There’s Gold in Them Farmville Farms!

9 Mar
2010

To be totally transparent here, I wrote a very similar article for an internal blog here at Publicis Modem a couple weeks ago. This isn’t the same article copied and pasted, rather I took the logic and arguments I used there and applied them to the blog post below. As that blog is not a public blog, I’d like to continue spreading my findings in public arenas. Thanks!

PopCap Games, of many fames including my favourite Bejeweled 2 and the awesomely titled, Plants vs Zombies, recently released their “2010 Social Gaming Research” report.

There were several surprising findings – at least to me – in this report. Among them was the fact that your typical social gamer was more than likely: female, possessing only a high school degree, with an annual income of under $50,000, and over 48. Coloured me surprised! I did not think that Farmville really extended beyond those college kids looking for the next distraction from studying. (The more I thought about it, though, the more it made sense.)

However the really big shock to me from this report was that, according to PopCap’s research, just under 33% have said they’ve spent real money on virtual currency or virtual gifts.

So I decided to put my Math Hat on. And for those that know me well, know I rarely – if ever – wear this hat. I mean, c’mon, math is the reason I’m in advertising and not accounting! (And for that I am eternally grateful every day to my 10th Grade Calculus teacher.)

So, as of February 26, 2010, the Farmville application has 82,565,873 active monthly users.

The minimum amount of money you can spend on anything in Farmville is $5.

So to be conservative, let’s say 30% of Farmville users spent $5 on something once a year. Highly doubtful that it would be a one time annual purchase but roll with me, folks. This, my friends, translates into annual sales for Zynga, the makers of Farmville, of over $123,848,810!

That’s just a little ridiculous, don’t you think? And these profits are just for the 82 million Monthly Active Users (MAU) that play Farmville! Think of all the other social gaming properties Zynga owns.

In fact, according to AppData.com, Zynga has over 241,429,522 MAU across all their gaming properties.

Based on our earlier assumptions, that’s easily over $362,144,283 in annual sales for the company!

No wonder they are one of the fastest growing social gaming companies in the world: Farmville? Pure cash cow, my readers.

Much like the cow I gave my roommate as a present back in my Dark Days (TM) of playing Farmville. But, you know. Without the cash part.

From DICE 2010: “Design Outside the Box”

2 Mar
2010

I stayed late at work last Friday, way late (for a Friday, I mean!) just because I had to watch the rest of this video I found, somehow.

It’s from the DICE Summit 2010. The speaker is Jesse Schell, a Professor of Entertainment Technology at Carnegie Mellon University and this was his talk on “Design Outside the Box.”

It started out innocently enough. “Yea! Points for brushing my teeth! My dentist sure would love that.” It even started building up to a good climax. “Sweet. Tax breaks for riding public transit!” Then it just got scary.

I won’t ruin the ending for you. But let me know what you think in the comment section. Is this a realistic view for what we could see in the future? Or taking it too far – too “doomsday” – for your tastes? Leave a comment and let me know.

When an Ad Idea Gets Bigger than a Product

13 Feb
2010

I admit it, I freaking love the Knorr Sidekicks commercials as of late. Created by DDB, Toronto, it all started with this gem:

Adorable. People liked it; they felt sorry for poor ol’ Salty. It conveyed the message well (thanks to Knorr, you won’t need Salty around anymore) but kept it lighthearted. And Salty was so cute!

But it seems the ad idea is now bigger than the product it is trying to sell. Let’s take a look at an ad I found today:

The product isn’t even mentioned. Heck, you don’t even see it until a minute in, in the final lockup. And the copy doesn’t even speak to the brand benefits. Is this an issue? Well, no, I don’t think so. Because what it does speak to is the ability to get your own FREE salt & pepper shakers by visiting their website (sidekicks.ca) I can’t lie, I’m now checking this out to see how I can get them. I’m sorry, they’re just so cute!

