Spotify has created an all-new gaming channel, where fans can enjoy a variety of original soundtracks or explore curated and community-made playlists.
As the official music streaming service for PlayStation 3 and 4, it comes as no surprise that the company would create this channel—just that it took so long. The gaming channel is most likely a response to the sudden demand for Pokémon music to listen to while users are out playing Pokémon GO. Over the weekend, following the game’s release in July, Spotify reported a 362 percent jump in streams for the original television theme song Gotta Catch ‘Em All.
The new gaming channel features over 100 original video game soundtracks ranging from classics like Mega Man and Grim Fandango to new releases such as No Man’s Sky, Halo 5 and Uncharted 4. Playlists range from “Power Gaming,” a collection of tracks designed to get you pumped up, to “Retrowave,” filled with 1980’s-inspired synth and electronica.
Spotify has partnered with popular gaming sites to create their own “guest lists,” a chance for brands like Polygon, Gamesbeat and Mashable to cross-promote the gaming channel to their fans.
This new feature also adds opportunities for gamer-focused marketing. With over 100 million users (30 percent being paid subscribers), the streaming service can now offer the channel to prospective advertisers. In March, the company introduced Billboard (popular among desktop users) to its mobile app, which presents display ads across both iOS and Android devices with a system called Overlay Mobile. The feature uses pop-up ads as a large screensaver when users return to Spotify after long periods of inactivity, providing a whopping 100 percent viewability.
Gaming isn’t the only way Spotify is diversifying. The streaming giant is also producing 12 original shows for the video and podcast format. The most recent announcement is Deconstructed, an animated video debuting on YouTube. The first episode, a collaboration with short-form animation studio ATTN, tells the story of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) from its roots in the 1970s to the raves of today.
Although music remains the main focus for Spotify, offering a variety of content for users casts a wider net for brand discovery—and digital ad revenue.
While E3 continues to get most of the press—even if lately much of the focus has been on the expansion of the industry trade show into a public hybrid event—Gamescom remains the largest video game show in the world today. Last year, over 345,000 people made the trek to Cologne, Germany. While most of those attendees were gamers attending the public show, the trade show visitors continue to grow.
Gamescom is unique in the video game market, as it kicks off Aug. 15 with GDC Europe and then transitions into a trade-only event Aug. 17 (with the trade portion continuing through Aug. 19 in a special closed-off area not accessible by the public). From Aug. 18-to-21, the rest of the massive Koelnmesse convention center.
“The unique concept of the show from the very beginning is that we cover trade, consumer, developers and publishers, and that’s only possible because of our dedicated specific platforms—GDC Europe at start, developers, publishers and press in the business area, which is the leading B2B platform in Europe, and the entertainment area, where they can get hands-on with the newest games and innovations for the first time,” Tim Endres, project manager for Gamescom, told [a]listdaily. “We get attendees from nearly 1,000 countries. We’re able to address all target groups in one date at one fair.”
Although he didn’t have specific numbers, Endres said there’s been high interest from US attendees in the past, and again this year.
“Gamescom is the only fair that has a very high diversity of platforms with console, mobile and PC gaming, hardware, virtual reality and eSports,” Endres said. “It makes Gamescom interesting for everyone because the focus is on the whole world of gaming.”
Endres said back when the show moved from Leipzig to Cologne in 2009, it started with 458 exhibitors, 17,000 trade visitors and 120,000 square meters of floor space. Last year, those numbers had increased to 806 exhibitors, 33,000 trade visitors and 193,000 square meters of floor space.
“We’ve seen a high growth rate across all three of these areas,” Endres said. “In 2016, we will follow these increases with 850 exhibitors from 53 countries, which is up from 45 countries last year. The international scope also increases with 26 country pavilions, including new countries like Indonesia, the Philippines and Columbia. This underlines the international scope of Gamescom as the leading trade fair.”
Following in the footsteps of France, the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom the past three years, Turkey is the official partner country of Gamescom 2016. Endres said this decision was made by the advisory board last October.
“Turkey is interesting for our exhibitors because it’s a big market that’s growing,” Endres said. “There are also governmental supporting programs coming up that will help bring new game developers on the market. We expect 30 exhibitors from Turkey in Hall 3.2.”
Endres said two key focuses again at Gamescom this year will be eSports and virtual reality.
“Our main theme this year is Heroes in New Dimensions, which means virtual reality with hardware like PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and many others on the show floor,” Endres said. “That also applies to eSports, which has massive global attention and is opening up many new opportunities.”
ESL will be in Hall 9 hosting eSports competitions throughout the show. Blizzard will have Hall 7 eSports competitions. And China’s World Cyber Arena will be in Hall 5 hosting eSports matches. The size of all three company spaces has increased for 2016.
There’s also a “big increase” in virtual reality games and event space for both the trade and public side of the show, although Endres didn’t have a breakdown with numbers to compare 2015 to 2016.
The public tickets for Gamescom were completely sold out at the end of July, which Endres said is the earliest the show has ever sold out. (Selling out Gamescom is an annual tradition.) When you add the attending journalists, developers, publishers and public for the entire Gamescom week, which includes GDC Europe and the City Festival in downtown Cologne, Endres expects over 500,000 visitors this year.
This huge audience has opened up new sponsorship opportunities for companies interested in reaching a wide European audience, since attendees fly in or take trains from around the European Union.
