playing Farmville. I am a smart person and wouldn’t spend 10 hours on something unless it was useful. Therefore this must be useful, so I can keep doing it.”
6. Blissful Productivity
Definition: The idea that playing in a game makes you happier working hard, than you would be relaxing. Essentially, we’re optimized as human beings by working hard, and doing meaningful and rewarding work.
Example: From Jane McGonical’s Ted Talk wherein she discusses how World of Warcraft players play on average 22 hours / week (a part time job), often after a full days work. They’re willing to work hard, perhaps harder than in real life, because of their blissful productivity in the game world.
7. Cascading Information Theory
Definition: The theory that information should be released in the minimum possible snippets to gain the appropriate level of understanding at each point during a game narrative.
Example: showing basic actions first, unlocking more as you progress through levels. Making building on SCVNGR a simple but staged process to avoid information overload.
8. Chain Schedules
Definition: the practice of linking a reward to a series of contingencies. Players tend to treat these as simply the individual contingencies. Unlocking one step in the contingency is often viewed as an individual reward by the player.
Example: Kill 10 orcs to get into the dragons cave, every 30 minutes the dragon appears.
9. Communal Discovery
Definition: The game dynamic wherein an entire community is rallied to work together to solve a riddle, a problem or a challenge. Immensely viral and very fun.
Example: DARPA balloon challenge, the cottage industries that appear around McDonalds monopoly to find “Boardwalk”
10. Companion Gaming
Definition: Games that can be played across multiple platforms
Example: Games that be played on iphone, facebook, xbox with completely seamless cross platform gameplay.
11. Contingency
Definition: The problem that the player must overcome in the three part paradigm of reward schedules.
Example: 10 orcs block your path
12. Countdown
Definition: The dynamic in which players are only given a certain amount of time to do something. This will create an activity graph that causes increased initial activity increasing frenetically until time runs out, which is a forced extinction.
Example: Bejeweled Blitz with 30 seconds to get as many points as you can. Bonus rounds. Timed levels
13. Cross Situational Leader-boards
Definition: This occurs when one ranking mechanism is applied across multiple (unequal and isolated) gaming scenarios. Players often perceive that these ranking scenarios are unfair as not all players were presented with an “equal” opportunity to win.
Example: Players are arbitrarily sent into one of three paths. The winner is determined by the top scorer overall (i.e. across the paths). Since the players can only do one path (and can’t pick), they will perceive inequity in the game scenario and get upset.
14. Disincentives
Definition: a game element that uses a penalty (or altered situation) to induce behavioral shift
Example: losing health points, amazon’s checkout line removing all links to tunnel the buyer to purchase, speeding traps
15. Endless Games
Definition: Games that do not have an explicit end. Most applicable to casual games that can refresh their content or games where a static (but positive) state is a reward of its own.
Example: Farmville (static state is its own victory), SCVNGR (challenges constantly are being built by the community to refresh content)
16. Envy
Definition: The desire to have what others have. In order for this to be effective seeing what other people have (voyeurism) must be employed.
Example: my friend has this item and I want it!
17. Epic Meaning
Definition: players will be highly motivated if they believe they are working to achieve something great, something awe-inspiring, something bigger than themselves.
Example: From Jane McGonical’s Ted Talk where she discusses Warcraft’s ongoing story line and “epic meaning” that involves each individual has motivated players to participate outside the game and create the second largest wiki in the world to help them achieve their individual quests and collectively their epic meanings.
18. Extinction
Definition: Extinction is the term used to refer to the action of stopping providing a reward. This tends to create anger in players as they feel betrayed by no longer receiving the reward they have come to expect. It generally induces negative behavioral momentum.
Example: killing 10 orcs no longer gets you a level up
19. Fixed Interval Reward Schedules
Definition: Fixed interval schedules provide a reward after a fixed amount of time, say 30 minutes. This tends to create a low engagement after a reward, and then gradually increasing activity until a reward is given, followed by another lull in engagement.
Example: Farmville, wait 30 minutes, crops have appeared
20. Fixed Ratio Reward Schedule
Definition: A fixed ratio schedule provides rewards after a fixed number of actions. This creates cyclical nadirs of engagement (because the first action will not create any reward so incentive is low) and then bursts of activity as the reward gets closer and closer.
Example: kill 20 ships, get a level up, visit five locations, get a badge
21. Free Lunch
Definition: A dynamic in which a player feels that they are getting something for free due to someone else having done work. It’s critical that work is perceived to have been done (just not by the player in question) to avoid breaching trust in the scenario. The player must feel that they’ve “lucked” into something.
Example: Groupon. By virtue of 100 other people having bought the deal, you get it for cheap. There is no sketchiness b/c you recognize work has been done (100 people are spending money) but you yourself didn’t have to do it.