So… clearly the high value task here has shifted between the first ad (buy our product) to this ad (visit our website). Upon looking at the site though, the user has two options: buy the s&p shaker now for $14.99 plus shipping (an additional $7.29) or buy 3 packages of Knorr Sidekicks plus shipping.

Hm. Pay more monies ORRRR get tasty foods and pay less monies. Gee, wonder which one most people will go with. Just another indirect way to sell Knorr Sidekicks. But with the added bonus of a unique hit to their website. It’s win-win. Also win for consumers who will get a cute Salty’s in their daily lives. I’m seriously considering buying these. I wish I was joking.

Some other cute Salty’s ads can be found here and here.

In any case, you can check out Salty’s Twitter, Facebook fan page or his YouTube channel. Few items I need to off shoot and rant here about regarding these properties:

1. Most of the Twitter stuff pushes to product pages, which is fine – IF labeled as such. Instead, they’re just teaser copy and links, without disclosure of what the link is. Kind of annoying, clicking on a link thinking you might see something funny or of value to you only to find yourself on a Knorr Sidekicks product page.

2. The Facebook fan page wall is linked to the Twitter account, so all status updates on the wall are the same content as on the Twitter account. This basically says to me, “Why bother following Salty on Twitter? You can get the same content and more (ooohh, a photo album with 8 photos, if you could call that more, so impressive) on Facebook.” Don’t duplicate content. Doesn’t work in SEO, doesn’t work in SMO. Give users a reason to follow each individual account if you’re going to be on these properties – an incentive, if you will: exclusive content, funny tidbits, etc – that you can’t get already on another property. It’s fine to link out to the other social media properties, totally fine, but offer more than what is basically a RSS feed. And if that’s the case: Don’t bother signing up to that property.

2. No sharing of YouTube videos? Are you kidding me? What’s the point of putting it on YouTube then? You might as well just embedded a Quicktime video onto your site and called it a day. Lot of good non-embeddable content on YouTube does me, or anyone other fan out there. I don’t want to link in my blog posts, I want to SHOW.

Ok, rant over. I’m done now.

So what do you think? Think this ad idea has enough legs to stand on its own and support a product it barely talks about anymore? Let me know in the comments.

Cute 404 Page

8 Feb
2010

As annoyed as I get when a website is down, a good 404 page will always make me feel a little better.

HootSuite managed to at least make me smile, even if it’s not working.

Adidas Augmented Reality: Does Sweet Digital Work Mean Big Bucks?

28 Jan
2010

On February 15 (for those of you in the States), Adidas is set to launch something never before tried with footwear: Augmented Reality Shoes.

Say what?

You heard me.

Adidas Originals AR Game Pack – as they have been named – is a set of 5 shoes, each with a printed AR code on the tongue. A user can hold up the code on their webcams, where they will instantly get access to a virtual “Adidas Originals Neighbourhood.” Each shoe will have a different neighbourhood, like this one below:

But wait! There’s more!

Not only will users be able to see these neighbourhoods poppin’ out of their fancy shoes, but for February, March & April, Adidas will launch new interactive games within each neighbourhood where the shoe itself will be the game controller.

With two weeks left until launch of the shoes, Adidas has released a teaser video. While it doesn’t show the augmented reality in action, it does show the kind of variety you can expect to see, dependent on the type of shoe purchased.

This campaign has yet to launch and already the blogosphere is a-buzz with this new and innovative approach to selling shoes. But will this kind of digital work translate into big bucks for Adidas? I’m definitely curious and will be following the launch of the Adidas Originals AR Game Pack closely.

Thanks to a Digital Buzz Blog post for the image up top.
<object width=”560″ height=”340″><param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/IsTxpouPCMc&hl=en_US&fs=1&”></param><param name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”></param><param name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”></param><embed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/IsTxpouPCMc&hl=en_US&fs=1&” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”560″ height=”340″></embed></object>

People Blog! There’s No Need for Privacy, Y’see!

11 Jan
2010

I am going to do my best and not get all CAPS HAPPY when writing about the following article. Must. Control. Rage.

