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For anyone who follows alternate-reality games (ARGs), it should come as no surprise that the latest entry in the genre, The Lost Ring, is the brainchild of, among others, Jane McGonigal.
Until now, it was only suspected–though with extremely high levels of confidence–that the game, which is centered on helping a fictional amnesiac woman named Ariadne discover her identity, was a promotional vehicle for this summer’s Beijing Olympics.
But McGonigal, who is keynoting at the South by Southwest Interactive festival in Austin on Tuesday, confirmed to me that the game was in fact designed in collaboration with the International Olympic Committee and that McGonigal’s partners in the creation of the game were McDonald’s and global interactive experience design shop, AKQA.
LET’S PUT IT THIS WAY: if you want your new products to be memorable, you’re going to have to do a whole lot better.
According to research conducted by Information Resources Inc., New Products magazine, comScore, and Schneider Associates, more than three-quarters of 1,000 American consumers couldn’t recall a new product introduced in 2007. According to the research, only 23% of the respondents could recall a new product introduced in the past year.
“The [new product] message isn’t getting through,” says Joan Holleran, editor of New Product magazine. “It’s like consumers are saying: ‘Could you spend a little more on research and development, instead of just creating line extensions?’”
THE EUROPEAN AUTHORITIES REPORTEDLY ARE poised to approve Google’s $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick, without imposing any restrictions.
The European Commission, which has antitrust oversight in Europe, is expected to announce Tuesday that it has cleared the deal, according to Bloomberg. The Federal Trade Commission approved the deal without conditions late last year, but Google couldn’t complete the merger without also securing the European authorities’ approval.
IN BRANDED ENTERTAINMENT, THERE IS still the good, the bad, and, more importantly, the less obvious.
Vantage Point/NBC’s “American Gladiators”
Look closely, and you’ll see there is virtually no organic connection between a Columbia Pictures theatrical release about the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. president’s assassination and an athletic competition reality show, NBC’s “American Gladiators.”
And that’s perfectly fine. Apart from some dramatic music lead-in for the seasonal-best-moments “Gladiators” segment, there was nothing linking the two entertainment vehicles. An announcer intro-ed the effort, saying the specific “Gladiators” segment was brought to you by the movie “Vantage Point.” An exclusive clip followed, which was followed by more “Gladiators” action.
With a whopping Q-Ratio of 10.3662 here’s our #1 for the week: (QVC) NBC’s “The Celebrity Apprentice” Both teams need to create a ten-minute commercial which will generate the most sales for a QVC product.
NBC DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT SAYS IT has good news for Internet TV advertisers on several fronts.
From a regular quarterly consumer-research study, NBC says more viewers are watching entire online episodes than ever before–although NBC did not provide specific data.
Media agency executives have been concerned that viewers are sampling shows online–just viewing for a couple of minutes, rather than staying for the entire episode. That means they are also missing out on commercial messages.
The study also notes that online viewers–via the NBC Rewind video player–have higher brand recall and increased satisfaction now than in previous periods: 86% brand recall versus 70% previously.
Q-Ratio: 3.0830 (Ziploc Zip ‘N Steam) NBC’s “The Biggest Loser: Couples” This week, the remaining contestants are sent home to see their loved ones for the first time since leaving to come to the ranch. But this is no vacation, as the contestants must eat and exercise without the help of their trainers and with all of the distractions and temptations of the real world. After returning to the ranch, the teams face off in a challenge that tests their endurance before an elimination round sends another player packing.
Q-Ratio: 3.0028 (Columbia Pictures’ “Vantage Point”) NBC’s “American Gladiators” The male and female winners emerge in the season finale. The winners net $100,000 and are signed on as next season’s gladiators.
Here we are, officially one year and counting until the release of Watchmen on 03.06.09. Being a fan that follows production blogs, I know that the time a film is in post can often seem like an eternity with interesting bits of information few and far between. So to help pass the time, here is your first look at some of the Watchmen characters.
