viral-marketing
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Emergency transmission: Mass Effect viralness
Tiz the time of year for grass to grow, showers to fall, and viral marketing to begin. And Mass Effect seems to be joining in on the swing of things by starting its own viral fun over on the inter-tubes of YouTube. YouTube member Spectre2183 posted two "emergency transmissions" and in the first one (embedded above) you can see what looks to be helmet cameras shooting all the action of an intense battle. The quality isn't all that great, which was probably intentional, but you can easily see some Mass Effect characters and gameplay. Also, further giving proof this is real marketing goodness, Spectre2183 has only posted these emergency transmissions and joined the YouTube community on March 26th. The second transmission is embedded after the break and be sure to tell us what you think this viral marketing will end up leading to.[Thanks, Jason]
IslandofRhodes.org, elaborate fake or new announcement?
The jury is out if this is brilliant viral marketing or the simple fact that when millions of people play a game they'll eventually find something hidden -- but the timing is a little too convenient. In a video for God of War II (found after the break) a player works their way to a 999,999 hit combination. When reaching the achievement a URL pops onto the screen (0:43 mark in video) for IslandofRhodes.org. The website shows a countdown to April 11 with Kratos' menacing face watching over a burning field.Although we have our crack team of Joystiq video analysts pouring over the video frame by frame trying to figure out if it's a complete hoax, if real, we're going to go with the website has something to do with Kratos' upcoming PSP adventure. Although that would be strange considering whatever the site is, the game it's promoting is rated M. According to the ESRB, they have not yet rated God of War for PSP. So Joystiq nation, does that website show up when you hit 999,999 and what does it all mean?[Thanks Wine]
Zune viral marketer arrested at SXSW
Now that South By Southwest Interactive is coming to a close, the SXSW music festival is getting underway -- a perfect time and place for Microsoft to get the word out about its floundering Zune. Except when a viral marketer charged with putting up those distinctive magenta Zune logo posters around town is instead became charged with, oh, what, vandalism of public property? Microsoft's primary PR firm on Zune, Edelman, had no comment on this matter at the time of press, but we hear the viral marketer in question will get either three days in jail, or three appearances in front of a judge (whichever comes first).Update: Microsoft gave us a ring with the following: "We can confirm that an employee of a marketing agency engaged by Zune was cited for hanging promotional posters at SXSW. We've launched an internal investigation and will cooperate with local authorities and festival organizers in all regards. Zune is committed to lawfully and respectfully promoting its products and services." Ok, so who's the moran / evil genius behind this thing?[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
'Alpha Moms' influence lesser moms into buying Wii
The LA Times reports the Nintendo viral marketing campaign rolls on. Nintendo's marketing firm used a well-known viral marketing technique used on teen girls who are "influencers" and just transferred it to the mom crowed. Nintendo recruited "gregarious, tech-savvy moms" to promote share the console with friends by having them throw what amounts to a Tupperware party where the Wii is the star. One of the designated "Alpha Mom" influencers invited 35 friends to "come out and play" at LA's Chateau Marmont.What follows is your standard Wii newspaper tale by this point. People play the Wii, they love the Wii, it transcends demographics, etc. It is interesting to see that the viral strategy is being discussed more openly now, "The company hired a consultant to identify three sets of 'ambassadors' in each city: a core gamer/loyalist who would sing the praises of the system to other gamers; a large multi-generational family, where everyone from the kids to the grandparents could take turns with the Wii remote; and an alpha mom, who would presumably spread the word at schoolyards, soccer fields and her neighborhood."Viral marketing is one part of Nintendo's massive ad campaign budget and clearly part of their adult targeted marketing. Nintendo even marketed at an AARP convention. Well, whatever they are doing, there is no denying that there is buzz. Now let's hope that all those shiny new Wii won't experience the forecasted gaming drought and we'll have well developed Wii games before Q4 2007.
Sony keeps up solid streak of PSP marketing snafus
So those graffiti ads didn't go down so well, "take a running jump here" didn't really take off, and that whole "racism is awesome" campaign in the Netherlands wasn't so hot -- lesson learned, right? Not so much. While it seems Sony has had its fill of offensive messages -- for now, at least -- they've managed to pull off one of the least convincing viral marketing campaigns in recent memory, sparking that special kind of public outcry that it seems we all keep pent up for Sony offenses. The controversy centers on these "all i want for xmas is a psp" fools you might've seen floating around YouTube. Bloggers "charlie" and "jeremy" have been posting up ridiculous rap videos, remarkably slick print-out ads and oh-so-indie t-shirt iron-ons in an effort to convince "j's parents that a psp would be teh perfect gift." Oh, and you all can feel free to use the material for your own ad campaign on the 'rents. Sounds harmless, and we're sure it would be if Sony just put its name on the proceedings from the get-go, but waiting for Something Awful forum members to point out Zipatoni (Sony's apparent viral marketing firm on this campaign) as the domain registrar, and everybody else to laugh at the sheer audacity of Sony for thinking they'd get away with this one, probably wasn't the best foresight on Sony's part. Feel free to peep a couple ridiculous YouTube vids after the break, but just make sure you don't get sucked in, it's all a scam we tell you! Oh well Sony, at least those Bravia ads are still pretty neat.[Via Wired]
Lost Planet trailer lays on the intrigue
Another webisode for Lost Planet is now available for download on Marketplace. In the trailer it's revealed that Mr. British Accent Guy* is working with a nefarious character. We told you he was evil! The trailer concludes with another snippet that may or may not be part of an ARG (Alternate Reality Game). Some of our readers noticed these little tidbits in earlier webisodes, leading to the website of a construction company. This video contains the words "HINT UPSET EVE." What does it mean? We have no idea. Have any of you made any progress with this viral campaign? For that matter, is anyone even interested? Watch the video after the break.*Not his real name.