<Deep breath.> Ok.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook.com, recently told a live audience that the age of privacy is now over and if he were to create Facebook again today, user information would be publicly available rather than private, as it has been for years.

And what is his reasoning, you might ask? Why would users be perfectly fine with anyone accessing their private information? Why, because WE ALL BLOG, OF COURSE!

(Oops, sorry, the caps slipped out.)

Yes. Society is one big giant blogger and it’s Facebook’s duty to follow suit. Don’t believe me? Words from the wonder kid himself:

And then in the last 5 or 6 years, blogging has taken off in a huge way and all these different services that have people sharing all this information. People have really gotten comfortable not only sharing more information and different kinds, but more openly and with more people. That social norm is just something that has evolved over time.

We view it as our role in the system to constantly be innovating and be updating what our system is to reflect what the current social norms are.

OK, Facebook, listen up! You’re missing three very key important points here:

ONE. Yes, blogging is big. Pretty big, in fact. But Facebook-worthy big? Hells to the no. As Marshall Kirkpatrick writes, “Not very many people write blogs, almost everyone is on Facebook.”

And he’s right. I can think of numerous friends (Facebook friends, fancy that!) that do not blog, nor have any interest in blogging. Ironically, I can even think of privacy-zealot friends, who rightfully freaked out about the Facebook privacy changes this past December, who blog.

TWO. Which brings me to my second point: The difference between blogging and Facebook’s outlook on privacy is that with blogging we 100% control the information. I’ll say it again for emphasis: I ONE HUNDRED PERCENT CONTROL the information I put on any blog I own. Whereas, where it looks like Facebook is headed, they could completely take away that control. They could give my personal information to whomever they like, whenever they like, however they like and not tell me. And some things, like my profile picture, I can’t do anything to stop them from sharing that with the world. Does that make me feel comfortable? All warm and fuzzy on the inside? Absolutely not.

THREE. My last point: I expected better from the world’s largest social networking site. Facebook, really? Do you hear the tone of disappointment in my voice? Because it’s there. It’s really, really there.

You are not a follower. You shouldn’t be a follower. You didn’t get to where you were by following trends but by breaking through with something different and new. So don’t go trying to conform to “social norms” (which I would still argue, as who the h-e-double hockey sticks would find giving away their privacy, no problem, “normal”?)

What you could have done (what you should have done) was become a LEADER in privacy. Show the rest of those silly social networks how IT IS DONE. Boom goes the dynamite, done. Give your users somewhere they can feel safe, where they can interact with their friends and not have to worry about who is seeing what. And who is selling what.

TO WRAP UP. I think there’s any opportunity here, for some young whippersnapper, to seize. If a respectable Facebook competitor would emerge, built on a platform of trust and privacy, I could really see many people, including my lovable privacy-zealot friends, switching over immediately and completely purging their Facebook accounts.

The problem right now is there is no real competitor to Facebook, and this results in users having very little choice and say in what happens with their accounts, as we’ve seen over and over with the Facebook redesigns and policy changes in the last couple of years (seriously, how do they manage to NOT LISTEN AT ALL?!).

So, young whippersnappers: hop to! Give Facebook a run for its money! And leave our information to us. We know what to do with it. Trust us.

(I think I did maybe a B+ on the “Avoiding Caps” scale. I’ll work harder next time. Maybe.)

Meme: Create a New Song from 21 Different Songs

7 Jan
2010

Saw this little meme on another blog today and thought it would be interesting. Let’s see what we get.

Put your music player on shuffle, and write down the first line of the first twenty-one songs. Post the poem that results. The first line of the twenty-second is the title.

He’s 5 Foot 2 & He’s 6 Feet 4
Crawl through the darkness, fear all that don’t, fate is a gift
You were the mother of three girls so sweet
What? well fuck you…bitch
No, no, no, no, don’t phunk with my heart.

Ooh, now let’s get down tonight
It won’t do
Pardon me while I burst
On my way up north.

