Strategic deployment of “Draw Something” by Brands

After finishing the drawing… you see…

Best drawing by users

Ads to purchase an upgrade

OR

Earn coins on every guess… OR, you could buy them!

OR

Coins let you buy more colours, bombs, more options, etc…

OR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EjF9rM_8KiI

To know how to

30 million downloads & clocking….

A digital – pictorial – interaction with no geographic boundaries…

Not just a game, a form of expression…

Interactive, expressive & addictive…

Our focus!!

Advertising efforts (pushing other apps)Advertising efforts (pushing other apps)

What’s wrong with this?

•While to push an APP is much better than a brand message, most players would not even be looking at this banner ad equivalent.

• Just like the science behind an advertorial, we need to understand the editorial environment of this game.

• What is the natural mechanism of the game and how can we weave ourselves in as brands.

• What are the natural elements and how can we get woven into the fabric of the very game and participate un-intrusively, rather than in a very intrusive manner. Which leads to the player ignoring it and rather getting irritated by it.

• First of all, let’s understand clearly that there are players & no consumers.

• Also most importantly, which kind of brands should participate & with what marketing objectives?.

This is a game of probability (questionable ROI, post-estimating conversion rates per view etc;).This is a game of probability (questionable ROI, post-estimating conversion rates per view etc;).

View – click – download % per amount of players who have noticed, seen (& not dismissed the app push)View – click – download % per amount of players who have noticed, seen (& not dismissed the app push)

Let’s break it down!!

What’s the core part to the game?, that all players (eventually) will interact with and shall have to act on?

What’s that part of the game, that all players do want to interact with?

The game throws a set of words that, players have to chose from.

Players have to choose from them and make a drawing out of that and submit it to the their counterpart for them to guess.

Brands should be paying for their brand names to become a part of this word set.

Imagine a consumer actually drawing your brand, that is amazing amount of involvement.

Imagine the amount of people who will be drawing your brand and sharing it with others, while others are guessing it.

You could look at keeping your brand on TOM and drive high awareness scores.

For impulse category brands like Cola, snack etc, this si a very good opportunity.

While playing this, some players might even go their fridge and take a sip out of the cola.

After every single round of playing, the game throws this screen at the player – which showcases some of the best drawing from the entire fraternity.

THE BEST OF COKE

• If you feature amongst the word options, which turn into pictures – then this naturally can become your ad – which is a natural part of the game.

• You can throw-up consumer generated pictures & also commission some great graphic artists to play the game & create some awesome pictures – with consumption shots, brand messages etc;

• The insight: Most players are very bad artists & hence stop and marvel at each wonderful picture.

Let’s call it the pictorial-push

In this digital era, nothing’s a waste. So use every byproduct to your advantage.

Brands are perplexed on how to produce consumer engaging, brand relevant content to feed onto their digital platforms.

• As a part of the deal you crack with the game owner, request for some the best, funniest, cutest drawings of your brand. Make a shot video out of it and upload it on youtube and link

it to your brand page on Face Book.

• If you can actually get these pictures with the players names & id’s on it – even more wonderful. These players would push themselves to go check out the video and also push

their friends.

• To top it all, these pictorial expressions – represent consumer love and also could of great interest to e-surfers.

• The gameowner would love it, cause it will give his game even more publicity.

Why should the game owner allow it (Brand names as words)?

On an average, After around 5/6 rounds with 5/6 different players, the words start repeating themselves. This becomes boring to draw after that.

The game is trying to push you to buy into the next level to unlock new words. While the game owner can still continue to do the same, the period between being bored & needing to unlock new words can prolonged for mutual profitability of the brands as well as the game owner and the players.

The next level for brands:

Players want more colors, more words etc; to draw something better.

The pictorial-push

The pictorial-push also whets the appetite of players for more colours & to draw something better.

The players need to pay money or get points to upgrade. There is impatience to earn those points and also barriers to make more money.

Create a brand-draw section

Help players gain access to this, by playing in the brand-draw section

Players also would love to try and draw something tougher. So use this…

Replace the words:

• With phrases. Either brand lines like “Open happiness” or “impossible is nothing”.

• Drive usage synergy. Example: draw “drink with bee hoon noodles/burger/dosa etc;”.

Imagine a % of 20 million people drawing your brand positioning, campaign line or even consumption occasion. It will be etched in the mind of players

drawing it and guessing it.

More powerful than any ad, eh?!

Let players earn more points (subsidized by the brands) and unlock all the goodies they want.

Open…….!!!!

You can even open a custom name & play as a brand

You can even open a custom name & play as a brand, but don’t abuse it by overusing it!!

Hopefully, a % of players once they earn points, exit the brand-draw section – unlock their colors etc; - when they come back to the regular part of the game – when they see a word of the brand name (EXAMPLE: Coke) will draw/use “open happiness” and force the other player to guess.

The % this shall happen will be very less, but when it does happen – the impact earned will be invaluable.

Not all players are terrific at drawing, infact most of them are not!

Create branded digital-stencils for basic shapes and become part of the things they can unlock.

If you start thinking in-game environment, you can come-up with more to do.

Some provocations as to who can use this:

• High impulse brands (Colas, snacks, chewing gums etc; - which need to have TOM and need to be constantly in view).

• Key campaign within the branded section.

• New product launches – when you want to drive product USP’s (but make sure that you break the usps into a simple, human and most importantly easy to draw & easy to guess level).

Note: You could negotiate a seasonal, specific time-period participation too.

Example: Tourism Boards, trying to drive destinations during key travel seasons (Taj Mahal for Idia, Kerala God’s own country – by branding them as Indian Holiday as a word to be drawn etc;).

Key tips/learnings:

• Do not mindlessly participate: think whether any of your marketing objectives can be served by participating within the game environment.

• Just like you think channel insights when you think Face Book, thing in-app/game insights to weave your brand initiative into the very fabric of the game.

• Be cautious & do not overdo & become an irritation.

• Think of benefits for the game owner too, otherwise he/she wont allow it.

• Players are transactional too, so be unafraid to do a barter with them – know my brand, engage with it and earn something.

Other provocations by “Wolfzhowl”:

http://www.slideshare.net/ChallapalliKalyanRam