Friday, August 31, 2012

A True Cultural Phenomenon - Advertising & New Media Essay



Advertising & New Media - Joshua Rust 42884969

 A True Cultural Phenomenon

As technology and our increasingly connected culture evolves, so does the means to reach an ever widening audience through advertising. Promoting and marketing a product is no longer as simple or straightforward as it used to be. Where radio and print used to be king, the internet and interactive, social media reign supreme. The advertising landscape has changed significantly even in the last decade or so, as companies spend more and more money promoting their product any way they can. For example, last year Proctor & Gamble spent $3.34 billion on advertising alone.  

 With such mammoth sums of money being spent each year on advertising, both companies and ad agencies are having to find original and creative ways to reach the consumer. 

The existence and evolution of new media has provided a catalyst for original and revolutionary advertising. Amongst the many corporations that have begun to utilize new forms of advertising, gaming companies have been at the forefront of using new and original transmedia to advertise their products. ‘Trends in branded content have seen it break free of the confines of the 30-second broadcast spot or the print media display ad’ (Spurgeon 2008, pp. 44). The convergence of the traditional advertising world of Madison Avenue, and Hollywood’s Vine Street plays a vital role in illustrating the way video games are advertised.

At the heart of every video game there has always been a story, and a good story is the essence of entertainment. Storytelling has evolved considerably over the years, and what used to only be a linear, movie going experience has now advanced into fully interactive virtual worlds. Video games are cinematic experiences, and many of today’s games work with budgets just as large as a traditional Hollywood blockbuster. Numerous advertising campaigns designed to promote these games have drawn on those cinematic experiences to highlight their theatrical qualities. Where the entertainment world was once dominated by movie studios, the gaming industry has become a $65 billion giant.

In September 2007, the third entry in Microsoft’s popular Halo franchise was due to be released for the Xbox 360. The previous game had set a revenue record for single-day game sales at $125 million. With high expectations that the follow up would exceed those numbers, Microsoft hired internationally renowned advertising agency McCann Erickson to head the Halo 3 marketing campaign. McCann Erickson recognized the unique storytelling features that this video game provided, and set out to tell the story across as many media channels that they could.

From the very start, McCann Erickson set the goal to ‘make Halo 3 the biggest entertainment opening day of all-time, exceeding the previous global record set by Spiderman 3 with £76.5m: make Halo 3 a true cultural phenomenon.’ The advertising group wanted to ‘rewrite the rules of a video game campaign and show more of the characteristics of the movies we wished to compete against’ (McCann Erickson 2009). 

To ‘show more of these characteristics,’ instead of calling attention to the clichés of a testosterone packed, action video game, McCann Erickson resolved to focus on the game’s storyline and heroic ‘movie lead.’ The qualities that would appeal to everyone, regardless of age or gender, were universal themes found in every successful story. If they could emotionally connect with the consumer, the more likely it would be that the consumer would want to interact with that story. McCann Erickson knew they already had a core group of fans that would purchase the game on release, all of which would make up the expected 1.2 million unit sales. Instead of marketing the game within that circle, their goal was to attract an audience beyond that fanbase. 
Halo 3 - Believe

The primary form of the advertising campaign came through a series of web based short films. Shot in a documentary style, they introduced viewers to a fictional war monument built in honor of the game’s central character, Master Chief. Each short film featured interviews with grizzled war veterans reminiscing about fighting alongside him, and the hope he represented.

Immersive advertising at its finest
Simultaneously, McCann Erickson created an ‘alternate reality game’ or ARG, to further create public awareness. The ARG consisted of cross-media gameplay and player participation through a series of websites that were secretly linked to one another. This took the form of a digital scavenger hunt, as participants hunted down clues that would reveal hidden images and video clips from the Halo 3 universe. Through actively engaging the consumer, these alternate reality games allowed fans to immerse themselves within the product’s world and story. Sheehan (2009) states this interactive ‘participation can also create a stronger affinity between audiences and brands... Agencies can achieve success if they give consumers a space to play with imagery to see what they come up with.’

These alternate reality games are very important in creating a believable atmosphere to build upon, and if done correctly will create an enormous buzz. ‘As more companies adopt the trend of promoting their products through placement in electronic games, the identification and understanding of players' attitudes acquires critical importance in order to suitably position advertisements for products and services (Hernandez et al. 2004).

McCann Erickson’s marketing campaign was a huge success, and Halo 3 set a first day sales record of $170 million in the US alone, labeling it the “biggest entertainment launch in American history.” It went on to make an additional $130 million by the end of that week. Microsoft won the “Technology Campaign of the Year” award at the PRWeek Awards, and Halo 3 eventually sold 8.1 million units worldwide.

Multiple launch parties were held worldwide
With the increasing reliance upon the internet and viral promotion, this is an exciting time to be involved in advertising. Not only is the convergence of advertising and new media creating thought provoking and original ideas, it’s also exploring new avenues that were previously designated to other industries. The next few years will be a very fascinating time for both the advertiser, and the consumer.


References:


Spurgeon, C 2008, Advertising and new media, Routledge, London, pp. 44

Sheehan, K & Morrison, D 2009, 'Beyond convergence: Confluence culture and the role of the advertising agency in a changing world', First Monday Journal, vol. 14, no. 3, viewed 31 August 2012, <http://firstmonday.org/htbin/cgiwrap/bin/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/2239/2121 >




 Hernandez, M, Chapa, S, Minor, M, Maldonado, C & Barranzuela, F 2004, ‘Hispanic attitudes toward advergames: a proposed model of their antecedents’, Journal of Interactive Advertising, vol. 5, no. 1, viewed 31August 2012, <http://jiad.org/article57>

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