Everyday all of these crimes are committed
I feel you creeping, I can see it from my shadow
Come to decide that the things that I tried
I’ve been so many places in my life and time.

The good times are killing me. Here we go!
It ain’t no joke I’d like to buy the world a toke
Well he lit you up
Pride can stand a thousand trials.

Will someone please call a surgeon
There’s another world inside of me
I pray for rain because I’m trying
This here’s a tale for all the fellas.

Kind of funny! Especially the 4th paragraph to me. Hah. What do you think? Can you name any or all of these songs?

Top Ten Favourite Blog Finds of 2009

31 Dec
2009

It’s that time of the year again! When everyone starts rolling out their favourite lists for 2009. And I am not ashamed to admit I am a slave to trends! I hop on the bandwagon so fast, you wouldn’t even see me on the ground. I have no identity or a creative thought in my body! Etcetera.

But I know what you’re really here for. Oh, boy, do I! You loaded up this page in the hopes of seeing a majestic, nay! a magical! top ten list from yours truly. And I shall not disappoint my readers, no! I shall fulfill their every wish, their every whim, because that is how wonderful I am. How good. How kind. How… blah, blah, blah, amirite?

I could go on and on about myself. I do it a lot. I have already done it a lot in two paragraph. Have I ever! So I’ll stop. I’ll stop so you’ll keep reading this. Instead, I will present to you:

Emma’s Top Ten Favourite Blog Finds of 2009! Da-da-da-da!

1. Clients from Hell

The latest fad in the advertising/marketing blogroll. Clients from Hell is “a collection of anonymously contributed client horror stories from designers.” Funny and frustrating all at once!

A recent post which is definitely LOL-worthy:
Last night I was sleeping and Jesus came to me in my dream and had this image in his hand. He said that he has blessed this image and this image only for the book. If I use any other image I am going against the will of our lord.

2. Behind the Seams

One of my favourite new fashion blogs, BtS is a blog created and updated by Trang, a truly beautiful and fashionable girl. She lives in Florida and sporadically posts what she’s wearing, DIY projects or reviews on collections. She recently won Stylelist & Bluefly “America’s Most Stylish Blogger” contest, beating out several other contestants.

Unfortunately, she does not allowed downloading or reproducing images so I will respect that and not post a picture here. But if you want to see the winning outfits for this contest, check out this entry. Congrats, Trang!

3. AdJoke.ca

AdJoke.ca is an advertising blog that was created by Tyler Turnbull and Paul Crowe in 2007. I have had the pleasure of working with both Paul and Tyler at Publicis Modem here in Toronto and I can say that I’ve seen first-hand how brilliant these boys are. Don’t let my bias distract you though, this is a great blog, filled with hidden gems, strong opinions and good commentary.

Tyler even wrote a great article, The Top 10 Badass Brands of 2009, upon my suggestion. Thanks Ty!

4. Generation Y Comics

Where would we be without a little friendly plugging? Generation Y Comics is a comic strip created by my good friends Matt and Bryan and it is kinda? autobiographical. I can’t tell. I mean, they do have a mutant, giant turtle as a friend… Either way, it is good times, trufax!

Local Torontonians will recognize such gems as TD Bank in the background or the Alice Fazooli Stella specials on Thursdays. And what comic is complete without a little Farmville joke?

5. He Loves Me Not

As many of my friends will attest, I like talking about relationships. So naturally, I really like Sarah’s blog “He Loves Me Not” which details her trials and tribulations with personal relationships. This girl has been through a lot in the last year, including finally breaking free of an emotional and physically abusive relationship with an alcoholic and drug user. As a reader who has been following her for a long time, I am so proud that’s she’s moved on and is healthier and happier for it.

It’s definitely not the cheeriest blog around but it’s real and my heart goes out to her for all she’s been through. Keep moving forward Sarah, and don’t look back!

6. The Uniform Project

If you haven’t heard of The Uniform Project yet, let me introduce it to you!

