Promo - January 2009 - (Page 9)

‘We saw an opportunity to tie our brand in with something related to the show. The game let audiences interact with the on-air programming and go beyond it to complete their own advertures online.’—Brad Dancer or can be learned quickly, but offer a chance to increase one’s skill with return visits: Mah-Jongg, Cryptogram, Sudoku, Klondike Solitaire, Word Search and so forth. As supplied by games maker Arkadium—which also designed the Hearst game pages—the games are customized for the look and feel of the Hearst sites and can also be customized by brand marketers. “The average person playing games online is a woman age 33,” notes Nicole Stagg, director of content strategy for Hearst Magazines Digital Media. “We’ve found these games to be really popular with the magazine audiences: They’re spending 20 minutes and more just playing one game, as opposed to the teenagers, who spend only 12 to 14 minutes. The games for younger moms give them a chance to take a break from caring for someone else and just take some time for themselves. That’s why we see a traffic spike in the middle of the day.” Gamers on the Hearst mom-book sites also get some community recognition in the form of on-site messages that applaud their recent play for all to see. “Congratulations, gjr5017, you just scored 5505 playing Sudoku,” one recent announcement read. As an extra incentive to return, players also earn extra points simply for playing the games regularly, however they score. For now those points offer bragging rights only, but Stagg says the sites will soon roll out a system that will enter players into sweepstakes on the basis of these loyalty points. Of course, there’s also a market for branded games that are more elaborate and involving than Word Search. In November Arkadium rolled out an online adventure game specifically developed to help the National Geographic Channel promote its Expedition Week programming. Players sent explorer avatars on hunts for artifacts that could then be redeemed to fund more online “digs.” The promotion linked offline with broadcast “snipe” ads on NGC offering codes that could unlock bonus tools and experiences within the game. “We saw an opportunity to tie our brand in not with just a casual game but with something that actually related to the show,” says Brad Dancer, NGC vice president of research and digital media. “The game let audiences interact with the on-air programming and go beyond it to complete their own adventures online.” Speaking before the Nov. 15 launch of Expedition Week, Dancer said the game was already seeing average play sessions of 18 minutes and more, and predicted that average time would grow during the week of programs. The game is modular, so Dancer expects it will be adapted to continue on the Web site as long as interest remains high. Branded games can add a social dimension when they show up as applications within social networks. Kidnap!, an app launched by The Travel Channel and agency RAPP Collins Worldwide within Facebook on a platform from Context Optional, lets registrants select a global city as a hideout and then “kidnap” their friends, giving the game a viral spread. By surfing to the Travel Channel Web site, players can retrieve clues about the cities in which they’re being held and acquire better kidnapping tools than those at the beginner level, such as giant fly paper or an eight ball in a sock. Launched in July 2008, the Facebook game picked up more than 225,000 active monthly users in its first six weeks. By November that number had grown to more than 3 million users, and Kidnap! was ranked sixth in Facebook’s gaming category and first in travel. The game also serves as a loyalty-builder, occasioning about 60,000 clicks daily to TravelChannel.com and about 140,000 repeat players. “The Travel Channel audience has a curiosity about local culture, so we put content into the middle of this gaming application to trigger that curiosity and need for discovery,” says Camillo LaCruz, executive creative director for Rapp. “You’re led to Travel Channel content in a way that’s not overtly branded at first, but brings you deeper into the Travel Channel properties.” That low-key approach is important in using social media to spread a game. “The most important thing for Facebook users is not the brand, it’s their friends,” says Kevin Barenblat, co-founder and CEO of Context Optional, which has worked with 20 brands on apps for social networks. “People are there to connect with their friends. The Kidnap game has been sucP cessful because it gives people a new way to interact.” l W For more articles on promotions, go to www.promomagazine.com Newsletter Web RSS Webinar Blog Podcast Promo / WWW.PROMOMAGAZINE.COM / January 2009 9 http://www.TravelChannel.com http://www.promomagazine.com http://www.promomagazine.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Promo - January 2009

Promo - January 2009 Contents Editor's Note Casual Games Dr. P and the Roses Outside the Cup Geek�Chic Expresa Tu Hispanidad Jump Start Commentary The Show Must Go On Fed Up Q&A: Smart Food Agency Center Resource Center Gray Goes Green Index of Advertisers

Promo - January 2009

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