Harmonic Aftershock

Angry Birds Toons expands the definition of “TV.”

The first of 52 episodes of Rovio’s Angry Birds Toons launches to the world this weekend. But you won’t be watching it on television – or will you?

The idea of a video game spawning a cartoon “TV” series is nothing new. I vividly remember playing Pac-Man in the early 80s at the local arcade and then watching its Saturday morning cartoon on ABC.

What is new about Rovio’s approach is their distribution strategy that bypasses U.S. television networks. The company is placing its bets on the hyper connected on-the-go/on-demand consumer. With bite-sized content (each episode is 3 minutes long), smart TVs (Samsung), connected TV devices (Roku), plus smartphones, laptops, and tablets is how potential viewers can consume Angry Birds Toons.

Rovio’s biggest asset? Their 1.5 billion app installs worldwide that will now feature a button on the games’ home screen - shepherding its users to take a few minutes to watch some good old “television” and hopefully attracting advertisers in the process.

But with over 100 million TV households in the U.S. is Rovio missing out on a mass audience? A partnership with Comcast distributes Angry Birds Toons via Xfinity on-demand and the Xfinity TV Player. That’s the closest step Rovio has taken (so far) to reach the mainstream TV audience. We’ll soon see if it’s enough…

RESULTS: Hill Holliday's Social Gaming Poll

Last week, Hill Holliday conducted a social gaming poll which was by no means a scientific study. Of the 260 people who took the poll, 74 currently play social games (like FarmVille or CityVille).

The one set of responses that jumped out at me is the fact that 80% of people start playing these games because of a referral (either direct invite or WOM) from a friend or family member.

 
 
But I suppose it’s not really a surprise as Zynga, especially, architects a number of “hooks” into its games to lure friends in and keep them engaged.

Our respondents play social games to “relax from work” and also to “accumulate” stuff (which is, generally, the whole point of the games in the first place.)

 
But what are they giving up to play? The top reasons are:

• Watching TV
• Reading
• Sleeping
• Exercising

And, finally, ad tolerance was pretty resounding in that our social gamers want branded experiences that don’t take them away from or interrupt their game.

 
The advertising executions that are seen as most “attractive” are those that support or enhance the actual game itself such as getting “stuff” that’s relevant to the game or unlocking additional content.

Good move on Fox and Angry Birds part for today’s Super Bowl commercial which will give a code to unlock a special in-game level.

I originally posted this on Hill Holliday's blog.

The goldmine of social games.

As if there already wasn’t a lot of buzz about the opportunity for advertisers within social games. But , now, with Zynga’s CityVille surpassing 100 million users in less than 2 months, the conversation has intensified -- and for good reason. Let’s look at a few numbers:

• 1/5 of the US population reports playing a social game within the last 3 months
• Online gaming has surpassed email as the second most popular online activity
• Social gaming revenues are expected to surpass $1 billion dollars this year
• Advertisers are expected to spend 60% more in 2011 than they did in 2010 on social gaming

What is it about these games?
There are a number of factors that are causing people to engage in droves:

1. They’re simple to play if you know how to click a mouse
2. They encourage and reward progress providing validation
3. They provide a temporary mindless escape from the issues of the world
4. Their social features really do make you feel connected to your friends
5. The instant gratification of progressing makes one crave more

And one of the biggest draws is that people play on their own time and their own terms.

Who’s playing?
A study from about 8 months ago reported that the profile of the social gamer is a 43 year old woman. Interesting, but there’s a lot more to the story and we want to know more. Hill Holliday will soon be conducting a poll to learn more about the mindset of the social gamer and what really drives them to regularly engage. Stay tuned for more info.

As prep, today I played my very first social game (CityVille) so that I could get a firsthand look at what’s really going on. As I engaged, I logged my stream of consciousness as I played. Here it is:

My Real-Time First Impressions

• Music is annoying
• Initial load time is long
• Good prompts…just following them
• Not really sure what to do
• Turned music off
• Smart move with the “invite farmville friends” over
• Surprised how many and how diverse my FB friends are who play this
• Holy crap, Johnny's on level 33?!
• Send gifts to friends…interesting
• Can build a coffee shop (just got an idea)
• There’s a lot of things to keep track of…why do this when you can build something real?
• Isn’t buying your way in sort of cheating? i.e. not earning it?
• Lots of ways to share with friends – spread the words (and then Zynga cashes in)
• Interesting ways of bringing others in (need to “add 5 more neighbors” in order to send trains)
• I don’t get the difference between coins vs. cash
• The welcome email “get your fountain” – a way to verify email address is accurate…smart
• Looks like “city cash” buys you energy (validates another idea)
• Cash is also used to purchase services like “clearing trees”
• The act of asking neighbors for help keeps them engaged in the game – the viral effect. Interesting.
• When you get gifts from friends (i.e. a “Zoning Permit”) it makes you feel good (thanks Garrett)
• As there’s more stuff built, there’s more to keep track of – a bit stressful
• My real life is stressful enough, why do I want to have to worry about a virtual one?

