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Kinect Opportunities

Microsoft Kinect will trigger the largest tipping point the gaming industry has ever seen, thus changing how we experience games forever.  The combination of motion and gesture based gaming will create a wave of innovation that is yet to be fully recognized.  Gamers are not the only individuals that will benefit from this revolution, big brands will have an enormous opportunity to reach audiences as well.  Brands will be able ride this wave and the ripples go far beyond a typical in-game media buy and into the realm of science fiction.

Kinect Branding Opportunities for 2011 from Venom Cartel on Vimeo.

Example of Kinect Opportunity: On my Xbox Live dashboard I see an ad for Coke promising me some form of an incentive.  This could be new downloadable content for my favorite games (of course this smart ad should know what games I have in my library already) or the incentive could simply be Xbox points to buy music, movies, etc.  I click the Coke ad, invite three friends to join me and Kinect sets up a four way split-screen video feed.  Now we can all see each other in our respective living rooms.  Each person picks a letter and contorts their body’s to spell out C-O-K-E.  Kinect monitors for accuracy, takes a group snapshot and uploads it to each persons Facebook page.  Each member in the party receives the promised incentive and perhaps we’re automatically entered to win something bigger via Coke’s Facebook fan page.  That is how brands need to interact with gamers.  They are a highly interactive, socially driven community of early adopters with acute sensitivity to bullshit.  A billboard ad in a racing game is not engaging, the return isn’t that great and gamers expect more.  Brands should be experimenting with ideas like this now. And Gun is the only place in the world to get gaming changing ideas like this.

Xbox Live Opportunities

Dashboard Ads

Need to reach a few million gamers really fast?  An Xbox dashboard ad is the perfect fit for you.  The ad spots support static or dynamic ads and can be purchased in weekly or monthly flights.  Xbox Live dashboard ads are white hot within the industry, especially if you work with a team of video game experts to fine tune the ad.  Contests, Double XP Weekends, Theme Packs and Giveaways are only the beginning.  The future of Xbox Live dashboard ads will include Kinect.  Read our founder, Wes Keltner’s prediction of Xbox Live dashboard ads over at PSFK.

Xbox Live Marketplace

Xbox Live has an avatar marketplace built into the online features.  This allows gamers to purchase upgrades for their Avatar.  Xbox Live ties the users gamertag or user name to a graphical representation of themselves called an avatar.  This avatar is highly customizable to allow gamers to express themselves.  Gamers spend a lot of time purchasing upgrades in form of clothing for their avatars. This is a perfect fit for apparel companies.  But there’s so much more you can do here.

Branded Avatar Games

We can create an entire Avatar game around your brand/image.  Imagine playing a mini-game like putt-putt golf, cart racers or paintball style game with several of your friends.  However your character isn’t Master Chief (halo) or Tiger Woods, it’s YOU! Your avatar is in the game and you’re controlling them.  This becomes a very exciting and addicting experience for gamers.  And your brand is the focus of the entire game. Brand logos and assets can be used throughout the game.  Games can be seasonally focused as well.  (Snowball fight game, Water balloon fight, etc).  What are you waiting for?  Let’s make something fun together!

In-Game Placement

Are you interested in placing your brand physically inside a video game?  Perhaps you want to align your brand with THE largest sports game of all time.  Or is the fast-paced world of first person shooters like Call of Duty or Halo more your speed?  Don’t forget classic side scrollers, award winning indie titles and hyper realistic racing games.  We can place you in them all.  We work with THE largest video game publishers in the world to assure that our game catalog is the biggest, most relevant selection of titles for your brand/client.  Need 5 million gamers to see your brand?  No problem, our catalog of triple A titles can deliver.  Every time. 

Gun dreamed, designed and built the highly praised American Apparel virtual store thus kicking off the Second Life craze of 2006-7.  The American Apparel store was the first brand in Second Life to sell products.  And the first brand in history to use a virtual currency to sell both virtual and real products.  When the store opened in Second Life there were 300K registered members in the virtual world.  Within one week over 1MM customers walked through the American Apparel Second Life store.  Two months later American Apparel received over $1MM worth of media coverage, 15 additional brands followed suit and 2.5MM people signed up for Second Life. Coincidence?

Branded Achievements

Gamers love achievements.  The days of “high scores” are long gone, today we usher in the dawn of achievement based gaming.  An achievement is an in-game unlockable accolade usually associated with completing a difficult task.  This accolade is stored and tied to their gamertag and is specific to Xbox only. Playstation has something similar with their “Trophies” system.  Achievements become bragging rights as gamers compare with friends.

Branding these achievements is a relatively recent addition to video game advertising. But it is one of the best (and cost effective) ways to reach gamers.  When your target consumer has to actively and happily seek out your brand that’s powerful.  And now your brand is tied to their gamertag for life.  

Branded Games

Want your own game?  We have a host of developers waiting in the wings to build branded games for Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, DS, PC, XBLA, PSN and many more!  The passionate staff at Gun already has fantastic game ideas to help skyrocket the success of your game.  

On-Pack Game Promotion

Do you or your client represent the CPG market?  Gun offers a consumer product “on-pack” promotion focusing on video game downloadable content (DLC).  DLC from the biggest game titles in the world.  

