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Being "Monkish"
One of the most popular ARB-type campaigns still running is a new multi-level interactive game designed to generate buzz and loyal viewers for "Monk" created by Glow Interactive, New York for USA Network. The flash-packed game draws viewers into an office scenario and asks them to rearrange the paperclips on Monk's desk. The game, an online store selling "Monk" items, blogs, quizzes, interviews and video clips are all adding to the stickiness of the site which in just over two weeks, January 1-18 pulled in 1.5 million visits and 20 million page views and an astounding one million video streams. The Monk ARB is so popular that other brand advertisers want to be involved. Ads on TV show sites are becoming another revenue source for the networks.
Mega-Reality: Monopoly: Sometimes the scale of the Alternate Reality Branding campaign is so big it deserves to be called Mega-Reality since it is larger than life and lets players experience their favorite online video or board games in the real world. Last summer, Tribal DDB and DDB London pitted groups of five players against each other by giving them each a Monopoly fortune of 15 million pounds (fake) to invest in (real) London properties while linking their moves on the board to the locale of 18 GPS transmitter-equipped cabs (real). To add a fresh spin, Chance and Community Chest bonuses were sent via SMS (text messaging.) The ARG-type event made international headlines to celebrate Monopoly's 70th anniversary. Another example of Mega-Reality ARB style promos was the unexpected unveiling of an airplane cabin in New York's Soho district. Turned out it housed a cocktail lounge designed by Neverstop promoting the spirit and warmth of Song Airlines during the holiday season; it attracted more than 60,000 visitors in six weeks.
Alternative Reality: Nothing like a venture into an alternative universe to break up the workday. Last Call Poker, created by 42 Entertainment, turned out to be a tie-in with Activision's Gun console and PC game, but it functions like a high-end poker site. Quirky real-world poker tournaments in graveyards, of all places, across the United States attracted avid fans who got radio transmissions propelling them to the next play.
Collective reality: The Halo 2 "I Love Bees" and Sharp Electronic's ARG titled "The Legend of the Sacred Urns" all require a collective virtual community to solve the quest, or in Sharp's case, the hunt for a rare artifact. Vital clues were embedded in oddball TV commercials and visitors to www.moretosee.com could not only view the ads again, but also discover pointers to new clues. In an interesting twist, all of the game play took place on internet bulletin boards where players swapped and analyzed clues. Who wins the grand prize (in this case a Sharp Entertainment Center) becomes almost secondary to the group camaraderie.
Faux-reality: One of the toughest versions of Alternate Reality Branding to pull off is a version called Faux-Reality where false or misleading info appears real. The challenge in this arena is to walk the line between stealth marketing and punking the players. ARG enthusiasts are a sophisticated bunch that doesn't want to be punk'd. One brand that pulled off the ultimate faux-reality campaign is Audi with The Art of The Heist campaign, first unleashed at a live event in New York City as a game and then fueled by a torrent of interactive missions. At the same time the game was taking off, a shadow side popped up as bloggers and TV viewers started seeing notices searching for the person who stole a brand new Audi A3 from the New York Auto Show. A spy mission at a major music festival and a helicopter special effects finale in Santa Monica added real life drama to the faux heist.
If you're flying Jet Blue in April, you can turn on your seat's Direct TV screen and participate in what may be the first made for in-plane only reality show called "Share the Love" from American Express. A vote for one of the two families competing in a cross-country race to win a year's free travel will not only help pick the winner, but will also prompt a contribution to charities such as the Boys & Girls Club. Online at www.jetblue.com, consumers can also catch a peek at the videos and cast their ballot. The ARG-style race is designed by multiple agencies and an integrated team led by Nancy Smith, VP, global media and sponsorship marketing, American Express. Out of home and airport creative billboards, banners, posters and even luggage tags encourage you to "Share the Love."
Steeper Rabbit Holes
In the next year, watch for Alternate Reality Gaming and ARB to kick it up a notch to a new level of group player involvement as Hollywood heats up the arena. Making headlines in the entertainment trades is news that MMORGs (massively multiplayer online games) are in development by such major names as producer James Cameron, actor Vin Diesel and Imagine Entertainment. What makes these announcements so different is that the games are designed by Hollywood types to create virtual communities of fans for upcoming films or television shows. Step carefully-- the new Hollywood-style rabbit holes may be deeper than any we've gone down before.
Joyce Schwarz is an author, analyst and consultant on emerging entertainment. Her firm JCOM is located in Marina Del Rey, CA and specializes in launching next-stage media companies and products. She blogs at www.hollywood2020.blogs.com. Schwarz has organized such ARB-style events as turning New York into Hawaii for a week and the "Day in the Life of Paris" quest. She also consulted on the launch of Hasbro online.