In May 2009, The Uniform Project pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week and every day, the outfit will be reinvented, with the help of layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies.

The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums. So far, $50, 943 has been raised which translates to 141 kids in school.

Not only is this a great cause, but the fashion is awesome. It’s so interesting to see the same thing worn every day but how many different looks can be pulled off with it. Please go check it out!

7. Things Marketing People Love

So this blog has been dead for a while now but while it was hot, it was hot! Buzz words that marketers love to use were posted to this Tumblr over the period of a few months. Funny to see things you may have (and I am guilty here) used in conversations with coworkers or clients.

8. Digital Buzz Blog

A great resources for the latest and greatest in the digital world. Digital Buzz Blog features “the latest digital ad campaigns, hot new websites, interactive marketing ideas, virals, industry news, social media, insights, and other great digital trends from all over the world.”

Contributors range from Australia, Turkey, and the US and cover a wide variety of topics. Want to impress someone on your knowledge of the latest in the industry? Head over there and take your pick of posts. You’ll look better for it. Just remember to source. ;)

9. Starting Over at 24

This blog has been a little bit quiet for a while, but I’ve got it in here because even if it’s not being updated, going through the archives is definitely worth it.

As the about section describes this blog: After 6 years of dating only one girl, I found myself single at 24 (now 26) and tackling the dating scene for my first time. These are my adventures, my mishaps, and stories of triumph… Lordy it’s rough.

There are some pretty hilarious posts here, including my favourite: To Don Quixote Pt 2 of 2 aka one of the worst dating stories I’ve read probably ever.

10. The Renegade Agency Confessional

Last but not least! we have The Renegade Agency Confessional. An ad agency in Baltimore, they definitely have some great posts and are a good resource for any wee ad agency wannabe. I’ve talked about them before and you’d do yourself a favour to ad them to your blogroll.

Two recent posts of theirs I really enjoyed: It’s beginning to look a lot like McChristmas (a great picture of the number of McDonald’s in the US) and Nothing like an A-hole with B-roll (a great find – a YouTube video all about B-rolls). Check them out!

And there we have it! My Top Ten Favourite Blog Finds of 2009! I hope you find some blogs in here that pique your interest. If you have any you’d like to share, leave them in the comments! I’ll be more than happy to check them out!

Happy holidays everyone! Here’s to a brilliant 2010!

Year in Review Meme: 2009

30 Dec
2009

I try hard not to get too personal on my blog here but I think it is fitting for me to look back at this year and review. 2009 was a very trying year for many people I know. It was a huge year of transition for me. Starting this blog was part of that transition to establish myself in Toronto once again after I returned from traveling.

So I’ve decided to do the Year in Review meme that’s going around. This is one of my most personal blog posts I’ve ever written here. Please be gentle.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Epitome of Ridiculousness: JG Wentworth

28 Dec
2009
I don’t… get… this ad? What kind of brief was this? And the clients were… pleased with the results?

That said, the YouTube ad has over 700 comments, so clearly its doing its job of getting talked about. Not sure I agree with harukalioncourt who said:

This is one of the most creative commericals [sic] I have seen in the whole of my life!

One of the most creative commercials they’ve ever seen? Oh geez, my inner ad geek is CRYING BUCKETS right now. I think her poor little ad heart is broke too.

You want a good ad? Try this one on for size:

Editing, music, imagery, strong moments in history all pull together to help you reflect how long it has been. Follow that up with a strong statistic about the longevity of the brand and you have an ad that can create an emotive and logical response.

Or perhaps the “He Shoots, He Scores!” Coca Cola ad from the 2002 Olympics which Coca Cola is broadcasting again in anticipation of the 2010 Olympics. I did my best to find a video but all I could find was this mention on Advertolog. As a Canadian, that ad gets to me.

C’mon JG Wentworth. Pull yourself together and raise the bar, ok? I know I will thank you if you do. Repeatedly.

Older Entries
top