Was TiVo invented by aliens?
We've always suspected that TiVo was a little ahead of its time (ever try explaining its purpose to people immediately after it came out?), but none of us could have imagined that the original DVR technology was actually discovered among the ruins of an alien spacecraft that crash landed in the southern Nevada desert on March 31, 1973. Well, at least that's the premise of a new viral video making the rounds on the old internets, presented as a "top secret" training film for the "Bluemoon" project and designed as a primer for those with the proper security clearances to help Uncle Sam make the most of this wild new tech. Although the "leaked" vid doesn't reveal any clues about upcoming TiVo products or services, it is rather amusing to watch a fictional retelling of the device's origins, complete with 70's-style fonts and "dramatic recreations" of how its amazing functionality was first uncovered by stereotypically nerdy scientists. Best line of the movie? Project director A. Watterman claiming that "There are some who believe the potential uses for the box lie primarily in the consumer and household entertainment realm; others believe that the box will help us create an army of advanced super robots!" Cut to scene of a giant Robosapien attacking Leave it to Beaver-type family, and roll credits -- another Emmy-worthy presentation from the good folks at TiVo.
Epic's big GoW announcement decoded?
Here's an update on that GoW viral marketing scheme from last week. Amateur cryptologists at the Gears of War forum think they've decoded three mysterious messages from Xbox Live member "Mfenix" and come up with a date: November 12 -- presumably "Emergence Day" for the highly anticipated game. How they arrived at that conclusion is equally mysterious. Something about Ghengis Khan and a saxophone. Before you waste any mental energy on that one, keep in mind that we're still expecting a "big announcement" from Epic this week regarding the title. And now, with the seeds of hype firmly planted, Mfenix seems ready to turn things over to the rest of the marketing department. His final message says we can expect "confirmation" today.[Thanks hyJack]
Just say iDon't to iPods
SanDisk has launched iDont.com, a viral marketing campaign to get people to stop using iPods and start using SanDisk's MP3 players. The site features images of sheep and robots sportin' iPod earbuds to show that you are a mindless fool for buying an iPod (the first rule of marketing: insult your target audience). The site doesn't really make any compelling arguments as to why you should give up your iPod, but why shouldn't we trust SanDisk? They're completely impartial, right?[via Engadget]
SanDisk wants you to say iDon't to iPod
In a viral marketing move that's sure to draw the fire of Apple fanboys enthusiasts (probably right here in the comments, if history is any indication), SanDisk has posted a website called "iDon't" that encourages people to flee the closed iPod universe (the "iTatorship," they call it) -- and to pick up a SanDisk Sansa e200 while they're at it. While we certainly won't go into the pros and cons of each company's products here (mainly for fear of getting flamed), we must say that the iDon't site features little compelling content other than a few cheesy wallpaper downloads and some links to anti-iPod sites, and mostly comes across as sour grapes from the runner-up in an industry being dominated by a single player. Still, other manufacturers need to do something in order to gain market share, and R&D is, like, really expensive, so if you can convince a couple of kids to sport t-shirts and buddy icons featuring your propaganda, who knows, maybe a few consumers will bite.[Via iLounge forums]
Is this the Vaio from Sony's teaser campaign?
Don't wanna wait for Sony to complete their teaser campaign to peep that Vaio they're trying to generate some buzz about? Don't worry, jkOnTheRun has got you covered (well, maybe). According to site founder James Kendrick, a "reader who wishes to remain anonymous" sent him a number of pictures of this supposed ultraportable Vaio, which do indeed feature all of the disparate components visible in Sony's brief Flash movies. Besides portraying the device as a UMPC-style tablet with sliding QWERTY keyboard, one of the pictures clearly shows the words "Bluetooth," "WLAN," and "WWAN" on the screen's bezel when viewed full-size. We can also make out that fingerprint scanner from the teaser campaign, as well as a MemoryStick Duo slot and a "capture" button, although if that Motion Eye doesn't swivel, it won't make much of a camera. Of course these pictures, even if genuine, reveal nothing about the actual guts of the machine, so Sony still has several important details such as processor types/speeds, operating system (a return to PalmOS, perhaps?) and storage system/capacities to hold over our heads. More pics are available by following the "Read" link...
Bungie disowns ilovebees2.com
I forgot to mention that Bungie also called ilovebees2.com a "fake" insofar as that term relates the shady world of viral maketing campaigns and their company. In fact they seem sort of insulted that anyone would accuse them of using the same gimmick twice. Is bees2 promoting a game? Selling life insurance? Or just gratifying some bored web designer's ego?
