Sega’s Ivo Gerscovich Discusses How Sonic Keeps It Fresh On Social

BY

Sonic the Hedgehog fans have no doubt noticed an influx of activity across the brand, from video games to TV shows and even an upcoming film. For Ivo Gerscovich, Sega’s chief brand officer for Sonic & SVP, keeping the brand fresh is a balance between honoring legacy and trying brave, new things.

“Part of overseeing the brand is keeping one foot in the past,” Gerscovich told [a]listdaily at this year’s E3. “Being true to the traditions and the history and the legacy of Sonic, but also looking at the future and what kind of new and interesting things [we can] do.” Most importantly, he added, is to create campaigns that you would enjoy, yourself.

“The truth is, we’re having a lot of fun,” Gersovich smiled. “If we, as employees of Sega and people overseeing the brand aren’t having fun, how can we expect the consumers to have fun? We’re really trying to have fun with the brand and do things that make us feel good and things that excite us.”

Sonic the Hedgehog turned 25 on June 23 and to celebrate, Sega staged a Twitter takeover by characters Sonic and Doctor Eggman. Users were encouraged to send questions to the channel using the hashtag, #AskSonic. In return, a selection of responses were custom-recorded by voice actors, Roger Craig Smith (Sonic) and Doctor Eggman (Mike Pollock).

In addition to answering fan questions, Sonic and Eggman have taken the opportunity to have a little fun with fellow video game franchises. When the official Assassin’s Creed account tweeted about Ezio’s birthday, Roger Craig Smith (who also happens to play the voice of Ezio), pretended to be kidnapped by Doctor Eggman. Ubisoft promptly paid the ransom of cat pictures in the form of a kitten dressed in an Assassin’s hood.

Other game franchises got in on the fun, including the official Deus Ex account asking Sonic’s advice for making their protagonist, Adam Jensen, go faster. Breaking the fourth wall, Sonic referred to Sega as “dad.” Doctor Eggman even poked fun at Sonic for his game, Sonic the Hedgehog (Sonic ’06) which was notoriously full of glitches and extremely long load times.

The publicity stunt not only brought Sega’s iconic franchise to life, but had much of the Twitterverse scrambling to be noticed. The Sonic and Eggman account also took a proactive approach to marketing, recording custom voice messages for notable influencers such as Twitch, GameGrumps and Xavier Woods.

Doctor Eggman took over the official Twitter account last November, garnering a positive response from the fans. “On social, we’re pioneering a new strategy that throws the old, boring, marketing text out the window, and replaces it with something fun, new and engaging,” Aaron Webber, PR and social media manager for Sonic told [a]listdaily following the #AskEggman takeover. “It fits perfectly with Sonic’s signature attitude and the tone and style that once made him so popular.”

Sega’s determination to revitalize the legacy and “win back the customer’s trust” comes at a pivotal time for the franchise, when new video game technology is all the rage and gamers who grew up with Sonic in the ’90s are having children of their own. The #AskSonic Twitter takeover is a step in the right direction, both in celebrating the character’s 25th anniversary and gaining momentum for the 2018 film adaptation.

 

[a]listdaily Weekly: #PopsiclePants, Dark Social And Oh, SNAPchat

BY

This time on [a]listdaily Weekly, we take a look at marketing based on birthdays, what your audience says behind your back and Snapchat calls out Facebook. Fight!

Know Your Audience, Be Yourself

Don’t you love generation categorization? Well, marketers do! But is this exercise of grabbing an arbitrary slice of say 11-15 birth years any more useful than astrological signs? No generation has been studied as extensively as the current batch of teen-through-early-30’s-aged humans. They are now the largest living generation in the United States, which is why every night in the throes of stress dreams, marketing directors toss and turn, mumbling the word, “millennials” over and over.

While (in most cases) you can’t summarize a human being by their demographic template, knowing the generations helps. Insights like these provide a starting point and smart marketers know that targeting niche audiences within a cohort and working your way out is often the most effective way to see what works. If you’re sick and tired of being lumped into categories defined by when you happened to be born—a word of advice: stop posting the same five monthly hashtags as everyone else. Nothing throws the bots for a loop like an outlier. So, whether it’s right up the middle or completely off the chart, find your true, unique self and just be that. #popsiclepants

Come To The Dark Side (Of Mobile Sharing)

Dark social—it sounds like a coffee klatch for evil sorcerers but for advertisers, it represents something far more sinister: elusive data. And as no one once said, “what you cannot see . . . cannot be factored into a comprehensive marketing strategy.”