So clearly I am not the target for many different reasons but I absolutely get why lots of people find these kinds of games addicting and most certainly why advertisers are smart to join in.

More to come…so stay tuned.

At 30 years old, Pac-Man hasn’t aged a bit.

When I heard the other day that Namco’s popular arcade game, Pac-Man, was turning 30, I had to do a double take. How was that possible?

I remember, like it was yesterday, the anticipation of the occasional Sunday night family jaunt to Louisa’s Pizza (which, at the time, had an adjacent arcade room). My brother and I burned through quarters playing Centipede, Galaga, and, of course, Pac-Man while waiting for our Pizza. But that was the early 1980s and it’s now 2010.

Video games (and their respective marketing opportunities) have come a long way in the past 30 years as my colleague Ilya Vedrashko illustrates so well. And with Microsoft’s Project Natal finally coming to fruition by this year’s holiday season, the user-experience bar and marketing potential will be raised even higher.

But I must admit, as I played around with Google’s in-banner Pac-Man tribute (and stunningly accurate recreation of the game), I found myself drawn in.

Was it nostalgia? Maybe. Or was it a simple elegance that, for a very brief moment, gave me pause from just how complicated (yet amazing) life, as enabled by technology, has become. (So he says as he downloads Pac-Man to his iPad ;-)

So happy 30th birthday, Pac-Man – your yellow skin is still as wrinkle free as ever.

I cross-posted this on Hill Holliday's blog.

6 Easter Eggs – Cross Channel

[Who doesn’t like discovery?]

While there will be many-a-child tomorrow searching for eggs filled with candy for those who celebrate Easter, one need not wait for Peter Cottontail to arrive.  Here are a 6 “Easter Eggs” embedded across media channels that are persistent year-round.

1. Movies: Yoda dances hip-hop on the Star Wars “Revenge of the Sith” DVD
2. Web: Chuck Norris finds you on Google (hat tip: Mashable)
3. Music: On the Boogie Nights soundtrack, an extra song plays
4. TV: George Takei kicks it old school on Heroes
5. Video Games: In Super Mario Galaxy, a secret “Grand Finale” galaxy is revealed
6. Books: JK Rowling gets creative with an important phone #

What are some of your favorite “media easter eggs” that you’ve experienced over the years?

The Potential Power of Foursquare.

It’s as if Yelp, Twitter, and Facebook “got together” and somehow had a baby – and they named it Foursquare. In our ever increasing hyper sharing of status updates society, Foursquare has been said by some to be the breakout hit of 2010.

The premise is simple (and, admittedly, a bit addicting): As you’re out and about, go to Foursquare on pretty much any mobile device to “check-in” as you arrive at your destination. Once checked-in, you can find out things like:

1. Who else is currently checked-in
2. Tips about the spot from others who have been there
3. How many total check-ins (and hence popularity)

The more you check-in the more you’re rewarded with social currency in the form of various badges -- and you can share your “virtual acquisitions” automatically on Twitter and Facebook.

And, of course, each location has a Mayor – the person who has checked-in to a given location the most.

[So why all of the hype?]

In addition to the obvious social implications, there are powerful opportunities for brands – some of which, like Pepsi, have already taken advantage of the service for sponsorship.

Image Source: DPstyles Flickr Photostream

There are increasing numbers of local businesses who offer specials and discounts to Foursquare users understanding that each time a person checks-in, it’s free promotion for their establishment.

And last November, BART (The Bay Area Rapid Transit) partnered with Foursquare with a special BART-themed badge and contest.

It’s been under a year since the service was announced (at 2009’s SXSW) and it seems as though user-behavior and technology are primed, ripe and aligned going into 2010 for location-based services like Foursquare to scale for mass usage like we’ve already seen from Twitter and Facebook.

And now is a good time for brands to take advantage of some early “test and learn” opportunities with the service to establish a foothold within an almost certain-to-grow user base.