Mafia Wars Helps Drive Sales for Public Enemies DVD and Blu Ray

To help promote the December 8 DVD and Blu Ray release of Public Enemies, an ingenious cross promotional campaign was created, led by Appsavvy, a direct sales team for the social media group Zynga (creators of Mafia Wars), and by Ignited, the marketing innovations agency working on behalf of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.  “Public Enemies on Mafia Wars is the blockbuster social media campaign of 2009,” says Chris Cunningham, co-founder and CEO of Appsavvy.  During “Public Enemies Week” on Mafia Wars, (there are currently 25+ million monthly active players), users could complete jobs in the game to unlock Public Enemies Loot, which featured virtual items featured in the film.  Users could also view actual clips from the movie, as well as Public Enemies factoids, of course, along with friendly reminders of the DVD and Blu Ray release date.  So the question is – did the campaign work?

What is now been called a “viral success,” Appsavvy recorded nearly 55 million interactions with Public Enemies Loot.  The Loot and Job interactions in Mafia Wars showed up in News Feeds more than 7.6 million times, generating nearly 25,000 “Likes” and 26,000 comments.  And although that’s all fine and dandy in the world of social media, what does that translate into in terms of DVD and Blu Ray Sales?  For a movie that was considered a box office disappointment (grossing only 97.1 million in theaters), it sold over $15 million in DVD and Blu Rays its first week, (coming in second only to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). And it did score a win debuting ahead of Harry Potter at number one for Home Movie Rentals.  Coincidence?  Or just plain creative advertising.

“This effort with Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Zynga demonstrated these fundamentals of social media marketing to perfection,” Chris Cunningham continues.  According to Mike Wokosin, VP of digital marketing for Universal Studios Home Entertainment, “Mafia Wars was an incredibly dynamic environment to seamlessly integrate our property and to effectively engage a significant and relevant audience.”  Although this campaign was the first of its kind, we should expect to see similar promotions as the right opportunities arise. And if you have to know…although I did not buy the movie, I made it #1 in my Netflix Queue.  And yes, I was thinking of all of my Mafia Wars items as I watched the movie.  More proof that, if done right, advertising through social media outlets can and does work!

I have opted out of Buzz because I heard about this integration close upon its launch shortly after seeing who my ‘top contacts’ were. I don’t particularly want to connect my mother, aunts, and brother with ex-girlfriends and old frat buddies (This is why we’re not Facebook friends, mom). I’m sure my personal life isn’t the only one that would benefit from keeping certain social areas separate.

However, I can see the wisdom behind Google’s move…well maybe not the wisdom, but the reasoning behind it. In order to compete with long established social media sites like Facebook and Twitter where long time users already have friends in the hundreds, Google had to assume that people wouldn’t want to ‘start fresh’ with a third, fourth, or fifth social site, and starting out with a base set of followers would really expedite the connection process. These social media communities can take a long time to set up because finding people you know and want to connect to can be found much more quickly searching your 2nd degree connections rather then searching for people individually.

The launch of Google Buzz is equivalent to launching a new NFL, NBA, or MLB overnight, and expecting everyone to wake up with their jerseys on. Google has made incredible strides in providing fast, free, and accurate information to nearly everyone, unless of course you’re in China or looking for Donald Rumsfeld’s house on Google Earth (Go head, try it), but needs to take more consideration into the privacy of its customers. Providing information is one thing, shining spotlights on people’s personal lives is another.

I’m talking about interactive marketing, the hybrid between different media all working together (hopefully) seamlessly. There are many different ‘forms’ of interactive marketing, but it all revolves around the same point: spreading a brand massively by word of mouth. While the every day marketer is becoming more and more adept at using new technology, there are a few small gimmicks that I’ve stumbled upon that have really struck as ingenious.

The Travel Channel: In an effort to gain a younger audience, the Travel Channel decided to the hit 18-35’s right where it hurts; their Facebook. The Travel Channel unleashed a Facebook app titled ‘kidnap’ where users can kidnap their friends and take them to different cities and earn points by answering geographical trivia questions. If you think this might not be a great way to reach your audience, about 2 million Facebook users would disagree. In its first 6 weeks of inception, over 1,700,000 requests were sent, coming out to just over 40,000 requests to friends, by friends, a day.