Endres notes that while sponsorships aren’t as popular at European shows as they are in the US, Red Bull has stepped in as the exclusive energy drink partner for Gamescom 2016. In addition to having an outdoor area next to Hall 8 for events like motorcycle jumping, Red Bull will also have a booth inside Hall 8 featuring its new Red Bull Air Race game from publisher Wing Racer. Red Bull drinks have always been sold at Gamescom.
German mineral water company Gerolsteiner is also an official sponsor of Gamescom and will provide free drinks to visitors as they wait in line to get in.
Those traditionally long public lines will be even slower this year as a result of new safety and prevention measures that have been adapted. New control measures include bag checks, which will be carried out at the entrances before entering the fair grounds. These measures were put in place after a series of terrorist attacks that have occurred throughout Germany this year, dating back to 1,200 alleged sexual assaults (including 600 in Cologne) on New Year’s Eve 2015.
At 93-years-young, revered comic book scribe Stan Lee is still learning the tricks of the trade, and producing comics that generations of fans have learned to love.
The creator of Spider-Man, the Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, et al, is now introducing immersive storytelling in virtual reality to his distinguished dossier for his new animated series Stan Lee’s Cosmic Crusaders.
Lee, the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics and a 75-year veteran of the film industry, designated full-scale solutions firm Legend VR to create episodes for his new property.
“I can’t wait for everyone to see what the wizards at Legend 3D created for our new series Cosmic Crusaders,” said Lee, who edited and voiced himself as one of the show’s main characters. “Turning me into virtual reality, wow, what will they think of next? This is truly a unique experience for both me and comic book fans.”
Cosmic Crusaders begins by following Lee while he’s having writers block and trying to come up with a new comic; he meets seven aliens who have crash-landed in the US and eventually helps them learn how to access and use their powers as superpowers on Earth. Cosmic Crusaders is co-produced by Genius Brands International and written by Deadpool co-creator Fabian Nicienza.
Will Maurer, vice president of business development for Legend VR’s standalone VR and VFX divisions, previously cut his teeth at Deluxe converting 2D theatrical content into stereoscopic 3D imagery on such projects as San Andreas, Point Break, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Mad Max: Fury Road.
Maurer joined [a]listdaily to discuss why Cosmic Crusaders has been his favorite VR project to date.
Why was the collaboration with Stan Lee’s Cosmic Crusaders a good fit for the Legend VR company profile? How was the partnership formed?
With over fifteen VR projects under our belt, Legend VR is a full-service VR creative agency that creates, develops and produces VR projects from inception through final deliverables. The Cosmic Crusaders project came to us from a meeting with Deb Pierson and Mark Young at Genius Brands International. They saw what we’re doing in VR and were looking for a team that could pull off 2D-motion comic animation at a high level, with a quick turnaround. VR was almost an afterthought for this project given the compressed timeframe to turn something around for Comic-Con, but we knew we couldn’t pass up an opportunity to create Stan Lee’s first VR experience. Our team came up with a truly innovative way to tell the Cosmic Crusaders story in a VR format, and we were even able to incorporate the Legendary Stan Lee into the finished product—how many people can say that?
How was the debut of the episodes received at Comic-Con? Take us through what the experience is like.
The Cosmic Crusaders VR experience was very well received. A new episode premiered each day of Comic-Con on the Hindsight VR app, and those fortunate enough to attend Comic-Con got to see a teaser of the first episode on the Samsung Gear VR headset. A seemingly never-ending line of fans of all ages formed at our booth from open to close of the convention each day to try the experience. The most echoed comment was ‘oh my God, I’m sitting right next to Stan Lee!’
There was a large appetite for VR at this year’s Comic-Con, with crowds waiting upward of four hours to try the most anticipated VR experiences like Cosmic Crusaders, Suicide Squad and Mr. Robot. I’m predicting that next year will be the tipping point where more content will premiere in VR than traditional media.
How do you successfully translate comic book storytelling to VR? What’s the special sauce that makes it work?
The thing that most excites us about original content for VR is the ability to reimagine traditional comics into a fully immersive VR experience. A lot of research and development have gone into crafting an unparalleled 360-degree experience that allows the user to experience the action jumping off the page and playing out all around them. Timing and layout of the action in a 360 space with ambisonic audio and innovative transitions from scene to scene are all key factors that play into a memorable VR experience.
Are partnerships, like the one you secured with The Hollywood Reporter, a trend we’ll see developing between VR creators and media companies? What makes such a union work so well?
Exceptional VR content is hard to come by, and a lot of our competitors that are producing VR content are still trying to figure out the technology, post and storytelling aspects that make for a great VR experience. At Legend, we started our research and development in the VR space two years ago, which is light years ahead of other companies in our space. Since then, we’ve worked on projects for clients such as WB, Apple Music, Tidal, Annapurna Pictures, Legendary Pictures, Stan Lee, MasterCard and Patrón, to name a few. Media, branding and marketing partnerships have been a large driving force for VR content in the early stages. Brands and media companies come to us to create a memorable experience around their product, and we work with them every step of the way through the process. And quality and cost efficiencies are just as important to us as it is to our clients, which creates a sustainable relationship.
How would you describe the current consumer appetite for VR content? What kind of an experience works best for the platform?
