How do you feel about viral marketing?

evophile

evophile

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Yes, viral marketing. One of the new evils ways that the "man" tries to trick you into using his product.

I'll be upfront. I work for a small game company in NYC that most of you have probably never heard of. And yes I do some of that 'viral' stuff.

I've been a member here awhile even though I don't post a lot; and I know the community here is a bit more intelligent here than say...gamefaqs. Also Cheapy seems like a cool dude and likes giant sausages too.

So I guess I just want some opinions from a more mature audience if you'll indulge me that.

What do you guys think of viral marketing? In general and in the games industry? As a gamer and a board reader I know first hand how it could be very annoying if done the wrong way, or heck..even at all. The feeling that your last safe havens are being invaded is never cool.

Much like how I'm always skeptical whenever an attractive woman talks to you at a bar about some beer. A lot of the time she's a model just hired by the company to hit on unsuspecting guys.

Its sometimes pretty obvious to spot forum posts made by someone working for a dev or publisher, and then theres debacles like the I Want A Sony PSP site.

But its also a good way for small companies to try to spread the word, but the challenge is in not seeming to invasive or "spammy". Look at what Myspace has turned into these days.

So what do you guys think? Thanks for your time!
 
It's retarded, espicially on the forums, since it's so fucking obvious.

Just let word of mouth run on it's own, if you have a good product, people will talk - look at Puzzle Quest, no viral shit there, just a bunch of people throwing positives at it.
 
I work doing traditional advertising and am a huge marketing buff. While there is some value to viral marketing of products, as a consumer I find it rather annoying.
 
Hello All!

I am your average game-playing nerd, and I have heard that the new Sony Playstation 3 Computer Entertainment Console™ is truly the NEW GENERATION of interactive entertainment! It seems that the Cell Broadband Engine Processor is the next step in processing power! Combined with Sony Corp™'s award winning design and software lineup, I think that all of the cool kids will be Playing Beyond™ come this summer!

So how about that Numa Numa?
 
Reality's Fringe;2823544]Hello All! I am your average game-playing nerd said:
Haha, exactly! That kind of stuff seems so transparent, especially to your hardcore gamer who is likely to be much more educated about these things.
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I just like to be sold stuff at every fucking possible turn, so yeah, viral marketing is hilarious good times. Advertisers are the modern age's saints. Without them, we wouldn't know how to blow our money on pointless bullshit, or much more importantly, how to commodify our dissent.
 
If I were a viral marketer, I would act transparently fanboyish about a competing product, and take poorly supported and indefensible potshots at my actual product. The competing product would take a PR hit and the reactive legions of the internet would do my work for me, all in the name of "responding with the truth."
 
i don't care as much about it online but it's fucking everywhere in Madison. i imagine we're hit harder since we're a college town.

the latest was this bullshit that said "seventology" everywhere. there stencils spray painted that said "777" and ads for seventology.com. There were ads for it on TV that the cable company snuck into adultswim.

turns out it's for a new apartment building with an address of 777. :roll: so yeah, I hate that shit. it's just as transparent offline now-- if you see anything that makes you think "hmmm...I wonder what that's from" and it's not obviously some impromptu grafitti, then it's viral marketing.

If I were a viral marketer, I would act transparently fanboyish about a competing product, and take poorly supported and indefensible potshots at my actual product. The competing product would take a PR hit and the reactive legions of the internet would do my work for me, all in the name of "responding with the truth."
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my, that's awfully specific :lol:
 
Let's all join in on the fun! I'm the viral marketer for Activision because they're games are awesome (for the most part) and don't suck! But they fucking suck at putting out DLC, damn it. I want my Marvel stuff and maybe another map pack for CoD3. Where's Hulk smash!

Oh yaeh, you can just look at my sig, my posts, my Live profile, my history etc. to see that I actually have played pretty much all three of their big hits from last year (CoD2/3, Marvel UA, and THP8, but I was waiting for Guitar Hero on 360 and now I need some money) and will berate every and any system and publisher at my liking (except for EA because they suck donkey balls) and Sony at the moment (this one will probably last) ahh, the enjoyment. Oh yaeh, BUY ACTIVISION GAMES BECAUSE I COMMAND YOU TO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!!!!!11
 
[quote name='CitizenB']But in everyday outside world I don't think I've seen any.[/quote]

Then that means they have been doing a good job... of disguising it. ;)
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']Then that means they have been doing a good job... of disguising it. ;)[/QUOTE]

:)

I mean that I haven't seen any weird picture, or painting that made me wonder what it is.
 
