Star Trek

Star Trek: blog tasks

1) Pick out the five most significant aspects of the Star Trek campaign from the list above and explain why they were important in creating a buzz about the game.

February 2013

Retailers post circulars online

‘Making of’ video released

UK launch event at the Science Museum - fans of the film can actually physically see what went well with the making of the game and can get involved in some activity.

June 2011

E3 announcement and teaser trailer - E3 is a world wide gaming centre where they post notices on new and upcoming games, so people who follow about this game must have begun a hype as they new when the game was coming out.

2)Watch the following YouTube trailers and explain why they might appeal to an audience:

• Teaser trailer -  action, superpowers and conflicts which may interest the audience of explorers who aim to seek escapism
• Full trailer - increased action which creates hype and publicity amongst the audience
• Comedy trailer with William Shatner - celebrity endorsement which creates a personal relationship between the audience and William Shatner -with the Blumer and Katz- theory.

3) How many views did these trailers receive in total?

Teaser trailer - 107,732

Full trailer - 4,052

Comedy trailer with William Shatner - 66,124

4) Why did the Star Trek videogame publisher develop the marketing campaign over such a long time?

For the hype at the end to be immense, as all of the adrenaline would have built up once the three years had passed. However, the game was unsuccessful in succeeding to appeal the audience.

5) What other examples can you find online from the Star Trek marketing campaign? Print? Reviews? Broadcast? E-media? Do you feel the campaign as a whole was successful?

Personally, I don't think it was successful as the reviews that it had gotten were terrible, thus suggesting the audience weren't satisfied.

Phone and tableting games

The major growth market for the videogame industry in recent years is mobile gaming – games we play on phones and tablets.

In 2014 it made up 17% of the gaming market but it is estimated it will reach 27% by 2016.

Why mobile gaming is taking off

1. Accessibility: consumers can play at any time and anywhere.
2. Global reach: developers can launch titles into any country they choose.
3. Free-to-play: Pioneered on PC, free-to-play is the dominant business model for mobile taking over 90% of global revenues.

How mobile games make money

1. Paid-for apps
   Interests the group
2. In-game purchases (extra lives/add-ons/ access to higher levels etc.)
   Creates word of mouth
3. In-app advertising
   Creates word of mouth

In-app advertising and purchases
Advertisers traditionally buy app ads according to eCPM, which means effective cost per thousand impressions—the price to show an ad to 1,000 players. The average cost for a standard eCPM is $3.

In 2012, 75% of app-store revenue came from in-app purchases. Of the top 50 highest-grossing games in the iOS app store, only two aren’t free to download.


Phone and tablet gaming: tasks

Read this BBC News article about Candy Crush Saga. Answer the following questions:

1. How much money is Candy Crush Saga estimated to make each day from its users?
   £876,000
2. How does it make this money?
   In app advertising
3. How many people are estimated to have installed Candy Crush?
   200million
4. Where do people play?
   Mainly tablets
5. When was the game released?
   2013
6. When did it reach 500 million downloads?
   2014
7. Who is the typical Candy Crush gamer?
   20-35 year olds
8. What percentage of gamers have spent money on Candy Crush, buying in-app purchases etc.?
   81%
9. What percentage say they are addicted to the game?
   40%
10. What is your own experience of playing Candy Crush? Have you played it? 
    Don't enjoy the game

AIDA exercise - marketing a new game

Task 1
Summarise who might play the game and what platform they will play it on. Give it a title.

Task 2
Use AIDA to plan a 10 minute marketing campaign for the new game:

A: How will you create marketing materials that attract audience attention to the game?
I: How will you generate audience interest?
D: How will you stimulate audience desire to buy the game?
A: How will you promote audience action?

Task 3

Write up your notes on your blog and be prepared to share your ideas with the class.

Game 9

Music game. Players use a special microphone to pick up their own musical sounds, and play along to a series of tracks. They can use any musical instrument, or sing, and the game will interpret the notes they produce and check them against the original track. Their ability to play / sing in time and in key will be assessed for each song. Play can be in rehearsal or gig mode. In gig mode, the higher the score, the better the venue for the next gig.