Pepsi: While Pepsi has always been a heavily promoted brand, they have seen their successes on the big name, big budget advertising methods saved for only the largest of industry powerhouses. However, Pepsi has taken an incredible new step with their big budget Super Bowl ad; refusing to make it. Pepsi has instead launched www.refresheverything.com, an outreach project that invites users to submit ideas for a grant to improve their communities. This site allows anyone to submit an idea for a project, and then allows the site’s users to vote on who is awarded the grant, ranging anywhere from 5 to 250k, awarded monthly. To date, Pepsi has 729 submitted proposals and over 1.3 million in available funding. This project launched under the basis that Pepsi wanted to do something with its advertising that could help a down economy and directly improve people’s lives rather then put on one thirty-second Super Bowl spot.

Lost: ABC’s hit show has always used its fan base to help spread the message and used its web following to create a culture around the show. That’s why this first gimmick could very well be the work of some guy messing around at work instead of a corporate viral team, but the effect is still the same. www.kayak.com, a travel search engine, is either a victim of a fanboy employee gone rogue or a stroke of genius. Because I’m a nice guy, I did this for you, but if you search for flights originating from Sydney, Australia to LAX on September 22nd, you will see a flight advertised that doesn’t exist. For those of you not familiar with the show, this is the flight and fictitious airline whose crash is the basis of the show. Whether or not anyone ‘officially’ knows its there is a mystery to me, but this little gimmick has received a huge praise from people even outside of Lost-nerd circles.

These examples reflect the creative, interactive, and community oriented vibe that viral marketers crave to design. Even if they are doing little more then talking about their brands, these ideas have exposed themselves to their target audiences a great deal with relatively low cost, quality creative ideas. Viral marketing is beginning to show up everywhere and, as the name suggests, is going to keep spreading and spreading, keeping people like me up all night thinking of the next great way to do it big.

I like to be surprised. Good creative and a good message doesn’t have to be set up like a joke or explained to me. I see a spot and either like it or don’t. The internet and all the social and viral marketing has changed the way we see ads now, especially when it comes to the Super Bowl ads.

Personally, I miss Mean Joe Green tossing the jersey to that little boy in the tunnel and the warm fuzzy feeling that I had when I 1^st saw it. Wow and I still remember it. Funny I don’t remember any of last years ads, I wonder what I won’t remember this year…

The one thing that is common between anyone who uses the internet is that they desire content relevant to their interests. People who are interested in something as simple as finding a new camping spot, for example, generally have to sift through a sea of distractions to get what they want: information. Let’s say that a group of friends and I are going on our yearly camping trip, and want to find a new spot to explore. I want to find out a little information about some spots first, so I start searching around. I Google the word camping, and my first results are advertisements from REI on buying a new tent, offers to register to some anonymous newsletter about American camping, or I’m looking at the hottest RV lodges in town. Not exactly what I’m looking for, and I dismiss this entire search as clutter. This doesn’t mean that I might not be in the market for some new camping gear from REI, but that isn’t the content I’m trying to find RIGHT NOW.

This presents a window of opportunity for any company that’s willing to go after someone in this stage of planning their trip. Let’s say I get a little more creative with my searching, and Google great camping spots in Flagstaff, Arizona. Here we find the websites to a few national park websites and locally ran niche sites that will champion one of their spots as the best. Once again, I don’t want to be advertised too, and I still cannot find the content I need. Hmm…I smell an opportunity.

Obviously, this is the kind of consumer that an on-line camping supply company (henceforth referred to as Jim’s) would salivate over. Unfortunately, Jim’s only exposure is in the first Google search, and it’s screaming through the monitor BUY! BUY! BUY!, not exactly attractive unless a person is only looking to buy. This is where Jim’s has the opportunity to provide a customer actual value. What if Jim’s publishes a blog about 10 great local campgrounds, and invites site users a chance to write about their favorite camping spots, comparing and sharing memorable experiences worth writing about? This opens a dialogue between Jim’s online marketer and his consumers about a common interest, and is directing traffic to his website via blog. As Jim’s blog gains readership and people start hosting links through their comments, suddenly Jim’s store is becoming a hotspot for the best camping information around.

This is a great way for Jim’s to provide another level of service to their customers by not only providing the tools for their trip, but a place to reminisce, explore and connect with others interested in the same thing. Jim’s on-line shoppers are going to start subscribing to their blog and probably shoot some of the articles over to their camping buddies at work. Slowly more and more people are being exposed to this conversation, and thanks to new blog posts have something else to discuss every couple of weeks. Jim’s has started to create an on-line community about common, genuine, interests; common interests that have serious buying power in Jim’s niche.

