[arg_discuss] is ARG just a marketing technique to the press?

[Kristian Leth DR]

Hi Brian,


"What are the upsides to ARGs being collective, hyped, anti-establishment
and not suitable for classic marketing channels? What are the possiblities
within those boundaries?"

You wrote:
I'm not sure I completely buy how you got to this analogy, Kristian.
Comparing ARGing to the "music industry" or the "game industry" is really
requires that we think there is an "ARG industry" (there isn't) and that it
has established structures that can be disintermediated (there aren't.)

I say:
I'm not comparing the two as "industries", I'm trying to make the point that trying to fit a square peg into a round hole can be very bothersome, and might not be the only way forward.

You wrote:
Anything that aggregates attention has the potential to leverage that
attention towards marketing something. Heck, they put advertisements on
zambonis at hockey matches, because they tend to collect attention from
people in the crowds (but the zamboni isn't on the ice to produce a
marketing effect, it is there to smooth the ice!)

I say:
I actually think that the marketing ARGs have so far been the most intruiging and enjoyable, and if you can do something as cool as The Beast, ilovebees or Art Of The Heist then I envy you. But parts of this discussion is "how can we change this genre into a commercially viable one (like the _other_ game forms) without changing what's integral to ARGs?" And while that's an interesting discussion, I think maybe the economic model has to grow - on its own - around a genre that believes in itself and operates on its own terms. And we're nowhere near that yet. (And that's where the music analogy comes into the picture.)

Because this thing has grown out of the most unlikely places. ARGs have found their form through a mix of marketing ploys and grass-roots endeavors, and I think that that's pretty special. My point is probably that I think the focus in this genre for the immediate future is exploring, expanding and having fun with the genre, out of love for it. The money isn't going to magically appear in loads, when somebody figures out "How To Do It".

For god's sake, those of us who can make money out of it should KEEP DOING IT (and share the info!). But if that's the only reason we're here, then we're probably on our way to doing something that we know will put food on our tables. Let's keep it adventurous yet.

The Romantic
Kristian