Task 1: 

The target audience for the game Be A Star is that it would appeal to people who are interested in 

music of all types of genres, in particular youths. The platforms that Be A Star would run on are the 

Nintendo Wii, The Kinect on Xbox, and Playstation Move. 

Task 2:

I will create marketing materials that attract audience attention to the game through creating some billboards on public transport, because a lot of youths use public transport, so this would help generate interest in the game. In addition, I will promote the game through social media, by using websites such as Twitter and Facebook, word of mouth would take place and this would help generate interest in the game and promote it at the same time. To help generate desire to buy the game, I will have celebrity endorsement, in particular, I will have celebrities who cannot sing very well, people such as Keith Lemon and Simon Cowell, by adding these people in particular that cannot sing, it is more appealing as it would be funny and more enjoyable, whereas having a celebrity who can sing very well would put the audience off buying the game as they would think they cannot do as well as the professional singer. 

Videogame advertising: Institution

Task 1: developers and publishers

Research the following game developers/publishers:

Rockstar Games
Background: 1998
Owner/founder: Mr. Sam Houser
Most successful games: Grand theft auto 
Interesting fact about the institution: As of February 2014, Rockstar Games titles have shipped more than 250 million copies.

EA (Electronic Arts)
Background: 1982
Owner/founder: Mr. Trip Hawkins
Most successful games: The Sims
Interesting fact about the institution: They are also in partnership with Fifa

Zynga
Background: 2007
Owner/founder: Mr. Mark Pincus
Most successful games: Farmville
Interesting fact about the institution: States its mission as 'connecting the world with games'

Nintendo
Background: 1889
Owner/founder: Fusajiro Yamauchi
Most successful games: Mario Kart
Interesting fact about the institution: Made many consoles too

Sony Computer Entertainment
Background: 1993
Owner/founder: Andrew House
Most successful games: None found
Interesting fact about the institution: They own all PSP's


Task 2: Advertising agencies

Look at the following advertising agency websites:

W+K Amsterdam

1. What do the letters stand for? (Clue: look at the very bottom of the website)
   Weiden + Kennedy Amsterdam
2. What brands have W+K Amsterdam advertised?
   Electronic Arts
3. In your opinion, what is the most creative campaign on their website?
   Fifa 14
4. What videogame campaigns have they created?
   We are FIFA 14
5. What additional information can you find out about the FIFA14 advertising campaign?
   They includes many celebs

Rokkan

1. How long has the Rokkan advertising agency been around for?
   Launched in 2000 from a living room in New Jersey, founding partners John Noe, Chung Ng and Charles Bae decided that they wanted to try a radically different approach. 
2. Where is Rokkan based?
   3 modern based HQs in America
3. What brands have Rokkan advertised?
   Dishonoured
4. Why was Rokkan's campaign for the videogame 'Dishonored' so successful?
   Kicked of with a leak of the trailer
5. Who was the publisher for 'Dishonored'?
   Bethesda

Task 3: Regulatory bodies

PEGI

Visit the PEGI website and have a look around. 

Now click on the FAQ section of the website and answer the following questions:

1. What is PEGI and where is PEGI based?
   Europe
2. How does PEGI rate games?
   Depending on the content
3. What are the age classifications used by PEGI?
   Age ratings: 7, 12, 15, 18
4. What are the seven aspects that PEGI look for when giving a game a rating (e.g. violence)?
   Violence, Sex/Horror, Drugs, Gambling, Online, Discrimination, Bad Language
   

ASA

Visit the Advertising Standards Authority website and have a look around. 

Now click on the About section of the ASA website and answer the following questions:

1. What is the ASA's mission?
   To ensure all advertising is appropriate for the target audience
2. What are the ASA's values?
   Consistent and Proportionate, Reliable and Ethical, Fair and Respectable to all, Accessible and helpful etc..
   

1. The company that was advertising:
2. Why someone complained:
3. Whether the complaint was upheld and why: