Vindictus is a physics-based action MMORPG which uses a modified Source Engine and has amazing graphics! Those who were lucky enough to play the game at the stand were impressed with the high quality of the game play, and loved the fact that they could grab the enemies and throw them around. If you’re interested in finding out more about Vindictus, then check out the Facebook fan page for all the latest updates on the launch plans.

So, back to Gamescom, it was a great week where we met with lots of lovely gaming journalists from all over the continent learning lots about the gaming trends in different countries, as well as learning more about the world of MMO gaming.

It’s becoming more and more important for MMO titles to have a presence in social media as, after all a key feature of playing a MMO game is the ability to share the experience with others, something which is a key element of social media. By existing within the social space, companies can not only connect with key influencers and build relationships with these individuals, but they can create a sense of community for their players outside of the game too.

@kelly_moor

How many times has a spreadsheet stopped you doing what you know is right? 

Posted via email from Thoughts from Chris Buckley

I’m not entirely sure what it takes to be labeled a social media ‘guru’, ‘expert’, or ‘ninja’ these days; but I’m willing to bet that the ability to develop an informed understanding of a brand’s audience doesn’t feature on the checklist (There isn’t a checklist, is there? I’m not ruling it out, but it would definitely be written by a guru!).

This imbalance is a problem, on a number of fronts.

Ninjas aside, it is increasingly concerning to hear that in some commercial environments it seems that as long as someone can display that they ‘get’ social media, then that is considered a good enough foundation to be developing social media strategies for brands – and worse, to take a view on what kind of content is going to be compelling to its audience.
As such I can sense a touch of arrogance creeping into our industry, and a self propelled crystal ball-ish feel surrounding what social media people do. The result: Strategies and campaigns are less consumer centric than in other channels. The answer: Insight, insight, insight. Every strategy and campaign should be grounded in as much relevant consumer research as one can get their hands on.

An example of a campaign that seemingly underestimated the importance of insight is Motrin’s ‘Mom Babywearing’ campaign. In case you missed it, a Web video ad for the painkiller (Motrin), a Johnson & Johnson owned brand, was pushed out via YouTube targeted at mothers and talking about the physical pain involved with carrying an infant in a sling.

Watch it by clicking here.

The clear intention was to speak empathetically to moms, strengthening the bond between the target audience and the brand by demonstrating that the folks at Motrin understand the challenges of being a mother. Unfortunately, however, they only managed alienate much of their audience and had to deal with some very offended moms, who felt like they had been blatantly insulted for “wearing their babies”. A flood of angry blog posts and tweets followed. While I’m sure no offense was intended, they definitely hit the wrong nerve of their target audience with this one. Undoubtedly, this is a mistake that could have been avoided by paying a bit more attention to the consumer during the planning stage.

Attempting to communicate and engage with any audience without an informed understanding of their habits, preferences, desires, and above all – what is important to them, and what isn’t – is a waste of time, money, and good ideas.

A simple message, but a vitally important one. Insight is king, even in social media.

For more insight, follow me: @richwebley
Richard Webley, Engagement planner

The app launched last month, and it’s free to download from the Apple iTunes Store. Not only that, but it has a heap of exciting features, sure to keep beauty lovers entertained as they peruse the shelves. The app allows its users to browse a gallery of make-up looks as inspiration, as well as watch tutorials from professionals to learn the art of application. To make it more exciting and current, it also allows shoppers to scan products on the shelves to bring up information on the product they are scanning. To develop this further, it would be even more exciting, and add to its functionality, if people were able to view real time reviews from the users of the product they are scanning, to help inform their purchasing decision. Even better, if users could see other shoppers’ tweets in the area, who may be talking about L-Oreal!

There are other iPhone apps to help you with your beauty woes, including the Hair Caster app, which uses your location, and analyses the local weather and humidity to enable you to style your hair accordingly. If you like a slightly more brutal app, then the Beauty app, computes the beauty factor of your face, based on how proportional and symmetrical your face is! It will then give you a figure between 1 and 100.

If you have an iPhone, then try them out and let us know how you get on!
@Naomi2303

How the Ford Explorer reveal worked

Pre-launch; Ford drummed up excitement and anticipation through the Ford Explorer Facebook page by promising that they would give away a new Explorer if the page grew to 30,000 fans; while driving traffic to the page with strategic interactive online media buys (including sites like AOL, Yahoo, Washington Post).

On the day; Ford delivered a considered performance, kicking off with a pre-reveal video featuring celebrity brand ambassador Mike Row and CEO Alan Mulally. Soon to follow was a very dramatic official reveal video in true auto-show-reveal style, detailed tours of the car, photo gallery, live Q&A session with the CEO and subsequent live chat with featured Ford employees.

To anyone who works in social media, the car industry, or indeed any industry that involves product launches – this is exciting. Ford seems to have embraced the concept of giving their consumers a voice, and turning up the volume. They clearly understand their audience, and where they spend their time. What’s more, their apparent willingness to invite unmediated feedback and commentary around their brand and products creates a much deserved sense of credibility and authenticity.

Exciting as it may be, the Explorer campaign is by no means over, and interestingly it still has the potential to be a flop. Why? Because there is still six months before consumers can actually buy the vehicle. The challenge for Ford – keeping the 56,552 Facebook fans engaged over the next six months. Extending the conversation, and ultimately converting some of these into customers. Six months is a long time, so I suspect that many other car brands will be closely watching how this pans out, hoping for some proof of concept before they embrace this new way of thinking about product reveals.

