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Branding in Gaming - a series of thoughts from Martin Lindstrom

(more thought provoking insights from Martin Lindstrom. Come hear him speak at Brand ManageCamp 2005. - Len)

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A series of thoughts from branding guru and best-selling author Martin Lindstrom:

Everything’s fair game

Television advertising is losing its absolute dominance. It no longer has the power it once has. I explored this phenomenon in another book of mine, BRANDchild. By the ripe old age of 65, the average American consumer has watched two million commercials! This works out to six years of straight viewing: eight hours a day, seven days a week! Pretty scary.

Already in the current market, Hollywood revenues are roughly half that of gaming. Now think of product placement. The newest version of the ever popular Sim City has introduced McDonald’s franchises into their game.

Where can commercials go next?

Over the past few years I’ve been playing around with the concept of Contextual branding. The notion of sending the right message, to the right audience, at the right time. Let’s take the PSP for example. For some reason it doesn’t have a GPS (Global Positioning System) built in.

Imagine if it did.

You’re walking down the street, gaming away, and after you’ve completed first level you come across an ad asking you if you want more energy. And if you do, check out the 7-Eleven you’re just passing which has Red Bull energy drink on special. Type in the bar code and get another 100 points on your game.

Futuristic? Not really. Red Bull already features in PlayStation 1, and contextual messages are being tested in Australia. What’s your take on this?

Can Madison Avenue keep up?

Madison Avenue (which once was packed with high-profile advertising agencies in NYC) hasn't come up with anything new for decades. I find it interesting that no one has mastered the art of product placement in computer game. What does it cost? Who’s measuring the effects? What’s the best way to develop commercial messages for games? Will this threaten the old bastions of the advertising world?

Regulating games

In many countries advertisers are restricted in advertising to kids - but here's a vehicle that in fact plugs straight into their psyche. For some reason the regulators has never addressed this. Should there be any regulations around advertising in games, and what should it look like?

The Tattoo Test - another post by Martin Lindstrom

(more from Martin Lindstrom stemming from his revolutionary research on sensory branding which led to his new book BRAND sense. Can you imagine being an 80 year old with the 'Google' logo branded on your arm? (unless, of course you are one of the Google founders, in which case a few billion dollars will probably cut you a lot of slack with the grandkids!) Enjoy! - Len)

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The Tattoo Test - another post by Martin Lindstrom

In the group of consumers who would consider getting a brand tattoo, the results were as follows:
1. Harley-Davidson (18.9%)
2. A Disney character (14.8%)
3. Coca-Cola
4. Google

Now I could understand the first three. They’re all companies that have been around a long time. The one that totally knocked me out was Google, a company that’s been around for less than ten years. And in that short time they’ve managed to make their mark, so to speak, in a way that has inspired masses of loyalty.

I’d love to know how you think they did it.

More from Martin Lindstrom on GOOGLE:

This is my take on how Google managed to carve a niche into the hearts of brand devotees we questioned in the BRAND sense study. In stark contrast with many brands, I believe consumers feel a sense of ownership when it comes to Google. The folks at search engine headquarters involve us in their R&D development. There’s also a strong sense of the weak triumphing over the strong. Google vs. Microsoft. David vs. Goliath. In many ways Google has opted to go against a heavily commercial tide – just think about their IPO. They’re not that sleek nor are they overly corporate. Instead they present a human face which everyone responds to. I mean just how many companies can we say that about?

Subliminally Sublime Advertising - Part 3 of 3 from Martin Lindstrom

(Here is the third part of Martin Lindstrom's posts on the power of the sense of smell in marketing.)

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Subliminally Sublime Advertising - Part 3 of 3 posts from Martin Lindstrom

Get this. I think you’ll love this one. Hundreds of thousands of dollars (Oops! Pounds) have been spent reproducing the distinct smell of the 1965 Silver Cloud Rolls Royce. The smell is impossible to buy but is sprayed into every new car leaving the factory. I discovered this when I was doing researching for BRAND sense and wanted to know what appeals to us when buying a car. Some like them black, others like them red, but 80% of all Americans consider it essential that the car they buy smells new. You may think a new car smells new because everything about it is fresh and clean, but in reality the smell comes in an aerosol can that’s sprayed into the cabin a it leaves the factory floor. The smell is designed to last about 6 weeks. Furthermore, the way a new car smells is soon to be branded. Porsche has developed its own distinct smell, and Cadillac has called their scent Nuance. How would you feel if your new car smelt like the oil in a mechanic’s garage?

Subliminally Sublime Advertising - Part 2 of 3 from Martin Lindstrom

(Here's the second installment from Martin Lindstrom)

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Subliminally sublime advertising - Part 2 of 3 from Martin Lindstrom

When I was writing BRAND sense one of the most startling facts that I learned was that after sight, smell is our most important connection to our emotions. Obviously creating emotional connections to brands inspire what can be a lifelong loyalty – the marketer’s dream scenario. All this is by way of saying, never underestimate the power of smell! Crayola used it to gain an advantage in a very unlikely place. There are millions out there who drew their first picture with these colorful crayons. And long since we’ve forgotten our favorite color in the box, one quick whiff of the waxy crayons will open a direct pathway to a memory from childhood.

Anyway, when Crayola decided to take their product to the mammoth market of China, they were concerned about keeping one step ahead of local manufacturers renowned for their exceptional copying skills. The one thing that was hard to copy is the smell. So Crayola patented the distinctly Crayola smell and made it part of their trademark.

In BRAND sense I’m arguing that integrating our five senses into building brands will be the next big thing. I’m curious to hear what you think of this.

Subliminally Sublime Advertising - Part 1 of 3 from Martin Lindstrom

(Martin Lindstrom is a Brand ManageCamp 2005 speaker, branding guru and best-selling author of BRAND child and his latest book entitled BRAND sense . The next three posts are all from Martin and provide fascinating examples of how important the sense of smell can be in breaking through and forming lasting relationships with consumers. More to come from Martin in subsequent posts that will touch on the other senses. Enjoy! - Len)

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Subliminally sublime advertising - Part 1 of 3 posts from Martin Lindstrom

Do you remember when images of Coke surreptitiously placed in movies sent viewers scurrying off to the drinks counter to buy one? No one connected the fact that the image had lodged in the “desire” section of the brain. As my latest global study shows, things are far more strategically calculated these days. The results of the BRAND sense study which investigated the relationship between our five senses and brands, are published in my new book, BRAND sense. In it, I quote the experiment which took two pairs of exactly the same Nike running shoes. Each pair was placed in a separate but identical room. One room was infused with a mixed floral scent. The other wasn’t. Test subjects came in to inspect the shoes in both locations. By an overwhelming margin, 84% preferred the shoes displayed in the room with a fragrance. It went further. Consumers estimated the value of the shoes from the scented room to be on average, $10.33 higher than the pair in the unscented room. How do you think consumers are going to react to this trend? – which incidentally has already begun.