Over the last few days I have been following a virtual character on Twitter. Her name is Slicequeen. But Slicequeen isn't a real person ; she's from a digital fiction... However I also read her blog and her parents' blog... Are you still following me ?
Slicequeen is the "Twitter name" of Lisa, a US teenager known as Slice to her friends. Her parents decided to move her away from the bad influences she had in the US and therefore they've just all moved into London, in a house that turns out to be creepy. Yes this is of course a fiction but furthermore this is a DIGITAL fiction, part of the Pinguin We Tell Story - Six Authors, Six Stories, Six Weeks, which I have already mentioned previously.
Those 6 stories are digital fictions and Pinguin worked with Six to Start, an agency specialised in Alternate Reality Games, to create those digital fictions. So what exactly are Alternate Reality Games ?
Well, as far as I'm concerned, I had never heard of the term ARGs until last week and the We Tell Story website. However ARGs are not new but as I'm sure they're pretty new to those of you who aren't passionate gamers, here are some information...
According to CNET, Alternate Reality Game is a new genre of games : "an obsession-inspiring genre that blends real-life treasure hunting, interactive storytelling, video games and online community". CNET concludes that ARGs "may, incidentally, be one of the most powerful guerrilla marketing mechanisms ever invented". And you see now where I'm going ? Marketing of course ! ;-)
In my opinion, ARGs represent a brilliant opportunity for brands to communicate with their audience using all the new media and technology. If your idea for an ARG idea is good enough then it could be a brilliant way to entertain your audience and create a proper 360 communication campaign, using not only Guerilla Marketing but also for example Blogs, Twitter, Google Maps, Facebook, Direct Marketing or even Bluetooth !
Comments