Time will tell, I guess. That said, I’m sure Ford aren’t the only car manufacturer to have considered doing it this way, and when it comes to experimenting with digital and social media, in my eyes, doing beats thinking. So, I think Ford should be admired for taking on uncertainty, and for their commitment to using social channels to shake up more traditional methods of bringing new models to market. Bravo.

To enjoy the how the campaign worked, have a look at this page on facebook.

Richard Webley, Engagement planner
@richwebley

Facebook status updates went into overdrive. The disappointment was apparent and frustration from many that this could happen to one of the best clubs in the world. Groups were formed by clubbing fans titled “Fabric: the beating heart of London”. A Twibbon was also created to appear on fans’ profile pictures. The biggest concern for Fabric fans was that a new buyer would change the music policy of the club and these social media tools were used to send a message to the new owners of Fabric.

Thanks to the conversations taking place on the social platforms the buyers saw the cultural value to the club. They released a statement across the social media platforms letting the fans know that they will be honouring the original vision of the club and the globally popular music policy will stay the same.

Although social media can cause obstacles for brands, this is a perfect example of when social media can be used to the benefit of the company. In this case, the power of social media arguably shaped a business decision. Fabric is now playing on social media more than ever. It knows the support is there and is tapping into the fan base. The tagline “Fabric: the beating heart of London”, that was created on Facebook, is being used across the majority of Fabric’s publicity.

This is a clear message that social media has given the public a voice which can shape the business world so now more than ever it needs to be listened to. Fabric listened to what its public had to say which I believe will be the reason for its continued success.

Rebecca Hunt – Entertainment guru and social butterfly
@bexhunt

Posted via email from Thoughts from Chris Buckley



1. Appeals to everyone
2. Alienates no-one

Sounds obvious doesn’t it? Plenty haven’t received such a positive reaction. The Frosties singing kid… The Go Compare opera singer…Anyone who’s ever appeared in a Halifax advert?

The Old Spice Guy takes the negative, 70’s view of when men were men – and stretches it to its absurd, illogical conclusion, crafting a compelling character people simply want to spend time with. Aside from causing men to spontaneously drop down into the press up position and want to make wine racks out of oak, this has the same affect on both men and women. It’s too obvious to say that he’s envied by men and adored by women etc, etc. When in fact, the key to his popularity is that both men and women simply ‘get’ the over the top humour, self mockery and ‘I know someone exactly like this’ bravado. In short, the quality of content was amazing, which fostered a gripping sense of suspense and excitement around what he might say next. Whoever said ‘silverfish hand catch’ before?!

The tone, style and delivery humanises the brand without taking itself too seriously, and the unique vocabulary showed a humorous attitude from the Old Spice guys towards their own brand that was only ever going to breed appreciation and create advocacy. Ok, so the construction of this particular character is genius, but let’s strip away the humour for a second…

Old Spice turns to social media as a channel to market

It realises that Old Spice wasn’t built to be social. It wasn’t created to converse.
Yet, it’s recognised that the future success of the brand is dependent on how quickly it can evolve to meet the desire of a connected people to engage with it.
Acknowledges that people would rather engage with people (in social spaces) than brands. Queue funny, entertaining, and accessible human.

Overwhelming success

It makes sense really. It also suggests that the use of human brand characters is the most effective method we currently have to close the gap between a static juggernaut of a brand and the lightning pace of the web.

What’s impressive about this particular example is that it created genuine engagement and participation without abandoning what the brand stands for. They haven’t had to reinvent their sturdy positioning, and at no point have they shoved the brand into viewers’ throats. Perfect.

I’m on a horse.

Richard Webley, Engagement Planner, Headstream
@richwebley

What an influence the American programmer, Mark Zuckerberg, who founded Facebook a mere 6 years ago has had.  Do you think he could have envisaged the impact his platform would have on the world?  Eight percent of the world’s population is a Facebook user.  That’s one in 12 people!  As the today’s front page article of the Metro states, if Facebook were a country, it would be the world’s third largest!

Social media as an industry has definitely demonstrated its influence on today’s social and business world.  And Facebook has had its fair share of headlines during this meteoric rise in awareness. Today’s article is a clear indication of how this platform has the shoulders to stand up and be counted in more ways than one. 

You can’t escape Facebook and social media as an industry; it is around every corner and no matter what you think it has undoubtedly had an impact on your life, no matter how little or how much.  Having spent seven years in a region that pretty much frowns upon Facebook; and to a degree hasn’t embraced social media in its entirety (and oh how I wish it would), it was an eye-opener to me to see what’s really happening out there on my return to British shores.

I just hope it is only a matter of time before such news reaches countries not yet too convinced by its influence.  I’d like to think it is only a matter of time before the restricting governing bodies acknowledge social media and what it can deliver.  With restrictions relaxed companies will be able to, and undoubtedly will want to, include it as part of their business model.  Look, Facebook gleefully raked in hundreds of millions in advertising last year alone… a testament to its worth (which stands at an estimated £15billion by the way), and the reason why we do what we do on a daily basis.  Why wouldn’t a business want to embrace social media and engage with their customers?

*Metro article http://bit.ly/bd4uM5

@nickwheywell