A Different Type Of Music Game, On IPhone

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Two developers have created an iPhone game inspired by the work of a single artist, Texas singer and songwriter Daniel Johnston. It even draws its title from Johnston’s catchphrase, Hi, How Are You? The game not only uses Johnston’s musical work but draws visuals and game design concepts directly from his artwork, which has appeared over the years in his albums and merchandise. The developers, based in Austin, Texas, spent months creating the game universe based on Johnston’s philosophy on life as delivered through his lyrics and work. The result seems to be a fantastically creative platform game, what NY Times describes as a spiritual variation on Frogger.

The creators of “Hi, How Are You?” seem very much devoted fans of Johnston. Their concept however seems more inspired than something drawn from mere fan devotion. They may have uncovered inspiration for other musicians whose work, and fan base, is primed for similar treatment. Read more at NY Times.

The Next Merchandising Frontier, Maybe

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HBO seemed to be entering the sugar water category this July when it rolled out Tru Blood, the blood-red drink originally seen on the network s eponymous vampire show. While the drink is available for purchase online, in reality HBO enlisted reverse-branding and defictionalization specialist Omni Consumer Products to create it. Fast Company has gathered a list of recent attempts to market so-called fantasy products. It turns out this variation on merchandising has precedence.

As Fast Company traces it, the practice started with a disastrous Disney and Hasbro partnership to market a real version of the gooey toy Flubber from its 1963 film Son of Flubber. Skin rashes and a small setback for the environment highlight that effort. More recent attempts have been strictly promotional, for instance the Simpsons movie promotion turning 7-11 Slurpees into Apu-endorsed Squishies. Others have taken a crack at creating a niche, such as Jelly Belly s Harry Potter flavor jelly beans. Overall, and Flubber aside, none have come close to being a mass marketed product.

In addition to the Tru Blood drink, Omni has developed products from films Idiocracy and Anchorman. Available at their site: Sex Panther cologne. Just in time for Christmas. Check out the media rich feature at Fast Company.

Mediaweek 2010 Media Outlook

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Mediaweek spoke to analysts and industry executives to get a bead on ad revenue for 2010. The outlook for the coming year seems to center on the fact that everyone is bidding a fond farewell to a dismal 2009. Yet as the magazine moves from sector to sector, what it paints is a picture evoking a New Year’s party where the most somber guests might be in the VIP section.

Broadcast TV is one such VIP. The giant of the media sector, made up of the five major networks, saw 20 percent less ad money in its upfront marketplace this year. It’s expected to end up 11 percent down for the year before looking forward to several more down years. Yet its slump reads like a subplot. More and more evidence is mounting that the traditional TV ad model needs to adjust to changing viewing habits. For years we’ve been seeing studies about viewers flocking from TV to games, web and other distractions. In a stroke of irony a device designed to enhance TV watching is taking the latest lead role as a direct threat to the medium. Much noise is being made about a study by TiVo, released last week and picked up by [a]list daily, that found time-shifted DVR viewing accompanied by likely ad-skipping for popular shows. In one figure from the study, three-quarters of people watched NBC’s hit show 30 Rock on DVR last year and two-thirds of them skipped ads. As staggering as that sounds, the average person has to wonder why the other third are sitting through ads. That’s the reality TV executives are facing. Analyst PriceWaterhouseCoopers tells Mediaweek they see TV’s valley getting deeper, with ad revenues slumping until 2013, but they believe the money will flow back as networks get serious about using technology to advance the way they target and engage with their ads.

The outlook says Digital is looking at a promising 2010. How promising varies from component to component, and even analyst to analyst with eMarketer forecasting 9.4 percent growth in online advertising overall while PwC pegs it at only 3 percent. That uncertainty could reflect what Mediaweek calls out as a 2009 replete with revised budgets and late spending. The report predicts very modest growth for display ads, which are still struggling with poor metrics. Search and online video on the other hand are seen as digital darlings, both forecast for healthy growth as the economy continues to recover next year. So is mobile. You can call the market size for mobile ads a frozen rock floating among gas giants, and that s how advertisers looking ahead to their 2010 revenues may see it. Yet the sector is getting one the most bullish forecasts. PwC sees it more than doubling in 2010 to $2.9 billion, driven by more mobile sites able to deliver rich media. Brand marketers should take note. While TV clearly struggles with changing habits and the internet deals with growing pains in measuring ads effectively, mobile s third screen is shaping to be the one with the sweetest growth curve ahead of it.

 

Mediaweek’s 2010 outlook also looks at cable TV, print, radio and out-of-home. Read the full analysis at Mediaweek.

