Digital Connections – 360i Blog, Digital Marketing Agency

People love to play games on Facebook and through mobile apps, but do you know why?  To answer the question above, you need to take a small dive into gaming mechanics, which are different tactics on how to make a game enjoyable.  There are many theories about what constitutes as a mechanic of a game and whether these theories live outside of the world of gaming. For this post, we looked to what Seth Priebatsch of SCVNGR, a mobile gaming platform, outlined as four basic game dynamics at a 2010 TEDX conference.

What are gaming dynamics?

1. Appointment Dynamic – to succeed, one must return at a predefined time to take a predetermined action.
   • Ex. “Happy Hour,” Farmville (users must come back within a certain time in order to water their crops)
2. Influence & Status – the ability of one player to modify the behavior of another’s actions through social pressure.
   • Ex. American Express Black Credit Card, Foursquare badges and report cards
3. Progression Dynamic – a dynamic in which success is granularly displayed and measured through the process of completing itemized tasks.
   • Ex. LinkedIn (your profile is filled out 80%), World of Warcraft levels, progress bar on SCVNGRa)
4. Communal Discovery – a dynamic wherein an entire community is rallied to work together to solve a challenge.
   • Ex. Digg Leaderboard, McDonald’s Monopoly, playing on a team

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This summer Jay-Z and Kanye West released one of the most anticipated albums of the year – Watch the Throne (Island Def Jam Records). The promotion behind this collaboration between two of hip hop’s biggest stars showcases how brands can use digital to connect to their audiences and excite them to drive successful results.

Island Def Jam’s strategy allowed the artists to connect with fans ahead of the release, ultimately driving huge sales. By leveraging paid, earned and owned assets and presenting these to the public in an innovative way, Island Def Jam created a unique experience for fans that led to the sale of 500,000 copies of the album within the first week. Watch the Throne also captured the #1 spot on iTunes in 23 countries. In this post, we break down how they did it – and what brands of all verticals can learn from their approach.   

1. Produce great content and build anticipation by making it exclusive.
As anticipation for the release grew, the WTT team released a 10-minute online documentary highlighting the creation of the album. Island Def Jam also released an online teaser trailer of the album’s lead single, “Otis,” which featured Jay-Z and Kanye joyriding in an altered Maybach Mercedes, as a precursor to the video premiere on television. 

Last week, 360i welcomed Christopher Frank and Paul Magnone, authors of Drinking from the Fire Hose: How to Make Smarter Decisions Without Drowning in Information, for a fireside chat on how to better process the endless stream of data that has become a staple of the Digital Age. The event was part of 360i’s ongoing Inspired Speaker Series, which brings together some of the brightest minds across various industries to discuss trends in the dynamic digital landscape.

In their talk, Frank and Magnone emphasized the importance of asking the right questions when making decisions. Often more important than the answers themselves are the questions you ask that effectively shape your strategy or approach to a business challenge. Here are seven questions the authors suggested asking when approaching a challenge:

1. What is the essential question? By asking this question, you can identify the key piece of knowledge you are seeking and determine which information will need (and won’t need) to attain that knowledge.
2. Where is your customer’s North Star? Put the consumer first. What are the motivations, passions, needs and wants of your consumers? Use those insights to derive your business strategy.
3. Should you believe the squiggly line? Be wary of short-term data that can throw you off course. When analyzing numbers over time, be sure to fully understand the context of any ebbs and flows in your performance. How did you competitors fare during that same time frame? Were broader, more macro trends influencing the data? Understanding the full story of the data will allow you to draw better-informed conclusions.
4. What surprised you? What patterns emerged that you did not expect to see? Beyond drawing conclusions as to the change of information over time, or general emerging trends within a research report, Frank and Magnone say that it’s just as important to spot and call out unanticipated findings.
5. What does the lighthouse reveal? Frank and Magnone define “lighthouse” data as the information that will keep you out of danger. You can arrive at this data by determining the pieces of information that are MOST critical to your business, and keeping a close eye on those particular areas.
6. Who are your swing voters? Customers who might switch loyalties to your company offer tremendous opportunity. Identify your potential “swing voters” and mark them as favorable, unfavorable as neutral and tailor different messaging to each group. Revisit the makeup of each of the three groups over time.
7. What? So what? Now what? When analyzing data or crafting business communications, ask you three questions. What? What is the data or information being analyzed? So what? Why should you care about the data? Now what? Which actions can be taken based on the information at hand.

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We are thrilled to announce that Sarah Hofstetter, SVP of Brand Strategy & Emerging Media, has been recognized by several industry associations as one of the leading minds in marketing and digital communications.

Sarah was named Best Women Professional of the Year in the Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations category by the Golden Bridge Awards, which honor women across the global “whose outstanding achievements contribute to the well-being and future of communities worldwide.” In addition, the Social Media Society  recently named Sarah to its list of Social Media All-Stars. Per the organization, this distinction is awarded to the “people behind great social media profiles and campaigns across the country.”

Sarah was also named a finalist in the Stevies Awards for Women in Business for Best Executive in the Advertising, Marketing, and Public Relations category and a finalist for the Digital Communications Leader of the Year Award, given by PR News.

Congratulations to Sarah on these achievements!

This year, 360i’s Digital Marketing Summit hosted some of the best and brightest in our industry to discuss best practices, share success stories and encourage innovation and leadership within the space. The day was jam packed with thought provoking content, inspiring speakers, and expert panelists. For a glimpse at Summit highlights, check out our post on the Top Ten Takeaways from 360i’s Digital Marketing Summit.

Bringing the summit to a close, attendees boarded the Atlantica for a luxurious evening sail around the tip of Manhattan. Our guests enjoyed cocktails, dinner and a beautiful skyline view – all while being entertained by the mind blowing tricks of a magician.

See our photo album below for images of the Summit, speakers and attendees, and the after-party cruise!

This week, Facebook announced a new set of metrics as part of its F8 release that will elevate engagement as the focal point of brand activity within the platform. Our latest POV serves as a strategic guide to these new metrics, explaining how they are calculated and providing an overview of the specific implications associated with each. We also outline some important action items for community managers to consider moving forward. Read and download the full report below.

The New Facebook: Change is Hard, But Life Goes On

Facebook recently made some big changes to the user interface that will alter how users share, curate and publish content online. Users have already experienced changes to their home page and will continue to see bigger changes rolled out in the coming weeks. 360i’s Report on Facebook’s F8 2011 Updates dives into how marketers should approach the change – but what about its 800 million users? 360i’s Insights & Planning team took a close look at the chatter to find out.

 

Source: Posted by Twitter user Owlneko

One tweet describes the sentiment towards the new Facebook changes the best:  “More Facebook changes, Mark Zuckerberg?! Would you like me to go to your house and move around all your furniture and see if you like it?!” 

The part of the quote that stands out the most is the comparison of someone’s home to Facebook.  In many ways this analogy works perfectly for Facebook and is the reason so many people are expressing negativity over the changes. Facebook is completely personalized to the user, which cultivates the emotional connection of a home. Not surprisingly, these rapid changes are met with some apprehension and confusion, but will ultimately lead to acceptance.

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