Month: February 2017

No one dies tonight

Run, stickman, run! But watch out for the deathtraps!

The stickmen’s lives depend on you! One stickman is not too hard to control – but 5?! If just one man dies, they’re all screwed – can you take the pressure?

Save your stickmen as they run for their lives, trying to avoid falling into treacherous worlds of hell fire, ice spikes, hungry sharks, terrifying demons and flesh-eating plants.

Can you get your men through the night without dying?

 

An endless game that is addictive and fun, the concept around this I really fun and quite frustrating. From playing the game, I found myself trying to beat my score and trying to make the little characters survive longer and longer, the game relies on very simple yet intuitive controls which is just tapping on a certain part of the screen.

• What has the developer done well?

The game itself was marketed on snapchat as a story on mashable which initially made me go to the app store and download it. I found the app easy to learn and hard to master like most games that are on the app store now. The style they have went for is simple and clean. The colour pallet they have used is cohesive and pleasing to look at. On an addictive scale, they have the right balance between being impossible and fun, the game requires you to not only beat your own score, but that of others. I like this concept as it is always pushing you forward and making you want to play more and beat others as well as yourself. They have multiple levels of difficulty in the game which shows how fleshed out it is and how they have thought about creating more challenges in the game.

• Are they missing anything?

Yes, they could have a simple version with one track which could be for the very beginners in the game making it more immersive and then they could have another track appear and make it more of a buildable challenge.

 

• How does their product look and what do you “feel” when you use it?

 

The app is responsive on ipad, which is where I was using it, the way the characters move and create a bond with the user is also a good aspect, I must have lost 20-30 minutes to this game without realising and that is something that is a strength. Although the ad placement in the game is rather annoying and too often like most free app models on the app store the ads are normally after every other game which can get annoying when all you want to do is play the game, the way in which they got around this is to include an option for no ads which costs money, I feel like this is a good way and feels like a natural progression if you like the game and want to support the creators work.

 

 

http://www.marketing-schools.org/types-of-marketing/viral-marketing.html

What is viral marketing

Viral marketing is a business strategy that uses existing social networks to promote a product. Its name refers to how consumers spread information about a product with other people in their social networks, much in the same way that a virus spreads from one person to another.

The basis of viral marketing is in the spread of information by word-of-mouth, but modern technology has allowed the viral effect to include many Internet-based platforms as well.

 

Viral marketing typically supplies its audience with something of value for free. This can be something as simple as an amusing song or game. Whatever the viral content is, it must encourage people to share with others so as many people as possible receive the content’s message.

 

 

 

 

Implementing a viral marketing campaign

 

There is a common misconception that viral marketing depends on the ability to reliably create something extremely popular. In reality, a successful viral marketing campaign rests more on understanding how to connect with specific demographics by presenting them with valuable content.

 

Viral marketing is a customer-focused approach, so the first step is to identify the target demographic for a product and what they value the most in products, requiring marketers to research and analyze demographic data. During the Blair Witch campaign, the filmmakers and main marketing agents for the movie were accomplished film students. They examined what made horror movies compelling for the demographic of teens to young adults they were targeting, as well as explored how that demographic shared information. They used this information to focus on their product’s mystery, and they concentrated their early efforts on the Internet where they knew they would have the best chance of reaching a younger audience.

 

 

Once a company knows what its target demographic wants and how they communicate, they begin creating content those people will want to share. The Blair Witch team created websites, message boards, and fake news stories that heightened the horror and mystery of the movie’s story. The content encouraged people to look for more information about the story, and even collaborate with their friends in their investigations.

Viral marketing is a continual, interactive process. A company that implements a viral compaign shouldn’t simply let it run its course without adjustment. The Blair Witch campaign remained active on Internet message boards, interacting with real fans and regularly updating websites with more information based on fan discussions. It, like most viral campaigns, succeeded because it grew along with the interest in the product.

 

How will this benefit my project

Through my project I want to create a campaign video that would be viral. The virality of the project would be the fact that people would share the project and make sure that it spreads from person to person. Knowing my target market and how they would react to viral marketing such as being used in Facebook and other social media on a daily basis.

I wanted to focus on going green and Global warming as these are two of the main issues that are facing us in the year 2017. The fact that the earth’s temperature is raising at an alarming rate over the last 50 years and the fact the earths population is rising just as fast meaning more resources are needed and thus creating more problems for the planet.

 

 

            Q: What is global warming?

A: Here’s a simple definition of global warming. (And yes, it’s really happening.) Over the past 50 years, the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. And experts see the trend is accelerating: All but one of the 16 hottest years in NASA’s 134-year record have occurred since 2000.