Giving VR demos of Cosmic Crusaders at Comic-Con was a good case study for the appetite and reaction to VR. Everyone who saw the Gear VR headsets immediately wanted to try them. A good amount of people at the show—roughly 75 percent, I’d say—had not yet tried any form of VR, which surprised me, especially for a Comic-Con crowd. I gave demos to people ranging from 4-to-70-years-old, and regardless of age, they universally shared the same excitement and positive reaction to what we’d created. It reaffirms my passion for this medium when I see the smiles on the faces of the people who just had their first VR experience. Until the resolution on smartphones gets better, and tethered devices become more widespread, the best VR experiences will combine both CG and live-action hybrid. You have the ability to fully immerse a viewer in a new environment, so why not make it something they’ve never seen or experienced before? I also like the incorporation of ambisonic audio and 3D conversion, both of which we at Legend are proficient in. These elements really take VR to another level of immersion.
What is currently the biggest challenge for marketing VR?
VR’s biggest challenges are the low resolution of smartphones and the fact that the most widely used viewing device is the Google Cardboard. The distribution platforms are also riddled with low-quality productions with poorly stitched or produced content and storytelling, which requires users to sift through a lot of bad content in an effort to find something compelling and visually pleasing.
What is your favorite VR project to date that you’ve worked on?
We have so many great projects in the hopper, but non-disclosure agreements prevent me from discussing them now. Hands down, though, my most memorable project has to be the Cosmic Crusaders VR experience. The opportunity to meet and collaborate with Stan Lee was a dream come true. In person, he’s just as captivating and enchanting as the superheroes he’s famous for creating.
How does Stan Lee editing and voicing himself as one of the show’s main character help put the project on the forefront? What is it like working with him?
Stan Lee participating as a character and narrating the series gives the series that edge that only he can provide. Stan wanted to go for an edgy, adult vibe with Cosmic Crusaders, and we wanted the motion comics to mirror the tone of the writing. We went for dramatic shadows and exaggerated colors, with an overall stylized cinematic look and feel to each scene. We learned on the day of the shoot that it was the first time Stan had done VR, and boy was that an experience. He put the headset on and we showed him a rough of the 360-degree CG environment, with the storyboards playing on a futuristic projector within that environment. As soon as Stan saw himself on the boards, he shouted, ‘hey, there I am—look at how handsome they made me look!’ Needless to say, the room erupted with laughter at his enthusiasm and passion for what we had created. We tried a few different techniques on set to get the best performance for his intros and outros, and when we told him to improvise, the scenes came to life. Stan said, ‘just say action and I’ll take it from there.’ He spent the next hour ad-libbing lines with energy that rivaled some of the most famous superheroes he’s created.
How does Legend VR plan on continuing to expand capability in the space?
Legend has had a focus of staying at the forefront of trends and technology, which gives us a competitive edge. We’re always working with clients and other VR companies in a collaborative manner to help address the technology, storytelling, production and post-related challenges that are prevalent in these early days of VR.
Nvidia is on the ground in Seattle for the second year in a row, collaborating with Valve for the $20 million Dota 2 championship as the official graphics card of the tournament. In addition to featuring the largest prize pool in the history of eSports, The International (TI6) is also the first major tournament played using GeForce GTX 1080 GPUs—which James Grunke, head of global eSports at Nvidia, said is the fastest GPU on earth—on 180Hz G-Sync Asus HD monitors.
“The International keeps growing in excitement,” Grunke said. “We expect the audience to set records again this year. It’s amazing in digital media, the way eSports has exploded, and Dota 2 is truly a global phenomenon, bringing kids together from around the world.”
Another first for the tournament is the launch of Valve’s Dota 2 VR Hub, which allows HTC Vive owners to experience the eSports action with up to 15 friends in a public lobby or an invite-only private viewing party. The Hub features both live and recorded matches in a virtual theater.
Mark Smith, worldwide manager of developer relations for games at Nvidia, said that Valve set up Vive demo stations at KeyArena to showcase various VR games, including AudioShield, Project Arena, Space Pilot Simulator, Hover Junkers and the Dota 2 VR Hub.
“All of these demos are running on the GeForce GTX 1080,” Smith said. “You can check out the mixed reality stream to get a peek at the VR games being shown live on Twitch.”
Smith said virtual reality opens up exciting opportunities for new ways to view and engage with eSports content.
“The Dota 2 VR Hub is a great example of this,” Smith said. “It allows players to experience the Dota 2 matches in VR, allowing users to watch games either in a virtual theater or by diving into the game to get an eye-level view of the action. It enables fans who can’t make the trip to the TI6 a way to have a similar social experience as watching the matches live at KeyArena.”
Grunke said a five-man video crew has been on the ground this week to capture exclusive content for the Nvidia Gaming Network.
“Our philosophy for providing content for our viewers is behind-the-scenes and human stories for fans that don’t have the opportunity to talk to players themselves,” Grunke said. “We’re not a play-by-play highlight film outlet; we’re a human story outlet. We also focus on performance for our audience, helping them become better gamers.”
Nvidia is actively engaging with this audience via social media. Its Twitter channel has over one million followers.
“Our Twitter feed has a ton of content with pro players and fans,” Grunke said. “We do short behind-the-scenes content that helps the fans to understand what it’s like to be a player in this league.”