[quote name='Roufuss']It's retarded, espicially on the forums, since it's so fucking obvious.

Just let word of mouth run on it's own, if you have a good product, people will talk - look at Puzzle Quest, no viral shit there, just a bunch of people throwing positives at it.[/quote]


lol yeah i cnat stand when they do that shit online but long story short were basically bombarded with ads every damn day and night so much so you kind of get jaded to it. hell when i watch tv i basically either change the channel or tune out whats on until the show comes back on and unless its a really funny ad or odd one i couldnt tell you what was just playing.


i understand ads and marketing are a necessity but nowdays its damn near like torture the way they shove things down your throat and i hate it. back in the 80s they did things in a way that made you curious and intrigued nowdays its all ass titties lesbians extreme yell scream explosions now buy this or die.

its so much of an annoyance i tend to turn away and refuse to use certains items or products because of the amount of ad whoring they do. if i want something ill try it but at the very least be honest about it. show me what it is whats its supposed to do and then leave me the hell alone to make my own choice. no amount of crass humor or chicks making out will make me want something. hell whod have thought you could miss the puritanical era of commercial ads and tv but i do.

less is definelty more and though younger consumers may be pulled in with all this shit older ones wont. look at grindhouse they pimped the hell out fo tht film and it flopped. could be due to being released on easter could not whose to say until the next weekend. and then you have that aqua teen hunger force movie they did what they did and yeah it got them attention but will that translate to ticket sales? i doubt it since their kind of humor doesnt appeal to everyone.

in the end it will end up where they will beam commercials into our minds anyway so were fucked on that end and oh yeah i hate the idea of commercials and ads in videogames. when i pay full price for a game i dont want to see ads and shit in them i want a story, tight controls and replayability i dont need to see a chester cheeta bilboard or hear a tampon ad playing in the background while im killing zombies. which is another reason im kinda leaning away from the 360 since i hear theyre big into doing that.
 
Thanks for all your responses guys! I agree this kind of stuff can be very annoying and it's all still working itself out. With the advent of Web 2.0 sites and the power of the users communicating messages with Myspace and stuff. Companies like to control the message, and in a way they've lost it so now they're trying to get it back.

[quote name='CitizenB']:)

I mean that I haven't seen any weird picture, or painting that made me wonder what it is.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I'm sure I've seen an ad like that recently but my mind didn't process it as something it wanted to keep in my brain.

Funny though, Rockstar recently bombarded my neighborhood and subway station with Rockstar logo stickers everywhere. It was so many I started to laugh. You really couldn't miss it. I did get a chuckle when the guy putting them up started using the "R" to replace the R's in the ads he was putting the stickers on though.


[quote name='lokizz']
in the end it will end up where they will beam commercials into our minds anyway so were fucked on that end and oh yeah i hate the idea of commercials and ads in videogames. when i pay full price for a game i dont want to see ads and shit in them i want a story, tight controls and replayability i dont need to see a chester cheeta bilboard or hear a tampon ad playing in the background while im killing zombies. which is another reason im kinda leaning away from the 360 since i hear theyre big into doing that.[/QUOTE]

You ever see that episode of Futurama where commercials are beamed into your brain while you sleep?

How do you feel about games that are ad supported but are free? That is a business model we're doing/working on now on the PC where you see a bunch of ads when you download the game and through our Steam-esque client, but in the game you're pretty much home free. Although I will say the stuff we have now isn't as targeted exactly to you guys or the hardcore gamer. But we do want that audience.

Ads are getting out of hand, and the savings def aren't being passed on to the gamer which is disheartening. But you can also argue that the revenue will be used to fund other games.

Well, I guess I'll patiently await my Coke Sword of Refreshment!
 
[quote name='evophile']Thanks for all your responses guys! I agree this kind of stuff can be very annoying and it's all still working itself out. With the advent of Web 2.0 sites and the power of the users communicating messages with Myspace and stuff. Companies like to control the message, and in a way they've lost it so now they're trying to get it back.



