[arg_discuss] Sony's PSP viral marketing efforts

[Brian Clark]

>Yes. But how much does that really matter? 


Because you'd be rubbing up the concept of ARG with the concept of "bad
viral marketing" -- something that many consumers would already do. Every
ARG I've run has suffered from that criticism from some quarter: Nisha
wasn't real, this is all just marketing for Audi!; Benjamin Stove wasn't
real, this is all just marketing for GM!


>I'd say that as professionals there is an onus to get involved in

>things not strictly in our disciplline when that involvement can do

>us and our discipline a lot of good.


Then might I suggest you get involved with the Word of Mouth Marketing
Association (which attempts to lay out best practices for the arena) ... or
the Viral & Buzz Marketing Association out of the U.K. Ultimately, as
professionals, shrill criticism or "unmasking marketers" doesn't really do
us a lot of good, does it? Isn't it better instead to advocate best
practices?


>So, maybe there are some useful things that ARG people can

>say or do that will help people in VM.


Maybe I'm just skitterish. I get painted with that brush and frequently have
to make the argument that branded entertainment and ARGs are immensely
different than viral marketing. I also end up getting criticized inside of
ARG circles, because my belief about best practices in viral marketing run
afoul of ARG expectations (like, for example, at GMD Studios we no longer
hide the registrations on domain names for just that reason -- because some
of level of transparency is important, lest people think you're out to
deceive them rather entertain them.)


>And ... should ARG people feel reticent to jump from discipline to

>discipline when one of the things many ARGs excel at is jumping

>rapidly from medium to medium rather than sticking with just one? :)


That's a straw man argument that no one has made, Adam. I jump from
discipline to discipline quite a bit and encourage everyone to do that.

But that doesn't mean I'd be supportive of a "bad viral marketing" expose
site. At some level, there are people out there in a number of disciplines
... from marketing to professional snarkers like SomethingAwful.com ... that
are already doing that.


Brian