BrandAnimation: What Every Marketer Can Learn From Guitar Hero
It’s a challenge prospective clients call ad agency offices with daily, sometimes hourly when things are brisk. “How do we increase relevancy within a particular market segment, and more importantly convert that new found relevancy into sales? How can we drive purchase and purchase consideration by our intended audience – an audience that currently doesn’t even know that we exist?”
Creative teams address these questions every day. Often, agencies don’t seem to land on the correct answer. That may explain why the business so often resembles a revolving door. But every once in a while someone finds a way to shift perceptions to drive purchase.
The Red Octane and Activision-published videogame Guitar Hero is a perfect example of how you can get an audience interested in anything if you use a clever engagement mechanism that stimulates customer involvement.
I’m not referring to the game sales. Clearly, it’s an amazing game. I have it set up in our house with multiple guitars and everyone still fights for their turn to play. The game sells itself.
Of late, classic rock hasn’t dominated the radio airwaves, nor has it flown off the record shelves. For that matter, it isn’t even being illegally downloaded frequently by today’s younger generation. This all leads up to one very important question that was asked to me by a 9-year-old boy.
“Erik, can you take me to Best Buy to get a Lynard Skynard CD?”
At this point there are several reasons I almost hit the floor. One is that I grew up in the southeast and live with the running joke of someone screaming “Freebird” at nearly every concert I’ve ever attended. It didn’t matter if it was REM or Lenny Kravitz – some yokel was always screaming “Freebird!”
The fundamental question was why is a 9-year-old asking me to by him a Skynard album, Guitar Hero had presented the boy an opportunity to relate to, and connect with, a song from another generation. The game allowed him to put his own slant on the anthem, something that he normally would never have even heard in his universe.
This initial request was soon followed by requests for Santana albums, ZZ Top, and Pearl Jam.
The lesson is simple. Something was introduced to a 9-year-old using a clever mechanism that engaged his interest and allowed him to take partial ownership of the sound that was exiting the speakers at an extremely loud volume. The result was album sales for artists the kid never knew existed. We have a winner!
What engagement techniques are you using to make your client’s products/services relevant to their new, desired audience? Think about that while I head out to Best Buy….to get my 9-year-old friend his latest request, Heart’s last album.
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.
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