Yeah, I'm sure I've seen an ad like that recently but my mind didn't process it as something it wanted to keep in my brain.

Funny though, Rockstar recently bombarded my neighborhood and subway station with Rockstar logo stickers everywhere. It was so many I started to laugh. You really couldn't miss it. I did get a chuckle when the guy putting them up started using the "R" to replace the R's in the ads he was putting the stickers on though.




You ever see that episode of Futurama where commercials are beamed into your brain while you sleep?

How do you feel about games that are ad supported but are free? That is a business model we're doing/working on now on the PC where you see a bunch of ads when you download the game and through our Steam-esque client, but in the game you're pretty much home free. Although I will say the stuff we have now isn't as targeted exactly to you guys or the hardcore gamer. But we do want that audience.

Ads are getting out of hand, and the savings def aren't being passed on to the gamer which is disheartening. But you can also argue that the revenue will be used to fund other games.

Well, I guess I'll patiently await my Coke Sword of Refreshment![/quote]


yeah free games that are ad supported would make sense and id support that idea. even moreso when it comes to games with online functions those kinds of games should at least have free online play if you cant afford to shell out x amount of money a month to play online. this would especially be great for mmorpgs that on the pc tend to have diff prices based on what each company feels you should pay to play.

however i think it sucks for peopel who play games on xbox live where you have to pay 50 or so bucks a month to play games online only to have to put up with ads when youre already paying alot fo money to be online. again if they want to put ads in then like morgan web said make games cheaper and like i said make online gaming free.

hell to be honest i expect sony to do the same thign too at some point when they get their games out and their online setup is fully realized. which would be ok if they limit it to the home world since they say you can watch tv and films ( in theory) in your little home home then it wouldnt be bad if during the downtime where youre just hanging otu and not gaming you can see ads and commercials for future products and stuff.

but its got to be an even trade especially with game prices being so expensive and possibly rising though most of us here refuse to buy games at full price and tend to wait till they go down in price (except for the games you just cant wait for) if you want to ad ads so you the company can get revenue from said ads the gamers need to be comped. cheaper games or free online play or in case of microsoft free or sponsored downloads.
 
The bad ones are the ones that are obvious and anyone can spot. I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few marketers on CAG that are too crafty to weed out.

Make some posts in the off topic boards, chime in on deals you like, you're less suspicious.

IMO that sort of thing really sucks.
 
I enjoyed ilovebees for Halo 2. It was transparent and didn't shove propaganda down your throat. Once it was known it was for Halo 2, word of mouth quickly spread and thus advertising occurred without even saying Halo 2.

Clever, non obtrusive and effective.
 
I think a marquis company brand name can eventually be tarnished if it uses intrusive, deceptive viral marketing.

Most people don't like to have their trust violated, and if you act like "one of the kids" or "an excited fan" it will backfire if people discover that you're just another jaded salesman.

Even though I still believe in the general quality of Sony products, as a result of the Xmas PSP debacle I'm more careful about the reviews I read from anonymous posters about Sony products.

However that does not compare with the skepticism that I employ when I encounter online information about M$oft, the company that has used tactics such as hiring tech authors to hijack Wikipedia topics (such as the M$oft and Open Source pages) and attempted to bribe influential bloggers into pimping Vista by giving them brand new state-of-the-art laptops. Who knows how low they will go, who knows how much FUD they will spread, in the interests of preserving their pseudo-cartel control of the OS market?
 
Reality's Fringe;2826583]By the way said:
Heh, sorry if it's coming off that way, it really wasn't my intention. I mean obviously I was looking for opinions, but it was more for myself. My company is going to keep at its initiatives regardless really.

I neglected to mention any of our products and the company because I didn't want to seem that way, although maybe that's even more shady? Heh.

You guys are right, it definitely can get out of hand and ruin some companies. I mean recently there was that magazine Computer & Video Games and its sister mag Massive had to close down do to fines and lawsuits regarding their actions on Myspace. I can't even imagine how much they spammed Myspace for that to happen. Must have had one massive spamming bot.
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[quote name='uberzone']I enjoyed ilovebees for Halo 2. It was transparent and didn't shove propaganda down your throat.[/QUOTE]

Agreed. I don't partake in any of that ARG stuff, but marketing like that is a good way to entertain your customers and possibly bring in new ones without being a dickhead to other people who couldn't care less.
 
