unforum

[jlr1001]

Are ARGs Too Much of a Fad?

[Arcas]

First, the quote "If agencies and clients do it blindly, just because it's the buzzword, it will just lead to copycat tactics." I find to be difficult to support. Because of the creative nature of an ARG, I don't see how a cookie cutter approach would work.

Do you think in a few years you'll stumble across a trailhead, click on it and say, "Oh, it's another one of those ARGS, just like the one I did three months ago, shrug your shoulders and leave it behind?

Second, I just finished reading Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat" and a lot of what it talks about is participation, interaction, empowerment and collaboration on a global scale. Because of improvements in communication technology and the world wide web, people are going to have to learn how to do business differently, and that includes their advertising strategy.

I think a lot of the rush to label ARGs has a lot to do with resistance to change. A lot of big ad agencies and executives built reputations on doing things one way, and in the course of about five years they've seen big changes. They struggle (as we all do) with how change will effect us.

[Silent|away]

[Arcas]

Further Research

[HaxanMike]

[krystyn]

That Braid game was just like Mario, anyway.

[Silent|away]

[notgordian]

While the title of the article was controversial, its content was not -- ARGs are not for every company, nor for every marketing campaign. We know that. 42 Entertainment has said at numerous presentations that they strongly prefer approaching properties that either (1) already have an established fanbase or network [distribution] or (2) have a compelling story in place -- preferably both.

Procter & Gamble is a company that normally is on the cutting edge of just about everything marketing, and they're waiting on ARGs, as are a number of other companies because they don't necessarily see the transfer into increased brand awareness and purchasing for them.

So yes, ARGs are becoming more popular, and you'll see campaigns for a few companies that didn't think through exactly what they want out of it (did Ditch Witch really see an increase of sales from their viral site?) -- the article isn't arguing ARGs are dead and dying, just that they might not be right for every company.

I do find it odd that WWE is saying that ARGs would not be appropriate, since Blair Erickson at Millions of Us spoke about the successful ARG campaign they did on Second Life for the WWE at this year's ARGFest.