[arg_discuss] Fwd: is ARG just a marketing technique to thepress?

[Michael Monello]

I don't think it's a bad thing, to be honest. People will only pay for  
something if they understand the value in it, and most people do not  
understand the value of ARGs, unless they are a subset of another  
property they do understand -- music, movie, tv show, book, etc.

As more and more people experience ARGs as marketing, the potential  
subscriber base becomes larger, and that just means more opportunity  
for smart developers willing to grab it.

Put it this way -- most of us grew up with the idea of television as a  
vehicle for advertising. It's been paid for by advertising and is  
built on being effective for advertisers, and yet plenty of people are  
willing to pay for HBO and Showtime, content that delivers something  
advertising supported models do not.

Even better, the pay channels in turn force the advertising channels  
to up their game (Lost, House, Mad Men, The Office, etc)!

Frankly, I think the issue is that there aren't enough independent  
artists with a frequent enough rate of output to counteract the  
marketers, and until that happens there's not much that can be done.  
White papers, conferences, and discussions are great but for the genre  
to step out of the shadows of marketing is simply going to require  
some large scale independent success.

ARGs need to have their own "Blair Witch" -- something identified as  
an ARG from the outset that enters mainstream consciousness, and that  
needs to be followed up by more creatively and financially successful  
pieces. LonelyGirl15 could have been it had the creators been  
designing an ARG from the ground up rather than coming to it late in  
their cycle, for example. There have been great independent games, but  
nothing has punctured the pop culture bubble... yet. I mean, look at  
the Wired piece -- Clark is quoted extensively and they don't even  
mention Eldritch Errors. Perplex City came close, but never managed to  
break through, unfortunately.

And of course I brought us right back around in a circle!  <grin>

I understand why marketers reduce NIN ARG to marketing -- Trent Reznor  
hired a company known for creating marketing ARGs to run it, and at  
some point you have to assume that engaging the fans and making them  
excited about the new album was part of the plan all along. I  
understand this could be an unfair characterization of intention and  
reality, but I'm trying to see it from an outsider's perspective.


Best,

Michael Monello
Partner, Campfire
62 White Street, 3W
New York, NY 10013
212-612-9600
http://www.campfirenyc.com



On Jan 28, 2008, at 10:16 AM, Ian Millington wrote:


> Sorry to keep flogging this now utterly dead horse, but doesn't this

> just convince you that unless we allow players to control what they

> play by paying for it directly, not indirectly through the whims,

> fears and misconceptions of non-players, we'll be shouting at the wind

> for years to come?

>

> Ian.

>

> On 28/01/2008, Michael Monello <mmonello at campfirenyc.com> wrote:

>>

>> On Jan 28, 2008, at 10:00 AM, Brian Clark wrote:

>>

>>> The spread of marketing is evidenced in their declining response

>>> rates from each

>>> of their tools, necessitating more intrusive use of the channel and

>>> the

>>> discovery of fresh, virgin, unexploited communication.

>>

>> This also explains the intense hype cycles that ripple through the

>> industry:

>>

>> "ARGs are the wave of the future!"

>> "ARGs are a waste of time!"

>>

>> "Second Life will save marketing!"

>> "Second Life is a disaster for brands!"

>>

>> Of course, this is an industry that considers pre-roll ads on YouTube

>> to be part of a "digital strategy" so take it all with a grain of  

>> salt.

>>

>> Best,

>>

>> Michael Monello

>> Partner, Campfire

>> 62 White Street, 3W

>> New York, NY 10013

>> 212-612-9600

>> http://www.campfirenyc.com

>>

>>

>>

>> On Jan 28, 2008, at 10:00 AM, Brian Clark wrote:

>>

>>>> To me ARGs are just another available tool in a marketer's

>>>> tool box that can be used to communicate with a group of

>>>> people.

>>>

>>> That's why we can't have anything nice on the Internet anymore, too,

>>> because

>>> marketers believe every communication tool -- from kids at a school

>>> bus stop

>>> to thumb drives in a bathroom -- are part of the "marketer's tool

>>> box." The

>>> spread of marketing is evidenced in their declining response rates

>>> from each

>>> of their tools, necessitating more intrusive use of the channel and

>>> the

>>> discovery of fresh, virgin, unexploited communication.

>>>

>>> I can tend to tune someone out, though, as soon as they go

>>> reductionist and

>>> make it "just another" anything.

>>>

>>> _______________________________________________

>>> ARG_Discuss mailing list

>>> ARG_Discuss at igda.org

>>> http://five.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/arg_discuss

>>

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