How do you feel about viral marketing?


ilovebees.com, NIN's Year Zero online drama: GOOD.

Plants, fake blogs, 'cute' viral videos, pandering/playing to coked-up marketing execs' misconceptions of The Gamer: fuck OFF.
 
[quote name='Scobie']how to commodify our dissent.[/QUOTE]

Someone's been reading Thomas Frank and Matt Weiland. :)

As for viral marketing, it's more entertaining than your average billboard or TV commercial, but also has the potential to be more sinister. Sure, ilovebees was adorable, and we all loved it. However, I see the future of this becoming far more pervasive, and not being limited to the online realm.

In other words, taking your "attractive girl in a bar talking about her penchant for Amstel Light" anecdote a bit further, I can't help but think that we'll eventually find ourselves immersed in a reality in which we can no longer discern between the real world and the world of marketing. I don't like the idea of thinking someone who I've been conversing with was being paid to get me to do this or like that - it makes the real world way too much like professional wrestling; to what extent am I involved in the "real world," and to what extent am I being "worked"?

Contemporary advertising, in its transparency, is something I can choose to pay attention to or not pay attention to. Viral marketing, once dragged beyond the boundaries of finite time operations as well as transparency, will be nothing but dreadful for society on the whole. Call it real-life in-game advertising.

I don't like it one bit - there's a fine line between "fun and immersive, unlike the bullshit interrupting SportsCenter" and "holy crap I'm being lied to by everyone!"

Paranoid? You bet. Incorrect? Not a bit.
 
I have a personal vendetta against subliminal advertising. It's everywhere, it's gotten me, and it creeps me the hell out. Viral advertising is kind of like sublimnal advertising, except sublimnal advertsising is more direct. When you try to get into aspects of my daily life is where I draw the line. Here are some exmaples : Hot chick hitting on me/ talking to me in a Gamestop and saying that such and such games is good = Too far. Half a frame clips that tell me to buy shit : too far, but i've accpeted it. Commercials, ads, anything of the like : annoying, but I'm completely fine with it.

I agree with mykevermin completely.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Paranoid? You bet. Incorrect? Not a bit.[/quote]It's like The Truman Show only without the show, only commercials. Creepy.

I think overall viral stuff is just obnoxious. If done well it can be kinda fun, but I think open and honest stuff liek Rockstar saying "Trailer in 28 days!" adds more hype and positive press to something than some weird MySpace account.
 
Anyone here have MySpace? For the past 6+ months it's been absolutely HORRENDOUS with these things!
Getting bulletins about "LOL I GOT DRUNK N KISSED ALL MI GIRLFRIENDZ :)~" and you click the bulletin and it's like "SO U SHULD COME TO MI SITE N SEE PICZ LOL" and that's it.

I dunno, but some of it IS funny.. but, overall annoying.

The virals on the message boards don't even count because they are too obvious.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Someone's been reading Thomas Frank and Matt Weiland. :)

As for viral marketing, it's more entertaining than your average billboard or TV commercial, but also has the potential to be more sinister. Sure, ilovebees was adorable, and we all loved it. However, I see the future of this becoming far more pervasive, and not being limited to the online realm.

In other words, taking your "attractive girl in a bar talking about her penchant for Amstel Light" anecdote a bit further, I can't help but think that we'll eventually find ourselves immersed in a reality in which we can no longer discern between the real world and the world of marketing. I don't like the idea of thinking someone who I've been conversing with was being paid to get me to do this or like that - it makes the real world way too much like professional wrestling; to what extent am I involved in the "real world," and to what extent am I being "worked"?
[/QUOTE]

You're very correct in your views I believe. In fact, in the UK there's a law coming into effect next year that basically makes it illegal for a company to create a fake blogs/website promoting their products. I think random blog posts come under fire too. If you are going to do so, you must reveal who you are. I think similar ideas are being looked at over here in the US too, and while I think it might suck for the "viral marketers" I must say it seems somewhat fair.

And Lilboo you're right...MYspace is horrible now. It doesn't even count because almost anything you see on there is spam.
 
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