Lately I have been putting a lot of thought toward the next
great marketing canvas.Sometime after
my third Diet Coke I figured out that no matter what the next great canvas is,
it will tragically become a commodity like radio, TV, virtual worlds, or any
other medium.
So, what in this industry isn’t a commodity? What keeps these
commodities still palatable? Genuine creative thought--plain and simple.I recently wrote a piece that talked about
advergaming and how traditional thinkers couldn’t get out of their conditioned
thought patterns to use innovative thinking on this new gaming canvas. They
have simply gone from billboards to virtual billboards.
Even odder to me is the way that agencies are interpreting
some of the new research regarding gaming. Research indicates that billboards as
in-game advertising add a sense of realism to the game. I simply think this
says that advertisers have begun to clutter the virtual side of the road just as
they have done every major highway in the U.S. Sense of realism? Yes, of
course, one is conditioned to stare at endless billboards down the real
highway--but why place them in the videogame? Why in the heck would anybody
think that virtual billboards are going to make a more meaningful or relevant
impression on a gamer than they have on the real-world highways?
If a brand wants to make a “real impression,” it needs to
imbed itself in the game theory.This requires
a new kind of thinking. Unfortunately new companies are being formed daily that
are more than willing to sell you virtual billboard space--buyer beware!
Truth be told it really isn't that hard to take any kind of
product or service and imbed it into a game that makes sense for the brand. How
can brands make it happen, and where are the opportunities? One simple example
is obvious:Most racing games have no
gas stations. It would be very easy for a gas company to imbed itself into a
game by having gamers visit the gas station to fuel up and grab a snack at a
convenience store to refuel the driver as well.What a great behavior to teach a future car buyer.
Surely a game company will read this and begin to search for
a major gas company with this original thought.You see, one thing that I have learned recently is that while thought
isn’t a commodity, once spoken or written it is up for grabs in terms of who
claims its authorship.So in a way, it
is traded on a very different kind of market, but a market nonetheless. It
seems to be happening more and more lately, but I have always been inclined to
share ideas and see them framed--so I’ll keep sharing in these columns, and
appreciate the art for its own sake.
There will certainly be a next great canvas. There will be
an even greater canvas after that. I will certainly do my best to always be the
first to try to create art on these canvases for my clients.To mix metaphors a bit, it’s just one big
race.The first ones to use the canvas
get there when there is uncharted opportunity and a blankspace. Hopefully your engines are revved and
you’ll get out there before the rest of the herd shows up.
Best of luck in your search for the next great canvas. The
world is full of them. Actually, the world is the greatest canvas of them all--just
look around through the eyes of your clients and their customers and you’ll
see.
Erik Hauser is creative director/founder of San
Francisco-based marketing firm Swivel
Media and founder of IXMA, the International
Experiential Marketing Association. He also moderates the Experiential Marketing Forum
and pens a biweekly column for CHIEF MARKETER.