Nvidia is currently running a TI6 Game Ready promotion where fans can vote for their favorite teams to win. For each vote received, the contest raises the bar for GPU prizes that range from GTX 1060s all the way to GTX 1080s with G-Sync monitors.
Grunke said having Dota 2 showcased at TI6 running on the latest Nvidia hardware is a great way to market this technology directly to the global eSports fan base. “G-Sync technology removes all of the visual noise to allow players to have a better view of the action, which enables higher performance for the pro players themselves,” Grunke said.
Valve isn’t doing a sponsor village at The International this year. The software and technology giant also doesn’t officially work with sponsors or play commercials during livestreams. “We’re there in force as a partner,” Grunke said. “Our branding is on the floor and around the VR activities. It’s our responsibility to make the news known.”
Grunke said the International is the highlight of an increasingly frenetic eSports season that is driving not only the PC industry, but new kinds of entertainment. “This isn’t a regional phenomenon,” Grunke said. “People all over the world play the same games, and follow the same teams.”
Nvidia also works with ESL and has run two CS:GO majors with GeForce GTX and G-Sync technology in addition to three ESL One Dota 2 tournaments. When a character runs past a crack in the door, a normal monitor shows just a blur, but Grunke said that with GeForce GTX and G-Sync, you can see details like their shoelaces.
From movie trailers to 360-degree videos and virtual reality, video is an effective tool for building excitement about a brand. Now, thanks to platforms like Twitch, YouTube and Facebook Live, livestream video marketing is making its way into the mainstream.
According to research by eMarketer, almost one-fifth of US media decision-makers plan to invest in live stream video ads over the next six months. Livestreaming requires little more than an HD video camera and strong internet connection, allowing brands to explore this new medium with minimal upfront investment. Measuring return on investment depends on the campaign, but can be as simple as gauging the amount of viewers, comments, or using a vanity link to track site visits and purchases.
Starting A Conversation
Anyone who saw the man climbing Trump Tower on Wednesday witnessed first-hand the power of livestream video. WABC-TV’s page reached 4 million views. New York’s ABC 7 provided livestream coverage over Facebook, garnering nearly 6 million views and over 240,000 comments. While comments don’t necessarily equal sales, a conversation helps ensure that consumers remember your brand. While the Trump Tower climber isn’t a brand, necessarily, he wanted the attention of Presidential candidate Donald Trump and livestream footage of his actions made sure he got a lot of attention.
Livestream content also capitalizes on the “fear of missing out” phenomenon often attributed to Snapchat. Live video can create the same level of excitement of “seeing it first” or “being there,” that static videos cannot provide.
How Brands Use Livestream Content
USA Network got fans excited for Season 2 of Mr. Robot last month with a cryptic livestream on its Facebook page—resulting in 2.2 million views and over 250,000 comments. In celebration of National Fried Chicken Day, Popeyes took to Facebook Live in July with a virtual drive-thru window and jazz musician. Fans were encouraged to interact with the stream through trivia, music and games. Participants in the US who commented also had the chance to win a delivery of Popeyes’ limited-time offer of their $5 Boneless Wing Bash. McDonald’s hosted a similar event for National Hamburger Day, in which viewers could watch a Bob Ross-type artist unveil burger-inspired works of art.
Epic Games has created an impressive community of over 20,000 followers around its weekly Twitch livestreams for Unreal Engine. Developers and video game fans alike tune in on a regular basis to watch tutorials, ask questions and interact with users to share interests. Netflix promoted its break-out hit show Stranger Things with a Twitch livestream that allowed users to vote on what scary event would happen to the unlucky hosts on screen.
Some Brands Are Still Hesitant
While a number of marketers have jumped on the livestream bandwagon, others aren’t so sure. In June, Trusted Media Brands, previously The Reader’s Digest Association, polled 305 US media decision-makers, including both agency and client-side marketers, about future investment in livestream video advertising. According to the data, 60 percent of in-house and 71 percent of agency marketers said they “might” invest in livestream format, compared to 17 percent of agency and 19 percent of in-house marketers who “definitely plan” on allocating budget to live stream video ads in the second half of 2016.
From exclusive footage to behind the scenes looks, breaking news or just silly fun, how brands use livestream is limited only to the imagination.
With devices such as the Nvidia Shield Android TV, the Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and the recently launched Razer Forge TV, the set-top gaming box market is looking increasingly crowded. However, French technology company, EMTEC, believes that there’s room for one more, and it’s taking on some of the biggest names in games and retail with a small device called the GEM Box.
Retailing for $99, the GEM Box comes with a GEM Pad controller and connects to televisions to play Android games on the big screen. It is also one of the only set-top boxes that supports the GameFly Streaming service in addition to streaming games from PCs over an in-home network if the computer has a Nvidia graphics card. Furthermore, users can mirror content from their mobile devices, including iPhones.
Brent Kovalsky, director of sales at EMTEC and Nathalie Lamri, the company’s marketing and communication director, spoke with [a]listdaily about entering into the growing market of gaming set-top boxes and video game streaming.
Three years ago, before Lamri joined the company and took charge of product development, EMTEC was only involved in storage products such as flash drives, hard drives and SSDs. As storage evolved, EMTEC realized that it needed to branch out into new categories, and it found a niche in developing 3D rubber USB drives that come in different shapes, such as animals. This amplified EMTEC’s presence in the retail market and helped form key relationships with retail partners, which opened the door for new creative products such as the GEM Box.
