Games vs. Films
Which is the most effect digital medium?
Although it was great to see UK agencies doing so well at this year’s Cannes Cyber Lions awards in the viral categories, most of these accolades were for viral videos. So what, you might ask...
The results, judged by ‘traditional’ agency folk, are in line with thinking amongst many clients where there is a perception that ‘sexier’ viral video is more effective. But take a closer look at what the two deliver for your hard-won marketing buck and you get a different story….
All the statistics show that in terms of traffic, dwell time and click-throughs, viral games outperform film every time. Although a massive amount of viral films are produced, only a rare few generate big hits.
People love playing games (that’s why so many PS3s, Wii’s and X-Boxes are sold) and they love the fact that they get to play viral games for free. A great viral game creates an opportunity for interaction, brand engagement, education and datacapture that can’t be matched by a viral video.
Once a user has finished watching a film on YouTube they’re presented with recommendations for other films, disengaging them with the brand and taking them off in another direction. As the boss of Kontraband.com recently stated, “viral films don’t get click-throughs”.
In contrast, the best viral games create an opportunity for protracted engagement with the same user playing for hours over a period of months, even years - for example, InboxDMG’s “Draw It” game for the Post-It brand has notched up 100,000 hours of brand interaction, and the Freekick Fusion game we created for the Gillette brand is still getting 1 million plays per month, three years after launch.
The interface on a viral game also creates a unique opportunity to get the user to click through to find out more about a product or service, allowing you to track interactions with the game and gather permission-based data for use in future campaigns – , InboxDMG’s Jelly Jumper game for Logitech saw half a million players click-through to find out more information on the product and enter their details into the competition. And you can update the game with new products and offers over time.
Seeding is crucial to the success of any viral and games are easier to seed than films. Firstly, there are simply less games out there compared to the glut of film, making it easier for the webmasters to select a game. And secondly with the community controlling content on video sites, a film has to be extremely unique to be selected.
Viral games also provide a unique opportunity to connect with a global audience. Content can be tailored by gender, region, demographics with language, information and offers edited to match the target audience.
And with campaign integration increasingly key for marketers, viral games can be can integrated into social media campaigns, by for example hooking into Facebook to create global rankings, creating data that the client can then add to their database.
With budgets still tightly constrained, for as little as £20k a good viral game will deliver a return on your investment that viral video simply can’t promise.