Let’s say I start my search again, and this time, Jim’s blog about the top ten local camping spots pops up on my search. After scanning through the article and looking at the comments people left about these particular camping spots, I have access to an open discussion on a topic that I’m actually interested in. Holy relevant search content, Batman, I’ve finally found something worth clicking on! I’ve also happened to land on Jim’s website, which not only has provided me the value of some riveting camping content, but has me visualizing my next camping experience, and now I’m getting excited about it. Here’s where new readers are going to think about the details of their trip and remember their past experiences, and luckily for Jim’s, I just remembered my tent falling out of my truck coming home from last year’s trip. Looks like I’m going to have to pick up some new gear for this year. Good thing this blog I’m reading has a store less than an inch away from it, let’s see what they got…

New Slogan & Logo
Being a part of the advertising community, I felt slightly guilty not investigating the rebrand further. According to the New York Times, the tweaking of the Sci Fi name (which was introduced in 1992) is part of an effort to distinguish the channel and its programming from other cable competitors. But Syfy executives saw other reasons for why launching a rebranding campaign would prove beneficial.
For one, Sci Fi is a vague name and genre that cannot be trademarked. They realized that their name wasn’t defining who they were. Potential viewers already had their own perception of the “Sci Fi genre” and they wanted to be different. It didn’t capture the full landscape of fantasy entertainment.
According to Mark Stern, executive VP of Syfy, the new name also hopes to explore the types of programming the network currently lacks, such as animation and single camera half hour shows. The new slogan, “Imagine Greater” allows creative forces limitless options towards future programming. They also saw that although the change was risky, the name is similar enough to the original brand to convey continuity to its older viewers, making confusion minimal.
But it’s not all about finding oneself in the world of advertising. The channel, which estimates their 2009 ad revenue at $408.3 million, hopes the change will offer more options to potential advertisers. A larger variety of programming targeting different demographics will help. So, is it time for a rebrand? As one participant in the branding campaign put it: “If I were texting, this is how I would spell it.” Something to think about if you’re considering a change. A true sign of the times!

Our company (www.tomaadv.com) prides ourselves on being the low cost provider with superior service. We are a quick, dependable, very convenient one call that does it all company. Our job is to make our clients jobs easier. We do everything we can to make our clients advertising and marketing more efficient and effective. We want our clients to get there unfair market share. We want our clients to have Top of Mind Awareness.
Then we need to tell our target audience, which right now just happens to be you, our P.O.D’s. We need to make our P.O.D’s resonate with you, and make them relevant. If you don’t make them take notice then you will just sound like Charlie Brown’s parents.
In the sea of sameness we need to have an edge: a distinction between us and our competitors otherwise we are all just the same.
So stop and take a minute right now and ask yourself “What’s Your Point?” Hopefully you got mine.

The Report also listed 10 great “Take-Aways” regarding their findings.  Here are a few that I thought were worth sharing.

Brands Still Matter

According to Millward Brown, as long as consumers believe a product/service has value, they will be willing to pay for it.  I found this very interesting considering today’s economic situation.  This just shows the huge importance of creating an excellent brand image, especially in today’s market!

Don’t Be Greedy

I love this one!  The Report states, “Consumers are not in the mood for greed. And greed is not required for success. Once we are on the other side of this economic slowdown, consumer spending will pick up. But perhaps slowly, as people internalize the lessons of our recent boom and bust history. They will want quality, intelligently-created, well-designed products.  But they may not want one in every color.”

I do believe that many consumers are becoming more conscious of their spending and are moving towards simpler, more economical (and even greener) solutions for their everyday needs.  Moreover, by supporting local charities and events, not only will your community benefit, but so will your Brand!

Think Value For Money

Everyone is looking for value these days!  Frivolous spending is becoming a thing of the past, so Marketers have the renewed challenge of creating messages that can creatively and effectively communicate their Brand’s value.

Be Real

Millward Brown believes that with lower budgets and mounting concerns, today’s customers have become more serious.  Consumers want to support trustworthy brands that will meet their expectations.  Brands need to take a cue from this growing sentiment and make sure that they are not taking their customers’ needs lightly.  Not only does good marketing need to communicate value, but it also needs to show how the product/service satisfies the consumer’s needs and desires.

Stay Relevant

This is a huge one!  In today’s economic climate, more and more consumers are “trading down” in order to save money.  This definitely creates new challenges, but it also creates new opportunities!  Millward Brown sites Starbucks as a great example of staying relevant.  In order to save money, many consumers have been trading their coffeehouse drinks for brewing their own coffee at home.  Starbucks adapted to these new conditions, recently launching a range of instant coffees in order to retain these customers, and maybe even appeal to some new ones!

Source: Millward Brown, BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2009,http://www.millwardbrown.com/Sites/Optimor/Media/Pdfs/en/BrandZ/BrandZ-2009-Report.pdf