The GEM Box is EMTEC’s most distinctive product, and it’s a key part of the company’s push into becoming a better-known brand in the US. Another key component is video game streaming, which the company believes is the next streaming service to explode, the way Netflix, Pandora and Spotify did in the past.
“The set-top box and smart TVs market is booming,” Lamri said. “If you look at all the smart TVs and set-top boxes, whether it’s Amazon, Apple TV, or the Google Chromecast—and now the GEM Box, which focuses on games—we believe that the market is going to boom on the Android side, along with game streaming.”
“If we look at the millions of Roku and Amazon TV boxes that have sold, we know there’s a huge market for it. But there’s not one that’s focused on gaming,” Kovalsky added.
Lamri initially partnered with a company called PlayCast, which was subsequently purchased by GameFly, which is why EMTEC enjoys a close relationship with the service. The GEM Box was developed with the realization that the future of gaming is digital, and what makes the console unique is its specific focus on gaming. The console launches later this month, and it won’t natively support apps such as Netflix or Hulu, although it may be possible through a third party app store. Kovalsky states that the company recognized that there was a niche in the market and that the GameFly streaming service would give the GEM Box the edge it needed to stand out.
Although there are a number of game streaming services available now, including Nvidia’s GeForce Now for Shield devices and Sony’s PlayStation Now, Kovalsky explains that “there are no big players out there that have been able to secure any service that has hit the mass market yet.”
When asked about competing set-top boxes such as the Nvidia Shield and its GeForce Now service, Kovalsky responded: “The Nvidia Shield is not a mass market product. It’s really targeting PC and Xbox users. It’s a premium product, it has a high price point, and it needs very high internet bandwidth—a minimum of 50 Mbps. For us, we’re targeting the mass market with the $99 price point and all the different ways to game on the box. The GameFly service only needs a minimum of 5 Mbps, but we suggest 8 Mbps.” He also stated that the average bandwidth in the US is around 11 Mbps, so the GEM Box can be used without any additional upgrades.
According to Kovalsky, GameFly is the ideal partner because it has the best global coverage and a recognizable brand name in gaming from its physical business. GameFly Streaming currently sports 72 games, and about 3-5 will be added each month. The service will also be helping to promote the GEM Box console.
“I understand that we’re not the biggest gaming name out there,” Kovalsky continued, “but there are so many different ways to game on the box. It comes with four free pre-loaded Android games, which gives you something to play right out of the box without having to download anything.” The GEM Box also includes three emulators to appeal to more tech-oriented gamers that want to play vintage games.
Additionally, EMTEC will continue to add Android games to its GEM Store, which features titles that are tested by the company so that they are guaranteed to work with the console and its gaming controller or a wired Xbox One gamepad. At launch, there were roughly 160 games available.
“On the GEM Store, we have found about 160 games on Android that are super good to play on TV,” explained Lamri. “That means you can play it on the big screen with a gamepad. This was not the case one year ago.”
Although there are no exclusive games for the GEM Box at this time, Kovalsky reveals that EMTEC is working to create a selection of games that may be specific to retail partners. Perhaps in the future, a retailer like GameStop could offer an exclusive GEM Box game. Although Kovalsky admits that some partners are still feeling a little burned after products like Ouya, they all recognize and accept the GEM Box as a great product. That’s why the biggest push will be to promote the GEM Box online and encourage customers to pick it up at Target or Walmart through their respective websites.
EMTEC has a marketing relationship with Gameloft. “As you’re playing their games [on the GEM Box], you’ll see our logo—or something of that nature,” said Kovalsky. Additionally, when users are searching for Gameloft games, they’ll find marketing campaigns mentioning GEM Box.
Kovalsky also states that the GEM Box is a very attractive alternative or addition to traditional consoles such as the Xbox One or PlayStation 4 because it is such an inexpensive introduction to video games. “I’d say the best reason to pick up the box is the affordability, all the features, and all the ways to game,” he said. “If you’re looking for an inexpensive way to get into gaming, this is it. You get a great value for what you’re buying. It’s a very inexpensive way for a family to game. A lot of the games on the GEM Store and GameFly Streaming can be played in multiplayer split-screen.”
Given its cute USB memory cards, EMTEC is a family-friendly brand, and the GEM Box is designed to fit into that. “The target audience for us, with all that we’ve put into the box, is family,” Kovalsky explained. “But I also think it hits that techie side because Android is an open platform. It’s a family price point, but it also appeals to that core gamer who wants to stream from the PC or play with the emulators. Plus, the GameFly service is very well received, and it has some pretty good games on it. The value is extraordinary.”
It is a curious time when the top news story of the day during the Olympics has nothing to do with the 2,000-plus-year-old sports event, but a different kind of stamina-testing stunt: a 20-year-old man with giant suction cups scaling the Trump Tower.
After hours of successfully evading any rescue attempts, authorities finally caught up with Stephen Rogata of Virginia, pulling him into safety through the window of a shoe store in the building. A planned feat, Rogata had posted a video the day prior addressed to the building’s namesake, Donald Trump himself.
“The reason why I climbed your tower, was to get your attention,” said Rogata, who was reportedly looking to meet with the Republican nominee.
