Hello,
Sorry for no newsletter last week. I’m starting a new job, and I haven’t nailed down my revamped routine yet. Bear with me I promise to right the ship in the next month or so.
Today we’re going to go through some insider gaming references that could lend themselves well to campaigns gamers.
Class systems
One of the key features of a lot of team based games is a class system where each character has a specific role they must fill. At the most basic level, there are attack, defense, and support classes.
Attack classes are usually a bit more confrontational and hot-headed. Defense classes are strong, calm, and maybe have a bit of a goofy side. Support classes are the ultimate team player they aren’t the most flashy of the bunch but they are essential.
How can a brand use this?
Take Doritos as an example. Cool Ranch’s icy, calm demeanor makes it the perfect defence character. Nacho Cheese’s strong red coloring lends itself well to being an attack class. Spicy Sweet Chili’s all around flavor profile is exactly what you want out of a good support class.
Any brand that has a family of products could do a fun campaign where they classify the products by getting a little bit creative with what their products’ qualities mean.
Can it run Doom?
A decades long gag in the gaming community is getting Doom, a game that came out in 1993, to run on all sorts of devices. People have gotten it to run on pregnancy tests, thermostats, and the MacBook Pro touch bar to name a few. Honestly, it shows how far technology has come in the past 30ish years.
How can a brand use this?
If your brand has the slightest bit of tech behind it then it can probably find a way to play Doom. Or if you’re a realtor with a fancy smart home put Doom on every device imaginable and watch the headlines pour in. Considering the average gamer in the US is in their mid thirties, I'd bet a couple of them are also on the house hunt.
The Konami Code
Up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B, A is the famous code that game developer Konami put into their notoriously hard game, Contra, in the eighties. For whatever reason, this code was burned into gamers’ lexicon. A lot of games and gaming related sites still do special things when this code is input into their platforms.
How can a brand use this?
Any brand with a digital element to them could use this code to reward people with a nice little easter egg. Just remember that it should make customers feel like they got a leg up.
___ality
Mortal Kombat became infamous because of its signature fatalities. These gory moves are almost single-handedly responsible for a lot of the hate video games received about corrupting today’s youth.
It helped spur the creation of the video game rating system to give parents a guide on what games their kids should and shouldn’t be playing. That’s probably a good thing. Fatalities shouldn’t have been being performed by five year olds.
Mortal Kombat’s fatalities have given the game a lot of headlines over the years, but there are other ____alities in the game. Players can turn opponents into babies with a babality, turn into an animal with an animality, and turn into one of the game developers, Fergus Mcgovern, with a fergality. Thankfully, there isn’t any beastiality.
How can a brand use this?
Enjoy Prime Day by going on a shopping spreeality.
Go enjoy gardening with a John Deereality.
Try Starbuck’s newest drink, the Coffeeality.
You get the idea.
What to take away:
These references are like creative parsley. None of these ideas are going to power a campaign by themselves, but they could add a slice of relevancy to a lot of executions. The same way we add a finishing sprinkle of parsley to pasta to make it fancy.
Gaming news that caught my eye:
The Sixth Axis: The PS5 revealed that it will have removable pieces. This opens up a whole new market for amateur console designers.
YellowBrick: The Fashion Institute of Technology just opened an online-only gaming essentials course that gives people the skills to excel in the gaming industry. I applied it looks like a great program.
Medium: Seeing as the election is less than a month away here’s a good article about how Qanon conspiracies are a lot like alternate reality games. Scary stuff.
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