In a report titled “The Dark Side of Mobile Sharing,” enterprise advertising platform, RadiumOne says that worldwide, a whopping 84 percent of shares are dark. Stateside, the stats are only slightly less speakeasy, with 79 percent of total shares on American social networks being this sort of off-the-record jabber. Basically, for every bit of consumer chit-chat you overhear, there are four secret conversations you didn’t even know you didn’t know you were missing.

In Your FACE(book)

Is mobile video audio-friendly? That’s the big question this week after we were treated to reports that indicate 85 percent of Facebook video is watched without sound, which might make you wary of Facebook’s stats. Don’t throw any of that kinda shade at Snapchat, or you’re liable to get told.

The image messaging app is putting the world on notice: two-thirds of Snapchat videos are viewed with audio. Bam! The platform is so adamant that we recognize that claim, they’re partnering up with analytics company Moat to back it up with hard data. Quoth the Snapchat: “Advertisers are asking for a clear definition of a video view.”

Oh Snap(chat)!

A Picture Tells A Thousand Words: Instagram Ad Spending Increases

BY

Instagram is quickly becoming ad spending’s new Cinderella, and it’s no wonder. The photo-sharing app exceeds 500 million users and shares access to Facebook’s pool of three million advertisers who have the option to extend Facebook ad campaigns to Instagram. Ad targeting is improved by a user’s age, gender and interest data on Facebook, allowing brands to connect with their target audience directly. Since May, advertisers now have access to carousel ads, which is already being utilized by the likes of Samsung, Old Navy, Banana Republic and Showtime, who used thesel ads to promote the second season of Penny Dreadful.

Instagram Showtime Ads

A recent report by automated advertising platform Nanigans demonstrates Instagram’s continued growth as an ad platform for mobile game developers. According to the report, eCommerce and gaming represent the two dominant verticals among Nanigan’s clients advertising on Instagram. In April, 54 percent of Nanigans’ clients who advertised on Facebook also spent on Instagram, and top-spending eCommerce brands have collectively driven 62 percent higher return on Instagram ad spend. (Comparing August through October 2015 and February through April 2016.) It’s not just that more companies are spending on the social platform, they’re also spending more money in general—average campaign spend was up 29 percent between February and April.

This month Instagram implemented a full-width, call to action (CTA) button below an ad’s photo or video, replacing the overlay behavior and prior CTA design. “Instagram found that a majority of ad clicks occurred not on the overlay, but on the CTA button itself, which now highlights in blue upon tapping an ad’s image,” Nanigans reports. “This new behavior further confirms a person’s intent to click through to a website, mobile app, or app store. When someone first clicks directly on the CTA button, their intent is clear and they are driven offsite.”

Communicating through images is a primal and universally understood method of storytelling, as taught by the adage, “a picture tells a thousand words.” Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom attributes this fact to overwhelming success of their social platform.

“It’s grown to be very global, which I believe comes from the fact that images are a universal language,” Systrom told Forbes in a recent interview. “It’s not just photographers or tech mavens in Silicon Valley using it.”

What Twitter’s Latest Acquisition Means For Its Video Features

BY

Given how high Facebook Video’s daily views have ballooned, and how successful the Periscope livestreaming service has become, it looks like Twitter has plenty of reasons to put more emphasis on its video content.

The company announced today on its blog page that it has acquired Magic Pony Technology, a company that specializes in making novel machine learning techniques for visual processing. Taken to together with previous purchases, including Madbits (in July 2014) and Whetlab (in June 2015), this latest acquisition could build toward a bigger picture for Twitter’s future with video.

The companies will join with the Twitter Cortex group, “dedicated to building a product in which people can easily find new experiences to share and participate in,” according to CEO Jack Dorsey, who wrote the blog entry. The technology from the acquired company “will be used to enhance our strength in live and video and opens up a whole lot of exciting creative possibilities for Twitter,” according to the blog. “Magic Pony’s machine-learning technology will help us build strength into our deep learning teams with world-class talent, so Twitter can continue to be the best place to see what’s happening and why it matters, first.”

However, we probably won’t see these initiatives come into play anytime soon. Twitter will no doubt take its time to establish its video system the right way, rather than trying a “me too” approach in an effort to hop on Facebook’s coattails. When it does debut, Twitter could take the same route as its social media rival and bring in celebrities and superstars to endorse its video features. Or the new features could be tied to the Periscope livestreaming app.

Whatever the case, with all these acquisitions, Twitter is set to make a big move with video. It would be a logical step for the social platform so that it can remain competitive in the growing world of video content.