22. Fun Once, Fun Always
Definition: The concept that an action in enjoyable to repeat all the time. Generally this has to do with simple actions. There is often also a limitation to the total level of enjoyment of the action.
Example: the theory behind the check-in everywhere and the check-in and the default challenges on SCVNGR.
23. Interval Reward Schedules
Definition: Interval based reward schedules provide a reward after a certain amount of time. There are two flavors: variable and fixed.
Example: wait N minutes, collect rent
24. Lottery
Definition: A game dynamic in which the winner is determined solely by chance. This creates a high level of anticipation. The fairness is often suspect, however winners will generally continue to play indefinitely while losers will quickly abandon the game, despite the random nature of the distinction between the two.
Example: many forms of gambling, scratch tickets.
25. Loyalty
Definition: The concept of feeling a positive sustained connection to an entity leading to a feeling of partial ownership. Often reinforced with a visual representation.
Example: fealty in WOW, achieving status at physical places (mayorship, being on the wall of favorite customers)
26. Meta Game
Definition: a game which exists layered within another game. These generally are discovered rather than explained (lest they cause confusion) and tend to appeal to ~2% of the total gameplaying audience. They are dangerous as they can induce confusion (if made too overt) but are powerful as they’re greatly satisfying to those who find them.
Example: hidden questions / achievements within world of warcraft that require you to do special (and hard to discover) activities as you go through other quests
27. Micro Leader-boards
Definition: The rankings of all individuals in a micro-set. Often great for distributed game dynamics where you want many micro-competitions or desire to induce loyalty.
Example: Be the top scorers at Joe’s bar this week and get a free appetizer
28. Modifiers
Definition: An item that when used affects other actions. Generally modifiers are earned after having completed a series of challenges or core functions.
Example: A X2 modifier that doubles the points on the next action you take.
29. Moral Hazard of Game Play
Definition: The risk that by rewarding people manipulatively in a game you remove the actual moral value of the action and replace it with an ersatz game-based reward. The risk that by providing too many incentives to take an action, the incentive of actually enjoying the action taken is lost. The corollary to this is that if the points or rewards are taken away, then the person loses all motivation to take the (initially fun on its own) action.
Example: Paraphrased from Jesse Schell “If I give you points every time you brush your teeth, you’ll stop brushing your teeth b/c it’s good for you and then only do it for the points. If the points stop flowing, your teeth will decay.”
30. Ownership
Definition: The act of controlling something, having it be *your* property.
Example: Ownership is interesting on a number of levels, from taking over places, to controlling a slot, to simply owning popularity by having a digital representation of many friends.
31. Pride
Definition: the feeling of ownership and joy at an accomplishment
Example: I have ten badges. I own them. They are mine. There are many like them, but these are mine. Hooray.
32. Privacy
Definition: The concept that certain information is private, not for public distribution. This can be a demotivator (I won’t take an action because I don’t want to share this) or a motivator (by sharing this I reinforce my own actions).
Example: Scales the publish your daily weight onto Twitter (these are real and are proven positive motivator for staying on your diet). Or having your location publicly broadcast anytime you do anything (which is invasive and can should be avoided).
33. Progression Dynamic
Definition: a dynamic in which success is granularly displayed and measured through the process of completing itemized tasks.
Example: a progress bar, leveling up from paladin level 1 to paladin level 60
34. Ratio Reward Schedules
Definition: Ratio schedules provide a reward after a number of actions. There are two flavors: variable and fixed.
Example: kill 10 orcs, get a power up.
35. Real-time v. Delayed Mechanics
Definition: Realtime information flow is uninhibited by delay. Delayed information is only released after a certain interval.
Example: Realtime scores cause instant reaction (gratification or demotivation). Delayed causes ambiguity which can incent more action due to the lack of certainty of ranking.
36. Reinforcer
Definition: The reward given if the expected action is carried out in the three part paradigm of reward schedules.
Example: receiving a level up after killing 10 orcs.
37. Response
Definition: The expected action from the player in the three part paradigm of reward schedules.
Example: the player takes the action to kill 10 orcs
38. Reward Schedules
Definition: the timeframe and delivery mechanisms through which rewards (points, prizes, level ups) are delivered. Three main parts exist in a reward schedule; contingency, response and reinforcer.
Example: getting a level up for killing 10 orcs, clearing a row in Tetris, getting fresh crops in Farmville
39. Rolling Physical Goods
Definition: A physical good (one with real value) that can be won by anyone on an ongoing basis as long as they meet some characteristic. However, that characteristic rolls from player to player.
Example: top scorer deals, mayor deals
40. Shell Game
Definition: a game in which the player is presented with the illusion of choice but is actually in a situation that guides them to the desired outcome of the operator.
