New Editorial: The Art of Viral

[Webb]

In the twenty first century, different developers advertise their games in totally different ways. Recently there has been an sudden increase in the so called viral advertising campaigns which involve us gamers more and more. I decided to take a look at this recent phenomenon in a hunt for the truth of whether they really work.

Take a look at the editorial here.

Hope you enjoy

[graemelunn]

Good stuff Webb, I believe the viral method of marketing to be immensely effective and as such believe it is only a matter of time before the Hollywood studios begin doing a similar thing. Great insight mate - I hadn't looked at the ilovebees thing before.

[eggnog]

Ilovebees was a huge thing before Halo 2 came out, and everyone was trying to decipher the clues on the website, though others believed it was just some stupid hoax that had nothing to do with Halo. Those who thought otherwise and solved the "puzzle" were granted access to a pre-play event to play the yet unreleased game.

Viral marketing is a great and effective way to advertise your product, but only if done correctly.

[Minty]

Nice work fella, now get reading!!

[Walcherina]

If done right, it's very very effective.

[Adam Miller]

Nice editorial, i was aware of viral marketing before but never heard of the ilovebees thing which i did go to wikipedia to look at. We all play a part in it as well.

[eXiled Killah]

Nice work Webb. Good read. I never really stopped to think about how infectous that type of advertising really is, but I do know I'm guilty of 'spreading the word'.

I, too, missed the Ilovebees...

[Zef]

So many typos =P

I remember hearing about the War of The Worlds thing, that was hilarious. The whole viral marketing thing seems like some advertising trend that will eventually bugger off, some companies use it well and other just mess up or don't make such a huge impression. But it makes you wonder exactly where they will strike next or who is in on the act.

There may very well me Microsoft spies hiding in here waiting to pounce with some juicy information.

[Spartan]

Good stuff Webb! I see that GTA thread really got your mind going. But then again I can see why. I couldn't stop reading it when you sent me the link that day. I personally think the whole Viral thing is interesting. I like following them and watching how they progress. I always tried to follow the ilovebees thing when it started, and now I'm intrigued by what looks to be the first thing for Halo 3 that was in the Warthog video.

[LogicalImpulse!]

Great work it was fun to read.

[Vonzipper]

Hmmm, link doesn't work for me. Just takes me back to the Home page?

[RoughGalaxy]

Some say viral, others could say "word of mouth" figuratively saying. If other people are playing it and enjoying it, then it's more likely to be consumed by other people. Far more effective in this economy as people know what they are getting, and the dev doesn't have to spend a fortune on marketing.

[Dutch]

I like it, some stuff is like they finally get that we have random minds! :P... but it also SOMETIMES is waaay too vague