What transpired during and after the stunt will live on in viral infamy. On the same day, The New York Times reported that a Facebook stream on the local WABC-TV’s page had already reached 4 million views. Our own sleuthing has counted over 360,000 mentions across Twitter, forums, blogs, news sites and videos.
It had the lawlessness of a car chase, the seat-gripping suspense—it had you rooting for someone who, while risking their life, has set out to not just make a statement, but a spectacle. This is the kind of stuff that prior to Facebook, would have gotten a plum spot on local TV, and maybe been picked up as a noteworthy story in other papers days after. But these are different times, and we’re constantly fiddling with our phones as every push alert vies for our attention.
According to the American Press Institute, 88 percent of millennials get their news from Facebook. For a platform that has put emphasis on its livestreaming capabilities as of late, it was a matter of time before this collided with news.
This was Facebook Live’s moment to shine that wasn’t just Chewbacca mom making you giggle for a moment, or Buzzfeed‘s exploding watermelon, but actual news as it broke (however silly it was), distributed and viewed via a medium we’re only just getting a grasp on.
What the Trump Tower climber shows us is that Facebook Live presents the ability to push messages of immediacy to an audience of scale more quickly than ever before. Given an outlet, the Trump Tower climber, as a young person, intimately understands this. By manufacturing the next conversation, he was able to command our attention, and by extension, Donald Trump’s, at an unprecedented level as we saw the event collectively unfold before us in our News Feeds.
Academy Award-winning actor Matthew McConaughey is a poster child for all-American masculinity. The aura of the bongo-playing Texas native oozes authenticity, and his intense and passionate portrayals mysteriously translate into truth and sincerity.
In a time when the social universe smells like solicitation at every click, as celebrity spokesmen slap a message with a “sponsored” label and call it a day, legacy brands are looking to reintroduce themselves to millennials with candor.
Enter Wild Turkey, who’s turning McConaughey into the face of their bourbon brand by signing the 46-year-old actor to a multi-year deal as creative director and chief storyteller of their forthcoming global campaign “It’ll Find You.”
“Wild Turkey has the history and qualities of a brand that depicts the dedication of someone to do something their own way—even if that way isn’t always the most popular,” McConaughey said. “I want to help share their unique story, starting with a new ad campaign that I feel really captures the special essence of this brand while introducing itself like never before . . . When making a movie, you have two hours to tell a story. Here I have 30 seconds to reintroduce the world to this authentic American brand that has helped shape an entire US industry. It will be a very interesting and fun challenge.”
McConaughey has always been interested in the art of the sell. This will be the first time that the sought-after actor, who previously has bared it for brands like Dolce & Gabbana and made driving Lincolns cool again, will write, direct and star in the Wild Turkey ads. As a college student, the Dallas Buyers Club star even interned at an advertising agency.
McConaughey can already be seen in a six-minute documentary chronicling the history of the 161-year-old brand during a visit to the Lawrenceburg, Kentucky-based Wild Turkey Distillery. The first television commercial (below) and McConaughey’s directorial debut was unveiled, too.
“So many times people choose their drinks to fit in and join the crowd,” said McConaughey. “Wild Turkey is about something different. The tagline ‘It’ll Find You’ is at the heart of what Wild Turkey is all about. If you are being yourself, unapologetically doing things your own way, then you are at home wherever you are, and Wild Turkey, well, it’ll find you.”
Melanie Batchelor, vice president for global premium spirits company Gruppo Campari, the parent company for Wild Turkey, joined [a]listdaily to share how McConaughey will usher in a new era of bourbon.
How did Wild Turkey go about identifying Matthew McConaughey as creative director? What was the selection process like?
We’ve set out an organic process to find someone who could become a spokesperson since 2014, and that’s when we first met with Matthew. We rebuilt the distillery, we built a number of warehouses to lay down more barrels, as well as a new state-of-the-art bottling facility. We’ve made a lot of investments in the brand, and when this opportunity came to us, given Matthew is such an authentic guy and someone who makes his own individual choices, he was a really perfect fit for our brand and the values that we have. We got really excited about the idea which went way beyond him being a celebrity spokesperson. Since then he’s been out to the distillery several times and built a really good connection with [father-son distiller duo] Jimmy and Eddie Russell. It’s just one of those things that evolved out of this period of time and we’ve gotten to a place now that we’re really excited with the collaboration.
What’s the message Wild Turkey wants to get convey? Who’s the audience you’re trying to reach with this reintroduction?
What we want Matthew to do is really help convey what the brand is all about, and what he saw when he came out and spent time with the Russells. Wild Turkey is a very authentic product—it has a very bold taste. It’s not the obvious choice; we’re quite a small brand. Over the years, the brand has had a revival. But for those people who know it, they really appreciate that Jimmy, who is our master distiller, has always made Wild Turkey exactly the same way. No matter what trends have come and gone, he’s always stuck with what he thinks is the right thing to do and the right way to make bourbon. We’ve set ourselves to celebrate people who also have that conviction to make their own individual choices, and not just follow trends. Matthew seemed to be the perfect fit to help us tell that story and for that real hint of what we’re going to be communicating during that campaign. He’s been absolutely engaged. We’ve had lots of discussions and debate over the last 18 months, talking about the campaign and how we needed to modernize the brand. He’s really processed a lot of things differently and been a great listener when we explain the brand’s background. It’s actually been a really great process, and I couldn’t be happier with the outcome.
