Whilst recently roaming the hallowed halls of the Moscone Center in San Francisco during the Game Developers Conference, there was not only a definite uptick in attendance, but the overall aura/attitude seemed more positive.
Usual colorful characters were in full regalia promoting a respective company and/or product – a pair of vertically challenged hires wore head-to-toe bear costumes, an attractive young lady decked out as some kind of fairy godmother passed out flyers, and a number of people sported coiffures with bright hues of green, tangerine, even magenta.
Standard stuff for GDC.
Looking beyond GDC, overall, the PC gaming industry appears healthy and poised for significant growth assuming the economy slowly continues to improve both in the U.S. and abroad.
Market research firm Jon Peddie Research recently released its figures on the forecast for video game graphics boards sales for the next two years and actual Q4 2010 shipments. The firm found that worldwide, consumers spent five percent less during the holiday season on ultra high-end enthusiast video graphics than during Q3 2010, but four percent more on upper-end midrange performance boards.
This suggests, says Dr. Jon Peddie, president of the firm, that consumers were still watching their wallets and despite some encouraging news... Read more
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Forecast for PC Gaming Industry Looks Rosy
Posted in Desktop Apps, Emerging Platforms, Entertainment, Opinions, Social Media, Targeting, Video, Word of Mouth | No Comments »
These Two Twitter Clients Are The Best Conversation Agents for Digital Marketers
According to a Gartner report titled, “Four Ways in Which Enterprises Use Twitter,” analysts predicted that “by 2011, enterprise microblogging [would] be a standard feature of 80 percent of social software platforms on the market. [And] while other consumer microblogging platforms exist (such as Plurk, Jaiku, and Identi.ca), Twitter [will be] the most popular.”
Fast forward a year later, where 88% of small businesses and 74% of midsized organizations now use Twitter as their social media application of choice. However, marketers do have a preference when choosing their conversation agent.
A Website Magazine report shows that the top three Twitter clients among Web-savvy marketers are TweetDeck (my #1 preference), Tweetie, and HootSuite (my #2):
A recent LinkedIn poll confirms those findings, with 65% choosing TweetDeck and 25% opting for HootSuite:
Additional LinkedIn poll insights:
- 70% of respondents were male
- 30% of CxOs and VPs prefer HootSuite
- 60% of mid-level managers opt for TweetDeck
- 50% of marketers use both TweetDeck and HootSuite
(If you’re undecided about Twitter clients, Sarah Worsham at Sazbean.com publishes a nice feature-by-feature breakdown of TweetDeck versus HootSuite, and Jarel Remick lists his thoughts in his post, “10 Reasons I’m Switching from TweetDeck to HootSuite.”)
So why are these figures important?
Because they paint a pretty picture as to which... Read more
Posted in Desktop Apps, Emerging Platforms, Opinions, Social Media | 2 Comments »
Interview: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarré (Pt. 2) – On Nike, Visa & The Surprising Power of Facebook
More from my source interview with AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarré, for my new book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND.
In part two, Bedecarré talks about some of AKQA's all-time greatest initiatives, beginning with the Nike PhotoID mobile app (see video above). Along the way, we'll learn that for all the hype that surrounds Facebook, Bedecarré believes it remains grossly undervalued by marketers.
Tom Bedecarré, CEO, AKQA (Pt. 2): Nike, Visa & the Surprising Power of Facebook
>> Click Here to Listen to Audiocast <<
(Approx. 5:10)
Tags: akqa, bedecarre, business, Facebook, marketing advertising, network, nike, photoid, Social Media, tom, visa
Posted in Creative Best Practices, Desktop Apps, Emerging Platforms, Social Media, Targeting, Video, Websites | No Comments »
Interview: AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarré (Pt. 1) – Building The Agency of Tomorrow, Today
Tom Bedecarré is succeeding like few others in creating the ad agency of tomorrow, today.
In just the last few days, his global firm, AKQA, launched the new campaign for "Halo: Reach," which includes everything from a dark, engrossing online video series set in the video game's universe, to a robot that is enables fans to help select the position of 54,439 points of light for a new social media-enabled light sculpture.
And Friday morning, AKQA launched the latest in a long line of innovative digital & mobile initiatives for Target.
Dubbed My TargetWeekly, the solution will enable shoppers to customize Target's weekly ad to best fit their interests, and to even create alerts, which will send them the latest offers on their favorite brands and items via PC and mobile phone. The idea: to target, as it were, the smaller number of hard-to-reach, digitally savvy shoppers - who tend to spend more than others. They can even share their shopping experience via Facebook.
"Target is doing what smart retailers have to do: Go to where the customers are," Rebecca Lieb, vice president, North America at the research firm Econsultancy, tells USA Today. "You have to engage people on their own terms."
That may as... Read more
Tags: akqa, apps, bedecarre, coca-cola, coke, halo, mobile, nike, phone, reach, target, targetweekly, tom, visa
Posted in Creative Best Practices, Desktop Apps, Emerging Platforms, Media Planning & Buying, Social Media, Video, Websites, Wireless | No Comments »
Interview: Tim Zuckert, CEO of ShiftControl Media – On The Serious Business of Branded Games (Pt. 1)
Turns out there's some serious business to be had from fun and games.
In part one of this exclusive audiocast, Tim Zuckert, CEO of ShiftControl Media, shares some of the astonishing statistics associated with branded games, and his insights on why a growing number of brands are exploring this emerging channel.
Zuckert, of course, is the man behind Coca-Cola's "Happiness Factory" branded game, as well as initiatives for Yahoo, Starwood Hotels, Energizer and many others.
In this, a source interview for my new book, THE ON-DEMAND BRAND, he'll showcase the engagement branded games can activate - and have you thinking differently about what games can do for your brand.
Audio Interview: Tim Zuckert, CEO of ShiftControl Media - On Boosting Engagement Through Branded Games (Part 1)
CLICK HERE TO PLAY AUDIOCAST
(Approx 5:01)
Tags: advergames, branded entertainment, branded games, coca-cola, energizer, shiftcontrol, yahoo
Posted in Desktop Apps, Emerging Platforms, Social Media, Targeting, Video, Websites | No Comments »