Facebook Video Focusing On ESports With New Hire

BY

Facebook has begun a brave new initiative with its video features over the past few weeks, particularly with a partnership with Activision Blizzard to introduce the company’s Live video API into all its games, including the immensely popular Overwatch. Now the company’s video division could be making even bigger moves into the world of eSports.

TechCrunch recently reported that Facebook hired former pro League of Legends player and eSports superstar, Stephen “Snoopeh” Ellis, as the company’s new eSports strategic partnerships manager. His main role will be bringing in game developers and players to stream their content through Facebook to competing with established channels such as YouTube and Twitch.

Video streaming is a pretty big deal to gamers, as an estimated 459,000 years worth of content have been streamed on Twitch alone over the past year. It’s also been noted that users watch approximately 421 minutes of eSports-related content on a monthly basis through the service.

Facebook PR explained that Ellis will be “joining a collaborative effort between the sports and games partnership teams to support the eSports and gaming communities using our platform.”

Obviously, Facebook has a long way to go before catching up with Twitch and YouTube’s gaming initiatives, but a plan could very well be forming to introduce its own gaming initiative. Considering Ellis’ connections with the eSports world (with fans, sponsors and fellow players) he could be an immense help in making it happen. Fan bases could become more attracted to the network, bringing in more streaming personalities, and better possibilities for partnerships like Activision Blizzard’s game integration.

Facebook has an extremely high video count—eight billion and rising as of November 2015—and gaming could play a huge part in continuing its growth. It’s just a matter of when, not if, Facebook Gaming becomes official.

Why E3 Is Still The Premier Video Game Event

BY

This year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) has come to a close, and even with Electronic Arts hosting a separate EA Play event, and companies such as Activision and Wargaming not having a show floor presence, the show thrived with a number of new partners and exciting products for attendees to check out.

Here’s a breakdown of how E3 is still one of the best entertainment conventions around.

E3 By The Numbers

Despite the absence of some AAA companies, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) revealed that this year’s show drew more than 70,300 attendees, including 50,000 industry professionals and 20,000 fans. It also had over 250 exhibitors with over 1,600 products ready to be seen.

The event was also a tremendous success on social media. The show generated more than seven million posts on Twitter, as well as over 500,000 likes from E3-related posts that went up on Instagram.

Twitch also found major exposure at the event, with over 42 million viewers tuning in to watch E3-related content. Considering how it was the official streaming partner of the show, it no doubt got some hype from the ESA itself, as well as companies that participated in the stream.

With that, the ESA has already announced E3’s return dates, June 13-15 in 2017. The show will once again take place at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Incredible Showcases

This year’s E3 showcased some of the most impressive booths in the show’s history. 2K Games went all out with its promotion of Mafia III, recreating the city of New Bordeaux (which is heavily inspired by New Orleans) with a roving funeral procession, a booth that resembled a city block, and a food truck that served hungry attendees.

Others, like Ubisoft, Bethesda and WB Games, drew fans in with ambient booth designs. Nintendo pulled out all the stops with its promotion for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, drawing in thousands of fans to its recreation of the world of Hyrule. It was the most popular booth on the show floor, with a consistent line that left a few fans waiting several hours, but none complained about the experience.

Zelda

E3 was also home to a number of companies introducing their products for the first time. Perhaps the most noteworthy (and somewhat controversial) was Naughty America, which debuted at the show with a booth that showcased the future of virtual reality pornography. The showcase was an instant hit, drawing in thousands of players that couldn’t wait to see just how effective it was.

Naughty

The Only Place For Everything New

E3’s 2016 show generated excitement for a number of forthcoming titles, including The Legend of Zelda, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands, Watch Dogs 2, Injustice 2, Mafia III, Dishonored 2, Agents of Mayhem and a number of others, with fans up in arms deciding which ones were their favorites. Needless to say, there was something for everyone.

However, it was also a show that diversified in its offerings, namely with virtual reality. Everything from Naughty America’s provocative demo to games like Serious Sam VR, Fallout 4 and Sony’s extensive PlayStation VR line-up drew in thousands of players. Additionally, Microsoft announced Project Scorpio, which promises to be the most powerful console ever, with support for 4K gaming and VR. Virtual reality is starting to settle into a groove, and it will likely continue to play a huge part at E3 in the coming years.

E3 also saw a major push with eSports. Many games are being prepped with eSports adoption in mind, including EA’s Madden NFL 17, Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1, along with Activision’s Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Bethesda’s Quake Champions. Look for this to become more of a common feature in the show over the next few years, with a greater presence of companies like Twitch and YouTube to spread the word.

That’s a Wrap

This year’s show was busy and jam-packed with games and demonstrations, and it was certainly something that generated a lot of excitement within the community. Next year should be even better.