Example: 3 Card Monty, lotteries, gambling
41. Social Fabric of Games
Definition: the idea that people like one another better after they’ve played games with them, have a higher level of trust and a great willingness to work together.
Example: From Jane McGonicgal’s TED talk where she suggests that it takes a lot of trust to play a game with someone because you need them to spend their time with you, play by the same rules, shoot for the same goals.
42. Status
Definition: The rank or level of a player. Players are often motivated by trying to reach a higher level or status.
Example: white paladin level 20 in WOW.
43. Urgent Optimism
Definition: Extreme self motivation. The desire to act immediately to tackle an obstacle combined with the belief that we have a reasonable hope of success.
Example: From Jane McGonical’s TED talk. The idea that in proper games an “epic win” or just “win” is possible and therefore always worth acting for.
44. Variable Interval Reward Schedules
Definition: Variable interval reward schedules provide a reward after a roughly consistent amount of time. This tends to create a reasonably high level of activity over time, as the player could receive a reward at any time but never the burst as created under a fixed schedule. This system is also more immune to the nadir right after the receiving of a reward, but also lacks the zenith of activity before a reward in unlocked due to high levels of ambiguity.
Example: Wait roughly 30 minutes, a new weapon appears. Check back as often as you want but that won’t speed it up. Generally players are bad at realizing that.
45. Variable Ratio Reward Schedule
Definition: A variable ratio reward schedule provides rewards after a roughly consistent but unknown amount of actions. This creates a relatively high consistent rate of activity (as there could always be a reward after the next action) with a slight increase as the expected reward threshold is reached, but never the huge burst of a fixed ratio schedule. It’s also more immune to nadirs in engagement after a reward is acheived.
Example: kill something like 20 ships, get a level up. Visit a couple locations (roughly five) get a badge
46. Viral Game Mechanics
Definition: A game element that requires multiple people to play (or that can be played better with multiple people)
Example: Farmville making you more successful in the game if you invite your friends, the social check-in
47. Virtual Items
Definition: Digital prizes, rewards, objects found or taken within the course of a game. Often these can be traded or given away.
I saw that my old client and employer, 42 Below vodka from New Zealand, had just launched their own type of Augmented Reality experience. It seems like the AR concept is still soup du jour for many in the marcomms fraternity around the world, with more than daily releases, some new, some not so. (Check out http://twitter.com/AugmentedAdvert if you’d like to drink from this gushing hose of digital development.)
The big issue with many of these AR concepts is that they are served to a user sitting in front of a laptop or PC, often miles from a point of purchase, or at the very least a not so small number of clicks. The thing I really like about this 42 Below activation is that it takes this technology right to the point of decision, and about ten steps from a place where a transaction can take place.
Some of you might be asking yourselves why I’m even writing about this digi-kiosk in the first place. I believe this is an example of earned media. Bottle stores are message dense environments where brands uses colour and size of signage to grab attention and make a sale. The channel owner, the store, will charge a brand for floorspace and promotion either in cash or rebates.
By bringing this fancy piece of kit to the floor, 42 Below articulates a different kind of value proposition, one that sells their products and gives customer a point of discussion to mention the store and increase the amount of traffic. At some point when the market floods with these things, earned will transition back to paid, but for now, i reckon it’s a winner.
Well, maybe not completely, at least not yet. A study just released by Roiworld, an online gaming site, says that one in 5 teens are losing interest in the platform.
Probably not time to write the whole thing off just yet, as the survey only polled 600 teens and Roiworld doesn’t make use of the platform to connect users and spread their games. The result are interesting all the same, and I especially liked the 16% of people who have left because their parents have turned up on the site.
Old school marketers seem to exhibit a desire to find the next aggregation network. They had it when everyone watched TV and got lazy, force feeding ads down peoples throats. As TVC’s seem to be moving back to a position of ‘part of the mix’ instead of ‘king of the castle,’ the search is on to find the place where everyone will be, the place to concentrate investment and wipe out the competition through the tried and tested use of frequency and repetition.
It seems to me that with the rise of new platforms and their ability to reach a couple hundred million people increasing at a geometric rate (TV took 13 years to reach 50 million, facebook took 9 months), we should rationally expect that the lifespan of the channel is not going to be as long. High levels of investment in the platforms return lower ROI as the lifespan of the platform diminishes. It seems like every agency in the comms industry is talking about social media, gurus and experts launch themselves on the success of a little SEO, some aggregation of trends and knowledge that most of the market knows there is an opportunity, but that’s the extent of their knowledge.
I believe the conversation we should be having is how to make media social. Planning and developing content for a world where stories move across media networks, both new and old, seems to be the strategy to try and develop. You have to go where the audience is, but also, as a brand you have to develop a meaningful relationship with people and not their online profile. The brands that provide the most seamless experience across the networks are going to win.
