[arg_discuss] [pm] Commercial vs. Grassroots, Player or PM?

[Brooke Thompson]

I agree that it's splitting hairs, to a degree. But, I think it's an
important distinction when one considers the ARGs used in educational
settings (I know of several used to support school curriculum) and corporate
training. Those are not about selling or marketing, however they are about
building awareness. There's a game that I'm aware of that's in very early
development stages that will work on social awareness of a local public
policy. Is it selling? Marketing?

So, splitting hairs? Perhaps. More accurately defining? I think so.

ARGs do not have to have to be run along side a product or serving as a
promotional tool and, as someone actively working in another environment, I
suppose that I'm a bit sensitive to people limiting discussion to that.




> -----Original Message-----
> From: arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org [mailto:arg_discuss-bounces at igda.org]
> On Behalf Of Andrea Phillips
> Sent: Friday, March 31, 2006 10:21 PM
> To: Discussion list of the IGDA ARG SIG
> Subject: Re: [arg_discuss] [pm] Commercial vs. Grassroots, Player or PM?
> 
> > On Mar 31, 2006, at 6:51 PM, Brooke Thompson wrote:
> > I do not think that all professional games are about selling a
> > product,
> > instead, it's about building an awareness. Often times, it appears
> > to me,
> > that the target audience is not even the players. It's the 'buzz'
> > or the
> > 'award potential'.
> 
> I'm snipping all sorts of worthy further exposition here, but I think
> this is the heart of it. I can see your point, Brooke, but I do think
> it's splitting hairs, to be honest. Just because the immediate goal
> of a marketing campaign is to change a brand perception or create
> buzz doesn't mean it's not marketing, and certainly doesn't mean that
> nobody cares if you ultimately buy anything. It just means it's
> *clever* marketing. At the end of the day, the point is still to get
> more viewers/move more product/what have you, even if there's no part
> that tells you "Buy a Whizmo Lite today!"
> 
> I think a lot of pro designers would protest heartily about this,
> because I gravely doubt it's what anyone has in mind while actually
> designing a game; but it's still there, and the players know it.
> 
> I wonder whether heartfelt discussions on good marketing, bad
> marketing, Seth Godin &c. is on topic for this list or not. I suspect
> it just might be...
> 
> --
> Andrea Phillips
> http://www.perplexcity.com
> http://www.deusexmachinatio.com
> 
> 
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