Climate change deniers have argued that there has been a “pause” or a “slowdown” in rising global temperatures, but several recent studies, including a 2015 paper published in the journal Science, have disproved this claim. And scientists say that unless we curb global-warming emissions, average U.S. temperatures could increase by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.

Q: What causes global warming?

A: Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollutants and greenhouse gasses collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally, this radiation would escape into space—but these pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. That’s what’s known as the greenhouse effect.

In the United States, the burning of fossil fuels to make electricity is the largest source of heat-trapping pollution, producing about two billion tons of CO2 every year. Coal-burning power plants are by far the biggest polluters. The country’s second-largest source of carbon pollution is the transportation sector, which generates about 1.7 billion tons of CO2 emissions a year.

Curbing dangerous climate change requires very deep cuts in emissions, as well as the use of alternatives to fossil fuels worldwide. The good news is that we’ve started a turnaround: CO2 emissions in the United States actually decreased from 2005 to 2014, thanks in part to new, energy-efficient technology and the use of cleaner fuels. And scientists continue to develop new ways to modernize power plants, generate cleaner electricity, and burn less gasoline while we drive. The challenge is to be sure these solutions are put to use and widely adopted.

 

 

So therefore we should think more thoughtfully towards the way that we live and the way that we consume things that help speed up the effects of global warming.

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Concept

 

My concept for this semesters module has changed dramatically, the concept behind it will shift towards an environment focus rather than a focus on a revision application which I feel has been done so many times and has become quite stale and uninformed.

 

I have come up with an Eco-friendly animation/ Motion graphic. I feel that this will be more useful and more inspiring rather than a very niche app that would be very Pidgeon holed for a certain subset of people. The new concept would entail a lot more creative freedom and get a message out into the world and make people think about their actions and the consequences that are associated with said actions. I feel that this could be a good concept and goes along with the EYA Category of Go Green which is inspiring sustainable energy, biodiversity, Climate change and intelligent infrastructure.

 

The Motion Graphic will be based around this topic and help create awareness around the environment and how it is changing through human behaviour, and how switching the mind to think more compassionately. This motion graphic would hopefully be a more viral spreading around social media platforms such as, Instagram targeted advertisements, Youtube pre and postrolls, Facebook and Twitter embedded videos, this would mean that the most amount of perspective people would see the campaign and get the most clicks, engagements and impressions.

 

Audience

 

The audience could be generalised to all people but that would be too far stretching and would be to open ended. I feel that the market for this sort of motion graphic would be around 18-25, this demographic have the most influence, are more susceptible to change and are willing to make a change in the world.

 

Creative technical skills

 

As for creative skills needed for this project, I will undertake an ambitious motion graphic that will take all the skills from workshops and ones that I have developed as a designer to create a cohesive package that will be able to be implemented into different platforms and create a brand that would be easily recognised from brief snapshots.

 

Creating a moving motion graphic that plays upon emotion of both the motion graphic and the viewer. The technical side will be more informed and creating a brand identity which will be aesthetically pleasing and able to be used in more than just one marketing campaign. The skills needed to do this will call on my design module and digital media skills to work hand in hand.

 

Time Scale

 

The time scale will still be the same as before only slightly changed to go along with this new brief concept.

 

Researching Weeks 1-4

 

Researching viral campaigns o climate change

Researching the audience and learning how to target them better.

Research companies that deal with marketing on a viral scale and guerrilla marketing strategies.

 

Production Weeks 5-9

 

Create the branding and storyboarding the motion graphic, creating a visual style that is simple and cohesive.

Refine designs and asset creations, construct the motion graphic

 

Testing weeks 10-12

 

Testing the graphic and finalising the video.

Feedback from audience and showing how it would be implemented.

 

 

• What are they doing?

The app is a platform game by the company Nitrome who create lots of fun mini games that take you away for 5 – 10 minutes at a time. the premise of the games of the game is to get as far as possible.

• Are they doing anything really well?

The art style of the game is quite retro and more of the arcade era of games which is quite nice. I like the fact that the app is one of the addictive games which dominate the app market as of late. The game is simple and easy to learn and doesn’t take too much thinking. the way the app is built means that it could be re-skinned quite easily and still have the same game play mechanics which is quite interesting to think about the possibilities for it.

• Are they missing anything?

There is room for expansion to different modes which could be interesting to look into and other gameplay aspects but this could be put into another app that they make.

• How can you learn from any mistakes they made?

I could take the concept of the endless platformer and apply it to mine, creating something that is addictive and has potential to grow.

• How does their product look and what do you “feel” when you use it?

I feel fully immersed into the app and want to play more and more. the way that it is created means that the more you play the more you want to play and beat your score, giving it the addictive quality which makes games good.