What is the integrated marketing campaign with McConaughey designed to accomplish for the Wild Turkey brand?
We want to reintroduce the brand, especially to younger consumers. We’ve been a fairly quiet brand. A lot of people don’t really know what the brand is about. It’s really about how can we tell the story of the brand to more people, quickly. That’s why we’re entering this new long-term partnership and evolving through the campaign.
Can we expect a Matthew McConaughey-branded bourbon in the near future?
We’ve been talking about all sorts of interesting opportunities. I don’t have any more news to share, but as he came in to this partnership, he was primarily interested in the creative process. He’s a storyteller by trade, and he’s a master of his craft, and he respects that Jimmy and Eddie are masters of their craft as well. So the process for us has been, how can we connect and tell that story and that primary objective as we entered this relationship. We’re really excited about his involvement in all aspects of the creative process over the next few years.
Why is conceding creative control to celebrity storytellers a good fit for alcohol brands?
What’s been really great for us is to see how passionate Matthew is around the brand. He knows a lot about the brand history, he’s researched a lot about the people behind it. He got very involved as a creative director and really understands our beliefs, and what we were trying to accomplish, and how we were trying to tell this story about our brand to consumers. I wouldn’t say so much about conceding control but rather having a true collaborative partnership and that’s what’s really exciting for us because I can tell you, unlike many celebrity endorsement deals, he’s been intimately involved in every part of the process from writing the ads to working with artists and selecting music to directing and being in front of the camera.
Brands are also heavily leaning on influencers and social media stars. How is Wild Turkey positioning its influencer marketing campaigns to better connect with millennials?
That’s always been an important part of our marketing strategy, and we’re very lucky with Wild Turkey because while a lot of people don’t understand our brand, a lot of influencers, bloggers and mixologists really understand the quality and our story. We have great relationships with a lot of influencers but I think that Matthew is, for us, the influencer that can give us that draw on a global scale. We believe the influencer marketing strategy is going to be really powerful for the Wild Turkey story for people all over the world.
What are some other storytelling formats and social platforms you’ll be testing with this campaign?
This will be a fully integrated campaign. We’ve been working with Matthew in terms of how we can connect with consumers through all aspects of our media strategy, which a large part will include be social media.
How are you going to judge the outcome of the campaign?
It’s a great time to have a leading bourbon brand in the industry because bourbon is booming in the US and around the world, specifically in markets like Germany and the UK. At the end of the day, as Matthew says at the end of the documentary, ‘if it doesn’t work, we’re gonna be stuck with a whole lot of bourbon.’
Sonic the Hedgehog may be Sega’s iconic mascot, but the publisher has recently revealed that it’s seeing tremendous success with PC strategy game releases such as Total War: Warhammer, developed by The Creative Assembly. That success is bound to grow even further, given the enthusiastic response to Relic Entertainment’s Dawn of War III, an upcoming strategy game that takes place in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Both developers of these critically acclaimed strategy games are owned by Sega, and the investment is paying off.
Sega expanded its roster of strategy game developers with the recent acquisition of Amplitude Studios, based in Paris, France. The developer is known and respected for its breakout science fiction strategy game, Endless Space, which launched in 2012. Since then, the Endless franchise has grown to include the fantasy-inspired Endless Legend and the roguelike defense game Dungeon of the Endless. The developers are currently hard at work on Endless Space 2 using its Games2Gether platform to engage with players during the development process by allowing fans to make design suggestions and vote on features. The sequel, which is expected to release next year, is being promoted with an “Amplified Reality” experience, where pressing the keyboard’s space bar flips the game trailer to an alternate video that runs concurrently and shows everything through a computerized sensor.
Romain de Waubert de Genlis, creative director and COO of Amplitude Studios, spoke with [a]listdaily about becoming part of the Sega family, how the publisher fits with growing the Endless franchise, and how the relationship could lead to endless opportunity.
How did the deal with Sega come together?
It all started when some very big companies started contacting us about a year ago, very bluntly talking about acquisition. To be honest, it was not something we were considering at the time. But after the third company approached us with very convincing arguments, we decided to sit down and think about it seriously. That’s when we had some very interesting first conversations with Sega.
As our games were getting more and more expensive to create, due to increased production values, we obviously needed to generate more sales to cover the cost. So we decided we had to get more people to know about us, to increase our player base, and therefore our revenue.
But we came to the realization that this was not who we were. First and foremost, we are game creators—a creativity-driven, and not a business-driven, company. So we needed to find a company that would let us focus on game creation.
We looked a bit at publishing deals and realized that at best, we would have found a partner who would have created an economic dependence between us, taken full control of marketing and our community, and potentially killed us a few years down the road. We decided to pass on such opportunities.
If we wanted to keep growing our ambitions, we figured that joining forces with a bigger company was, therefore, the only way to go, and Sega was by far the most attractive company to join. It has a great history, brands we are immensely fond of, and a development vision very much in line with our own.
What impressed you most about Sega’s marketing approach?
The most interesting thing about them is how the studios lead not just their production, but also their marketing and PR worldwide, with the headquarters organized as a support company. Therefore, we were allowed to keep working with the same level of agility and control as before, but with the muscle of an international publisher behind us.
What does the deal with Sega enable Amplitude to do that it couldn’t before?