Toys-To-Life Market Finds Second Wind As ‘Skylanders Academy’ Comes To Netflix

BY

Some analysts were worried about the “toys-to-life” gaming market when Disney discontinued its line of Disney Infinity products earlier this year, effectively shutting down its own game division in the process. However, Warner Bros. and Activision’s are still forging ahead with their respective games, indicating that there’s still plenty of life left in the genre.

Both companies put a huge push into their respective Lego Dimensions and Skylanders brands this week at E3, assuring that their latest releases will appeal to millions of fans additions and features to their toys-to-life releases.

Although Activision doesn’t have an official booth on the show floor, it still made waves with the upcoming Skylanders: Imaginators, set for release this fall across various consoles. The game features the possibility of creating custom characters in the game, an innovative touch for the Skylanders brand that gives it a great deal of longevity.

Activision also revealed a nostalgic boost for the game by announcing the debut of Crash Bandicoot in Skylanders. Crash was an iconic character for Sony back in the ’90s, appearing in a trio of platforming games for the Sony PlayStation, along with spin-offs like Crash Bash and Crash Kart Racing. His return will assuredly bring in plenty of retro players to Skylanders. There is no release date for the character, but he’s expected to appear sometime withing Skylanders’ launch period.

Skylanders ties in with a much bigger picture, as Activision revealed this morning that the previously announced animated series, Skylanders Academy, will be premiering this fall on Netflix. The toys-to-life game and show will no doubt have plenty of cross-promotional support.

“Over the last five years, millions of families around the world have welcomed Skylanders characters into their homes. Now, they’ll be able to watch their favorite characters come to life on Netflix,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. “We couldn’t have found a better home for ‘Skylanders Academy‘ and look forward to sharing our extraordinary characters with Netflix audiences around the world.”

“‘Skylanders Academy‘ gives us the opportunity to approach narrative storytelling with the same level of quality and excellence that millions of Skylanders fans have come to expect from the game,” said Activision Blizzard Studios co-president Stacey Sher. “We’re inspired by our fans’ excitement for these characters and have worked hard to bring these characters to life with stories our fans will love.”

Warner Bros. opted to take a different route with Lego Dimensions. Instead of releasing annual installments of the toys-to-life game, requiring customers to purchase newer editions, it has instead opted to extend its current Lego Dimension line with more playsets inspired by popular franchises including the new Ghostbusters film, Mission: Impossible, Lego Harry Potter and others. The trailer below provides a great idea of what’s coming.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgLQAHj1vcY

But Warner Bros. isn’t limiting itself to recent franchises. The company is also taking advantage of nostalgia by reaching into its film and TV archives and releasing Lego Dimensions sets based on popular ’80s franchises. These include The A-Team and Knight Rider—two TV shows that were big hits over 30 years ago—along with iconic films such as The Goonies (with the character Sloth) and Gremlins, featuring Gizmo the Mogwai. Both of these characters are featured on large banners in the show hall, evoking fond memories of these classics.

Lego Dimensions Season 2 will kick off sometime this fall, and will no doubt continue to bring in players that helped make the new franchise a best seller to begin with.

Even with Disney Infinity out of the picture, these two publishers are doing whatever it takes to keep people playing with their toys. It’s a practice that’s bound to pay off with savvy marketing and business partners, including Toys ‘R Us, which has once again signed on to partner with Activision to support Skylanders, and will likely get an exclusive line of toys when they this fall.

 

Snapchat Hits The Music Festival Scene

BY

Music festivals are quite a draw for audiences during the summer season, and they seem to be an ideal opportunity for brands to step in for sponsorship, so that’s exactly what Snapchat is doing.

The popular social app has announced that it has signed a multi-year deal with AEG, a company that’s behind some of the biggest music festivals in the  world. As a result, it will create exclusive content during these events what will engage with its robust community.

Snapchat has already confirmed its presence at a number of events taking place this summer, including the FYF Fest, the Hangout Music Festival, Panorama, the Stagecoach Country Music Festival and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Through these festivals, Snapchat is reaching out to fans across a variety of music genres.

The app will engage users, encouraging them to share photos and videos that showcase what the music events are about, along with the experience of “being there,” whether it’s with a must-see live performance or simply having a good time with friends. Snapchat’s curators will play a part in putting together the “best of” clips from each of these events, turning it around to share with the community as a whole. The goal is to compile them in the Live Stories section of the app, where millions of users can see what’s happening and get excited for future music events.

