Return to Unfiction unforum
 a.r.g.b.b 
FAQ FAQ   Search Search 
 
Welcome!
New users, PLEASE read these forum guidelines. New posters, SEARCH before posting and read these rules before posting your killer new campaign. New players may also wish to peruse the ARG Player Tutorial.

All users must abide by the Terms of Service.
Website Restoration Project
This archiving project is a collaboration between Unfiction and Sean Stacey (SpaceBass), Brian Enigma (BrianEnigma), and Laura E. Hall (lehall) with
the Center for Immersive Arts.
Announcements
This is a static snapshot of the
Unfiction forums, as of
July 23, 2017.
This site is intended as an archive to chronicle the history of Alternate Reality Games.
  

The time now is Wed Nov 13, 2024 12:59 pm
All times are UTC - 4 (DST in action)		 View posts in this forum since last visit
View unanswered posts in this forum
Calendar
 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » ARG: Iris (Halo 3)
[META]IRIS Viral Ad over according to Microsoft article
View previous topicView next topic
Page 1 of 6 [76 Posts]   Goto page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Next
Author Message
eccramer
Veteran


Joined: 18 Oct 2004
Posts: 102

 		[META]IRIS Viral Ad over according to Microsoft article
Title edited in agreement with thebruce, this was not an ARG.
So, I got this email from my dad, who works at Microsoft. It was posted on their internal homepage, but I got the okay to post it outside.

Quote:
Building Buzz for 'Halo 3'

A low-key, low budget campaign does more with less, whetting the appetite of the blockbuster video game's fanatical followers.

By Aaron Halabe

This year, Christmas Day will come exactly three months early for millions of gamers who await Halo 3, Microsoft's wildly popular first-person shooter game.

The growing anticipation of the September 25 release was deftly nurtured by a unique viral marketing campaign, dubbed "Iris," which engaged gamers in a high-tech scavenger hunt that aimed to broaden the audience for the Xbox 360 title along the way.

More than 50 people from 20 Microsoft teams contributed time, coding expertise, and industry contacts to bring the online campaign to fruition.

The project launched in June and wrapped up August 16, unfolding as a virtual treasure hunt in five episodes. A mysterious voice guided thousands of participants as they uncovered clues and puzzles at various server locations. Each location revealed previously untold details about the Halo game trilogy, which tracks Master Chief's epic battle to save Earth from conquering aliens.

The campaign generated the buzz organizers hoped for. "Getting mentioned on gaming blogs was good, but when we got interview requests from "The Wall Street Journal," that's when we knew we achieved critical mass," said Aaron Elliott, online marketing manager for Xbox Global Marketing. "It's about breaking out of the hardcore and getting into the mainstream."

Microsoft predicts that Halo will become a $1 billion franchise by year's end, helped along by one million pre-orders for Halo 3. Customers purchased 14.8 million copies of two previous versions of the game, and Halo Nation fanatics worldwide snap up licensed merchandise, best-selling books, music soundtracks, a new Marvel comic, even a Halo-inspired Zune player.

Marketers hope to extend the game's appeal beyond its hardcore fan base and to drive sales of the Xbox 360 console.

"Halo 3 competes with the largest entertainment IP in the world," said Jerret West, Xbox senior global product manager. When Halo 2 debuted in November 2004, it generated $125 million in opening-day revenues, "which was bigger than any movie opening at the time," West added. "We've since been passed by a couple of movies, but on September 25 th, we're looking to take back that top spot."

Companywide Contributions

Some similar viral projects have cost millions of dollars. But Iris campaign organizers relied heavily on in-house talent "… to produce something of high caliber without spending that kind of money," Elliott said.

Staffers from Xbox.com and Xbox Live offered their time and talents, as did other groups, including Windows Live Maps and Microsoft Game Studios. The Windows Live Agents team alone donated thousands of dollars worth of development work for one episode, Elliott said.

"All of these groups contributed, because they were excited about the idea and convinced that it could work," he added. Sales goals for the game are "incredibly aggressive, but we're spending less on marketing than we did for Halo 2. Trying to do more with less was our challenge."

Many contributions yielded unique online experiences. The campaign's third episode featured a cell phone ring tone that unlocked a 3-D animation on Halo3.com when played into a microphone-equipped PC.

"I've never seen anything like that," said Elliott, of the innovative ring-tone concept, which MSN and Samsung hosted pro bono, working as a promotional partner for Halo's European launch. "When the agency pitched it to us, they had to put together a prototype because none of us believed it would work, but it did."

Microsoft's Retail team convinced Best Buy and Circuit City in North America to donate $100,000 worth of advertising circular space. The ad showed a cryptic Halo message and pointed readers to an online comic. The effort yielded more than 80 million impressions.

For another episode, participants received a clue when they entered their street address in a Windows Live Maps API to locate nearby retailers. The stores hosted Xbox 360 kiosks that contained a clue. When combined, the clues revealed the IP address of the next server.

Setbacks and Challenges

Collaborating with many different groups offered significant benefits, but it also meant "we were beholden to timelines outside of our control," Elliott said. Content from an external publisher caused technical problems with the Xbox 360 kiosk demo disc, delaying delivery and pushing the second episode back. "That really shook up our timeline, cascading everything behind it," Elliott said.