‘Assassin’s Creed II’ Trailer

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Ubisoft released this cinematic trailer for the follow-up to its 2007 blockbuster. The publisher has to know there is a lot to communicate to new and old fans alike, with this sequel to Assassin’s Creed delivering a completely new character and premise as well serious enhancements to its stealth-action game play. Imagine it this way. Marketing has bullet points to hit with the trailer to lay the groundwork for its ad blitz. Sales has to take this thing on the road and let it convince retail partners it s a follow-up worthy of its brisk-selling predecessor. Meantime, as much as PR can leverage the AC brand to shoehorn this into sites, they still need to wow media outlets and contacts who are indulging in epic content of all kind in the run-up to the Holidays.

Ubisoft’s trailer nails it on all fronts. From a stylistic standpoint, it s what it needs to be as Hollywood slick and artistically executed. As for covering everything else, watch it and pay attention to how masterfully it moves along and crescendos emotionally while you re getting to know the new character, new premise, game play and new features. What a way to sell the sell-sheet.

 

Watch the trailer at GameTrailers.

The Sound Visualization Engine

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Creator Minivegas says its neat tech is perfect for game ads. The UK animation house has released a demo of their sound visualization engine called Responsive Sculptures. In the demo showing the basic functions of what the tech can do, geometric shapes in a virtual art gallery react in real-time to audio inputs. As voice and music is channeled into the engine, the shapes move, bounce, blend and twist in rhythm to the sound to form all manner of abstract shapes.

In an interview with Creativity Online, Luc Schurgers from Minivegas calls the demo a piece designed to highlight their tech and also show how it can run on a two year old laptop. He describes the engine as an evolution of an earlier project Minivegas developed for an ultimately unhappy client. When asked what applications he sees for it, Schurgers points out the opportunities are endless, then pinpoints the potential to combine their engine with a game engine in a live action shoot for a game ad.

 

Watch a demo and read the interview with Minivegas at Creativity Online.

Shack News Video Game Release List 9/27 — 10/3

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This week’s release slate for PC, 360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii and DS. The industry goes fishing this week, taking in a deep breath before the Holiday exhaling begins perhaps.

Bass Pro Shops: The Strike and its hardware peripheral hits 360 and Wii, while Beaterator and Gran Turismo PSP are among new PSP releases supporting the launch of PSP Go on October 1.

Check out the full list at Shack News.

TGS 2009 Sees 9,000 Fewer Attendees Than ’08

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Tokyo Game Show saw attendance decline overall but set a consumer day record. The show is broken down into two business-only days before letting consumer visitors buy tickets to enter. The record was set on the second public day, when nearly 72,000 people were at the show.

Business attendance remained steady in year over year comparison with 2008. In reporting the story, the media sources [a]list daily researched including Gamesindustry.biz haven’t explicitly pinpointed the source of the overall decline. (One site we’ll keep unnamed takes a stab by citing economic slump colluding with swine flu.) With some conjecture on our part, based on numbers made public it could have stemmed from fewer attendees as the show wore on, perhaps fueled by shorter stays by visiting industry folk. GI.biz also reports dates set for 2010, with organizer CESA considering cutting one business day for a three-day show.

 

Read more at Gamesindustry.biz.

PSP Go October 1 Launch Packing 16,000 Punches

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Sony s PSP Go launch slate includes 225 games plus a huge library of other content. As broken down at Industry Gamers, in addition to the games, buyers can download over 13,300 TV shows and 2,300 movies at PlayStation Network on day one. To round out the math, that would mean another 175 or so assorted pieces of content available.

Also reported by IG, an unfortunate piece of news for PSP Go buyers in the US is that there will be no free game program outside of Europe. The program rewards old PSP owners in Europe with three free game downloads for PSP Go once they access the PS Network with their old unit and a UMD disc in the drive.

 

Study Finds Fewer Clicks But Ad Content Engaged More On Social Sites

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Social media users spend more time with the ads they launch, says Lotame. Reported by Brian Morrissey for Ad Age, the social media marketer studied 100 rich media campaigns on sites such as Bebo and Flixster. It compared its own measurements with industry standards published by DoubleClick. Click-through rates on the social media sites Lotame measured were lower than the industry average, yet it found evidence of more engagement when ad units were launched on those sites. In one example from the study, the firm found that while DoubleClick measured 62 percent completion rate for in-page videos the rate was 68 percent in the study’s sites.

Morrissey presents the often argued position that current online ad measurements need an overhaul, quoting from a recent blog by Internet Advertising Bureau chairman Shelby Bonnie to kill the CPM. Lotame and other agencies are exploring methods such as time exposed and cost per engagement to replace the click-through model.

A YouTube Channel To Lift All Marketers, Courtesy Of Google

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Google worked with Wharton School of Business to create Fast.Forward, a marketing channel on YouTube. As the [a]list daily sees it, the channel delivers content, video and otherwise, that hopes to help marketers catch up to current trends and never get left behind again. It s also designed as a forum of ideas, so the next big trend could be taking shape in discussions there already.

 

Read more, and access the channel, at eMarketing Newsletter.