The deal is beneficial to both the music festival producers and Snapchat alike. Not only does it generate interest in the events themselves, but also engages the app’s audience. Producers benefit from the exposure of said events, using the extra revenue to book more worthwhile acts and keep fans coming back for more. Other brands are also benefitting, as Snapchat confirmed that it sold out of advertising spots before they were even announced as being available.

Considering that a number of brands are already attached, and the deal could bring in a tremendous amount of attention and profitability for all parties involved.

Image Source

Fans Watch Over 800 Million Hours Of ESports On Twitch

BY

ESports is a global phenomenon that continues to grow in popularity, and Newzoo is providing a better idea of what that growth looks like.

A new report, with data compiled using the company’s Streaming Platform Tracker, indicates that fans have watched a total of 803.7 million hours of league and tournament-related events on Twitch channels over the past ten months, ending May 2016. ESports content in general has accounted for 14 to 31 percent of total hours watched on Twitch, with event organizers getting the most viewability with 71.3 percent to total eSports hours watched. This includes bigger partners, such as Riot (the publishers of League of Legends) and the ESL.

Of all the months covered, October 2015 was the biggest, accounting for 123.9 million hours viewed and 31.2 percent of the total hours watched on Twitch for the month. The League of Legends World Championship played a vital part in this, along with ESL One New York and the MLG World Finals DOTA 2 Tournaments. August was a close second with 110.5 million hours watched, with Valve’s Dota 2 tournament finals, The International 5, and ESL One Cologne (which involves games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) leading the way.

Event organizer channels made up a huge part of the statistics, with 573 million hours of viewership, or approximately 71.3 percent of all watched eSports content on Twitch. The remaining 28.7 percent, consisted of broadcasters showing the events on their own channels.

Screen Shot 2016-06-09 at 2.43.59 PM

If you’re wondering what the most popular eSports franchise is, the research indicates that Riot easily dominated with League of Legends. However, other events made strong contributions, with fans tuning in to games like Counter-Strike, Hearthstone and Call of Duty.

About 3.2 billion hours came from regular consumer streams and pro players, and Newzoo pointed out with a previous report, eSports continue to be a driving factor for the Twitch. The ESL also made note that 1 in 4 hours of eSports content on Twitch was viewed through it, with hosted tournaments. It’s a big player when it comes to hosting events.

Other prominent tournaments scheduled for this year include the Call of Duty Championship, more League of Legends match-ups and Valve’s annual Dota 2 International tournament.

Square Enix Celebrates 20 Years Of ‘Tomb Raider’ At E3

BY

Tomb Raider, featuring the most iconic female video game character of all time, Lara Croft, is celebrating her 20th birthday—and Square Enix is inviting the entire fan base to join in.

A majority of the festivities will take place during this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), but Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics are including those outside the expo floor through social media and a number of contests. At this year’s E3, a special episode of Square Enix Presents (the publisher’s live broadcast from the show floor) will highlight fan-favorite tombs from the past two decades of Lara’s adventures. While visiting the booth, show attendees can receive a limited edition, custom-engraved medallion with the 20-year celebration logo.

Meanwhile, outside the expo, Square Enix is engaging fans globally with the question, “What does Tomb Raider mean to you?” Fans are invited to submit a video explaining how the franchise has influenced or inspired them, as well as their favorite memories from the games or movies. For the fan art community, an art contest is underway through June 17. Winners will each receive $1,000 and will have their works featured in a special print art offering to be revealed later this year.

Tomb Raider 20
During this year’s PAX East, Square Enix hosted a panel entitled, “Lara Croft: The Undisputed Queen of Gaming,” which included a number of announcements and a cosplay contest. Other announcements celebrating Tomb Raider‘s 20th anniversary include how the original franchise composer, Nathan McCree, is creating a musical collection entitled, The Tomb Raider Suite. Available this fall, the collection will include all classic compositions, as well as extensions and variations of original tracks from the first three Tomb Raider games. A TV documentary called Tomb Raider: Remastered will give fans a behind-the-scenes look at the entire composition process, and the album will be accompanied by a live concert in London, which corresponds with the official 20th anniversary date (November 14) of the original 1996 release of the game. Further details about the concert will be revealed at a later date.

In a marketing strategy that includes fans of both the classic and reboot versions of Lara Croft, Square Enix is not only honoring their tomb-raiding icon but her audience as well. This all-inclusive strategy, using the hashtag #TombRaider20 on social media, celebrates all those jumping, flipping and shooting memories that made Lara Croft an unforgettable character. By connecting with their audience on an emotional level, Square Enix utilizes Frontline Marketing to engage them on a level that is both authentic and consumer-first.