Play Dawn of War III and all Total War games before everyone else! Just for that, it was worth it!
More seriously, we now have the right partnership to expand in some territories where we had a lot of potential but lacked reach. We can also look at safely growing our team, as we had always wanted, to reach around a hundred developers three years from now while attracting top talent who would be reassured by Sega’s solid reputation.
In term of PR, we can already see quite a difference, where being part of the Sega family definitely opens many new doors!
How do the Amplitude and Sega brands complement each other?
Looking at Sega’s already strong position in the strategy segment, with quite a few amazing brands like Dawn of War, Company of Heroes and Total War, it is flattering to believe we could reinforce their lineup.
Yet it looks like with our turn-based 4X games, Endless Legend and Endless Space, and our roguelike Dungeon of the Endless, we’ll bring a new set of game development experiences backed by a strong community. I hope that the Endless Universe will find a great new home within Sega to thrive and explore new possibilities!
How have fans responded to the news so far?
Globally, it has been very positive, as many understand that having Sega backing us means a bright future for our games. They bought Creative Assembly twelve years ago—and it is thriving—Relic four years ago, and now we are all drooling in front of Dawn of War III. I can’t wait to see what Amplitude will become in 10 years thanks to them.
Some fans were concerned by what people assume is Sega’s DLC policy. We are still trying to understand what it means for our players. Overall, as we are very pro-DLC, we want to make sure it is seen as added value to our games.
Does this deal impact the development and release of Endless Space 2?
Sega has been great. All we have been told so far was: “Guys, there is no rush, quality first, ship it when you feel it is ready, and definitely not earlier to please us.” We were surprised, but that felt good to hear. So we could say that we took a bit more time, for some extra polish.
Amplitude has stated that the PC strategy game market has become a very crowded place. What do you think it is about the Endless franchise that helps it stand out from the rest?
The Endless series shows that you can make a game in what is believed to be a very niche, yet respected, genre, and bring it to a bigger audience.
Our recipe? Attention to details: visuals by Corinne Billon (art director at Amplitude) and our amazing artists; music by FlybyNo; interface worked on by Mathieu Girard (CEO of Amplitude) and his team from the first day to the last day; story written and polished by Jeff Spock (narrative director at Amplitude) and his team of writers, and finally a game design improved, tweaked, tuned and balanced in collaboration with our amazing community through the Games2Gether platform.
There is never an area of the game [development] where we believe we can rest on our laurels, or that it’s already good enough. We polish it, and then polish it some more until we love it. Only then do we move on.
Game Developers Conference Europe (Gamescom) is just a week away, running August 17 – 21 in Cologne, Germany. It is the world’s largest gaming event, (measured by exhibition space and number of visitors) with 345,000 visitors, more than 6,000 journalists and 700 exhibitors from 88 countries attending the show in 2015. Unlike E3, Gamescom is open to the public, making it the premiere destination for developers and consumers alike.
Current Trends
As with E3, game announcements and demos are expected to include more virtual reality and mobile titles than in previous years. Over 100 (that’s roughly 1/8) exhibitors will present mobile games and tech, rising 20 percent from 2015. Amazon is planning its biggest presence to date, looking to woo Android developers to its app marketplace by hosting the Big Indie Pitch event August 16, Developer Day on August 17 and featuring its very first booth at Gamescom.
Ubisoft will be on hand with VR demos for Eagle Flight and Star Trek Bridge Crew, along with exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from the upcoming Assassin’s Creed movie. Two of Crytek’s upcoming projects—Robinson: The Journey (for PlayStation VR) and The Climb (for Oculus Rift with Oculus Touch) will be playable in the public portion of the expo. Hewlett-Packard will show its all-new gaming portfolio at this year’s Gamescom, including the Omen X VR PC that comes in a backpack.
Announcements
While most new game and console announcements traditionally occur during E3, Bandai Namco will be announcing a brand-new IP during Gamescom, which has fans speculating. The company also confirmed via press release that attendees will be able to check out an early build of Tekken 7 along with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2, a fighting game coming out in October set in the Dragon Ball universe.
While Microsoft made strong announcements during E3, the company has opted not to hold press conferences at Gamescom 2016. It will instead host a “new and more intimate Xbox FanFest experience” to accompany its show floor presence according to general manager for Xbox marketing, Aaron Greenberg. Details of the experience haven’t been revealed yet, but fans attending the show will be able to try out Gears of War 4, Forza Horizon 3, Halo Wars 2, ReCore, Sea of Thieves, We Happy Few, Everspace and Cuphead, among others. Last year, Microsoft used its press briefing to announce Halo Wars 2 and show off trailers for Scalebound, Quantum Break and Crackdown.
Sony will show off its wares, but don’t expect to see the new PlayStation Neo console. Also, for the second year in a row, the company will not be hosting a press conference. It will most likely save new announcements for Paris Games Week in October, as it did in 2015, but Gamescom attendees will still be able to play game demos and try out PlayStation VR.
Rather than hold a press conference, EA will host a “Grand Opening” the day before Gamescom, where it plans to reveal a “trainload” of information about Battlefield 1, while offering hands-on demos for Titanfall 2 and FIFA 17.
Gamescom combines the fan-focused events of San Diego Comic-Con with the demos of E3 and networking of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) to create the ultimate destination to get fans excited for holiday releases.
How did the deal with Sega come together?