If you needed yet another example of the shaky ground Paid media platforms find themselves on you need look no further that the Football World Cup, playing out in South Africa as we speak. Traditionally, the headline sponsor of the Cup itself has bought itself an unassailable platform on which to push its product messages. FIFA protected the brand inside the stadia and ferociously chased down any brand foolish enough to mention their trademarks, let alone show an image of the Cup itself. When you ask US$351 Million for an exclusive property, keeping it that way kind of comes with the territory.
Last time the comms press spoke about how effective the cage soccer, or horizontal football billboards that Nike had rolled out had been in terms of hijacking the event. It was great content, sure, but the numbers didn’t mean it seriously competed with the event and its title sponsor. Even a chink in the armour was seen as a success.
But as I said, that was last time. This time things seem very different. A local survey by media buying agency MEC indicated that Nike had 17 percent recall as a sponsor of the event, Adidas, who shelled out the money, came in at only 15 percent. Leveraging sponsorships outside of the games, their physical locations and the licensed broadcast content is where the real benefits reside from a brand perspective. Both brands have invested in their online presences, but Nike is the clear winner in more than just brand recall when you look at what they’ve actually put up.
First, the Quest, from Adidas.
Now, Write the Future, from Adidas.
I think the big difference here is that Adidas has created advertising, the product shots seem almost gratuitous, especially on the third time through, It seems more about the brand that any emotion. Anticipation of something coming maybe, but not something I’m going to talk breathlessly about around the watercooler.
The Nike spot in comparison could have been written by a PR company. It is the beautiful game at its most noteworthy. The slowmo isn’t there to amplify the swoosh, its there to make you ache for the strike that’s coming next. It has stars from a wide range of nations. The real genius is of course the fat Rooney in the caravan cooking beans and painting the third division lines on a grim park somewhere in England. This unbelievable moment, with a little bit of internet meme in the form of Ronaldo on the Simpsons takes it over the top. No wonder then, that it has garnered 16,000,000 views to Adidas’s 200,000.
Building Content that Earns Attention.
The approach that has been used to develop the Nike content above is one many brands could learn from. I think we all agree that the days of telling the public a message that you decide are fast fading. Channel Proliferation and online clutter means that you story has to tick four very important boxes.
Be Noteworthy. You have to include an element of note if you expect people to pay attention. If it’s something brand new, great. The fact you’re now selling a pink one probably doesn’t cut it. Surprise people if you can, even better if you can make them laugh or feel something inside their heart. Show something that hasn’t been seen before. The world probably does not need another flashmob.
Know you audience and build stories for them. Understand that the success of what you are doing depends on the audience liking the story enough to retell it or pass it along their networks. In jokes are great.
Be shareable. Build content and stories on platforms that make sharing as easy as possible. One more retelling is of value to you as a brand, why would you create a barrier to this happening?
Be relevant. There has to be a strong connection between your brand, the sponsorship and what you’ve created.
Now, Adidas did realise they needed a “cooler” piece of film to compete in the transmedia space and earn them some coverage. Here’s what they came out with:
It’s almost like a few people got together and said “Star Wars is popular online, so is Snoop and we’ve got Becks, some Mancs, Daft Punk and that other guy. Let’s put all that together.” It’s kind of funny, but I don’t think it really ticks those four boxes. Maybe if Snoop had his arms chopped off, Becks was shot and the end had Jabba on the sideline at the World Cup. maybe.
H&K has put a big effort into our entries to Cannes this year, and they’re going big on the ground too. Paul Taaffe, our global CEO is on the judging panel and is also organising a seminar, which is what the video is all about.
If you’re going to be in Cannes, it’s worth checking out!
A story lives and dies in it’s telling. A grandparent who goes to the trouble of doing the voices of characters in a book will leave an indelible mark on a child’s memory. Great storytelling weaves in detail to stimulate imagination, resulting in a result that is greater than the story itself.
I love this video as it shows how a well known story can be enhanced by the use of new technology, I think it’s a valuable lesson, how can you make the story you are telling as memorable as possible? and can a new way of telling a story be different enough to make it news?
I am the Creative Director at Hill & Knowlton in Sydney.
I've worked in a few different parts of the agency world and ran my own shop in Shanghai for a while, launching super premium products into the world's largest marketplace.
I am fascinated by what's coming next, how new networks offer a company like H&K the opportunity to flex our earned media muscle and deliver great work for the clients we work with and the brands they breathe life into.
I write about campaigns that work and some that don't, from Australia and around the world. Sometimes the world of social media will hold me in its sway and occasionally I'll just post something that inspires me and hopefully you as well.
Please comment, I'll respond to as many as I physically can.