This is an exclusive product designed and built by Gun.  Here’s the deal.  Gamers want new exciting content from their favorite games. New uniforms for Madden, new maps in Call of Duty or exotic cars in Need for Speed, however this DLC has a price tag.  Gun offers a unique transaction that benefits the gamer, brand and game publisher.  Instead of asking the gamer to use their credit card via Xbox/PS3, we ask them to go to the store and purchase your product.  Within your product is a unique code.  Gamer enters the code via their Xbox/PS3 and voila, “free” DLC.  

Consumer Experience:

1. Gamers purchase specially marked consumer products in stores 

2. Inside the product packaging is a unique code 

3. Gamer enters that code through either Xbox Live or Playstation Network.

4. Gamer automatically recieves free downloadable content on their Xbox/PS3 in the form of map packs, weapons, uniforms, stadiums, avatar clothing, etc. 

Client Experience:

1. Gun under strict NDA with publishing partners will locate up-and-coming/unreleased games best suited for your brand’s focus. 

2. The Gun Team will hand-craft a custom creative idea that gamers can connect with.  While also meeting client expectations/goals.

3. Gun negoitiates with publishers to purchase unique DLC codes in bulk for a fraction of the cost. 

4. Gun can purchase ads across the xbox dashboard to help push this initiative.  Purchasing an ad via Xbox Live assures that the target demo will be informed about the campaign with pin-point accuracy.

5. Gun will consult on additional media plans to help push this DLC concept across digital, TV, Print and OOH.

Still confused?  Watch this video, it should help:

2011 Brings New Video Game Formula from Venom Cartel on Vimeo.

Social Media Tie-In

Did you know that Facebook and Twitter are both built into the Xbox and Playstation 3?  Gamers are sitting in their living room, controllers in hand, tweeting and updating their Facebook pages.  Some games are automatically updating users’ FB pages and sending tweets when they get an achievement.  This makes the concept of “Branded Achievements” even more powerful.

Another popular conversation involves around creating narratives and subplots around the characters and plots of video games.  We create these side stories via Facebook and Twitter.  Imagine a Twitter diary from Master Chief from Halo.  Gamers would flock to this page to read and interact with their favorite video game heroes.  This page could be sponsored and skinned by your brand.        

Branded Indie Games

Video games are currently in a renaissance period and leading the pack are indie titles. Independent or indie games are games created by small teams with small budgets yet their impact on the industry is phenomenal.  Games like Braid, Limbo and Flower totally destroyed the glass ceiling for garage developers.  With micro budgets, lean teams and games that feature zany characters with silly plots, indie games are being gobbled up by rabid fans looking for something different.  And gamers are spending millions for these titles.  Titles that only took $100K to make are making several millions….within weeks of launching.  

Gun offers the exclusive opportunity to partner with pre-existing indie titles at indiePub OR create their own game from scratch.  Working with a game that already exists assures that a community of gamers are already interacting with the title. The opportunities around games that are already live include simple banner placement within the game, product placement within game, and branded game expansions (new levels, multiplayer experiences, etc)

Building your own game from scratch allows total brand immersion into the title.  The experts at Gun will create every aspect of this game for your brand to assure that the gaming community will love it.  Working with the Gun team to concept, storyboard, develop and launch your branded title takes the gamble out of creating your own game.  We have the best team in the world to execute a campaign like this.  Not sold yet?  Check out our roster of rockstars and see for yourself. 

Events, Promos & Sponsorships

SPONSORSHIPS: In a trending world of social media, the top priority for any company is to be seen as many times, on as many screens as possible. If your products aren’t being shared via Facebook and Twitter, serious impressions and potential sales are being lost. More and more games today are integrating social media into their titles, and the benefits are monumental. Allowing users to share their latest Uncharted 2 Trophies instantly via Twitter, or having them create in-game experiences and share them on Facebook is priceless.  Whether it is a brand looking to attach themselves to a popular title, or the actual video game publisher themselves seeking additional sales, Gun is the leading expert at finding and creating sponsorship opportunities within the content sharing features in video games.  Not sure what that means?  You should read our case study, it will make more sense.  

EVENTS: Gun loves a good party!  That’s why we throw a couple every year.  What started out as something fun to do with friends, quickly grew from 20-30 people to 300-500 friends.  Our little party grew from basements to the official after party for the Creative City Summit and TEDx.  So it only made sense that we invited our brand friends too.  The reason we throw these events are simple: for the love of video games. Publishers started sending us games early so fans could check them out.  It’s like a focus group, except in a bar/club with good music and cheap booze.  Buffalo Trace, the oldest distillery in America sponsored one of our events.  The bourbon flowed like wine.  Other notable sponsors: American Apparel, Axe Body Spray and Jack Links Beef Jerky.  What’s the point?  Because it’s fun.  A few hundred people show up, play new video games and drink tasty beverages.  It’s actually a fantastic atmosphere to introduce new products in.  Oh and we stream the event online for other gamers, not in our area, to watch.  Our last event had 500+ continuous viewers for 2hrs!  

Upcoming events you can sponsor: SXSW Indie Game Award Show 2011, SXSW Indie Game Developer Panel 2012, TEDxLex 2011 Afterparty and of course our semi annual Gun parties held in Lexington.