Keeping a lid on campaign details proved equally challenging. During episode one, an executive e-mail sent to employees leaked to game bloggers, and parts of an internal Q&A document were inadvertently distributed with a press release.

Halo fans themselves further complicated matters. A paperboy with a user account on Bungie.net leaked the content of the Best Buy ad circular before the papers hit the newsstands. "We didn't even have the site up yet, we were still testing. We had to post a countdown clock to slow people down," Elliott noted.

Despite the setbacks, marketers say the campaign created the awareness Microsoft hoped for, and sustained marketing momentum in advance of an upcoming advertising blitz.

"The campaign offered content that engaged Halo Nation fanatics, but it also demonstrated the richness of the Halo story in a way that will attract many new gamers to the platform," West said


PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:08 pm
Last edited by eccramer on Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:42 am; edited 2 times in total
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
thebruce
Dances With Wikis


Joined: 16 Aug 2004
Posts: 6899
Location: Kitchener, Ontario

 		Thanks for the post! This answers many, many questions!
_________________
@4DFiction/@Wikibruce/Contact
ARGFest 2013 - Seattle! ARGFest.com

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:13 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
olemissreb
Boot

Joined: 07 Jul 2007
Posts: 44

 		So long then.
It's been fun. I was here during the Vista-Loki ARG as well, so I'm sure I'll be back.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:17 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
Bixter
Boot


Joined: 17 Feb 2005
Posts: 21

 		If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:27 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
mastergrunt44
Veteran

Joined: 14 Jun 2007
Posts: 80

 		Well then that's that I guess.Hope that I can find more CF and ARG's here at Unfiction.I like it here. Cool

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:35 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
KLind
Entrenched


Joined: 22 Apr 2007
Posts: 928
Location: Columbus, Ohio

 		I knew it. There were way too many hints toward this in Server 5, this isn't surprising. Good show!

Wonder what the last 3 packages will be...

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:45 pm
 View user's profile MSN Messenger
 Back to top 
rush
Decorated


Joined: 21 Jun 2007
Posts: 234
Location: Alabama... sigh.

 		Gee, if nobody figured out that you were supposed to use the ringtone for Server 03, it didn't "work out great".
_________________
Walk the walk, Grok the grok.


AdjutantReflex in Halo 2

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:52 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
KLind
Entrenched


Joined: 22 Apr 2007
Posts: 928
Location: Columbus, Ohio

 		ABO doesn't believe it. Seriously, the facts added up anyway.

Anyway you could give us anymore proof? Screenshot? Just so I don't look like an idiot on ABO.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 6:54 pm
 View user's profile MSN Messenger
 Back to top 
rose
...and then Magic happens


Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Posts: 4117

 		Klind: If ABO doesn't want to believe it, there is probably nothing more you can do. Reality will have to set in at its own pace. I suspect that trying to prove it to anyone is going to be a frustrating and unrewarding experience.


As for the content of the article: No one outside of microsoft, and probably lots of internal people, believes the game "did more with less."

It did less with less, and not well, but less is less, as the saying goes.

maybe they mean "did enough to satisfy ourselves with less."
_________________
I love this site for being free, in every sense of the word~Spacebass

Mankind was my business, the common good was my business.~ Dickens

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:08 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 Back to top 
Oldbo
Greenhorn

Joined: 21 Jul 2007
Posts: 8

 		They still could be toying with us. Wink

You never know that they are acctually toying with us. ;_;

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:13 pm
 View user's profile
 Back to top 
eccramer
Veteran


Joined: 18 Oct 2004
Posts: 102

 		Okay, here's pics.





PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:14 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
rose
...and then Magic happens


Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Posts: 4117
Quote:
You never know that they are acctually toying with us. ;_;


Klind: see what I mean Smile

Honestly, we do know....it might seem like we don't, but we do based on our judgment guided by our experience.


Eccramer: thanks for the pictures and the post. It did answer so many, many questions. Like the one everyone was asking about why they did this themselves...we were right on that one... they wanted to spend less. Go us!!! Smile

I'm sure they are happy with this campaign. It did serve to get people thinking and talking about the game and it used their own huge resources. I just missed having a story. But, that wasn't the goal of this campaign.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:17 pm
Last edited by rose on Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:22 pm; edited 2 times in total
 View user's profile Visit poster's website
 Back to top 
KLind
Entrenched


Joined: 22 Apr 2007
Posts: 928
Location: Columbus, Ohio

 		Thanks for the pics!

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:18 pm
 View user's profile MSN Messenger
 Back to top 
thebruce
Dances With Wikis


Joined: 16 Aug 2004
Posts: 6899
Location: Kitchener, Ontario

 		ARGN article forthcoming Wink
_________________
@4DFiction/@Wikibruce/Contact
ARGFest 2013 - Seattle! ARGFest.com

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:23 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
eccramer
Veteran


Joined: 18 Oct 2004
Posts: 102
thebruce wrote:
ARGN article forthcoming Wink


Thanks Bruce. Glad I could help get word out.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:24 pm
 View user's profile Visit poster's website AIM Address
 Back to top 
Display posts from previous:   Sort by:   
Page 1 of 6 [76 Posts]   Goto page: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Next
View previous topicView next topic
 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » ARG: Iris (Halo 3)
Jump to:  


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
You cannot attach files in this forum
You can download files in this forum
You cannot post calendar events in this forum



Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group