Retro Modernism

Posted on by Zack Chia

I loved the 80s. Being born in the 80s meant my early childhood was spend on this really really awesome era where we got nice cartoons, toys, pixelated graphics, cars and lots of crazy stuffs we don’t see these days in the digital age. I still collect vintage toys which reminiscence my time when i was a kid. Nostalgia is definitely one of the emotions that sometimes spun brilliant creative work. Check out SquirrelMonkeyCom and their take for the 80s. They recreated what seem like today’s technology appearing back in the 80s. Oh i love how they crafted these really awesome videos. Check out these videos below to see how today’s Google, Wikipedia, Skype…etc would look like on a 80s operating system!

 

Making mealtime a happier time

Posted on by Zack Chia

I have people telling me that the digital frontier is so near yet so far. With people having doubts in technology and their resistance to changes, it takes a lot more convincing to get them moving. However, the good news is, whether one likes it or not, technology is here to stay and is going to change everything you once think you grasped into something completely unimaginable. That’s the beauty of technology. And, we see that McDonald’s is taking this to their benefit by coming out with the NFC Concept Table. It is the first of it’s kind, launched in Yishun, Singapore. Awesome work from the conservative island of Singapore. It is on it’s experimental stage and would rollout through the entire Asia with families who owns NFC enabled smartphones as their main target audience. The work is aimed at providing kids with a unique yet interactive experience while dining at McDonald’s.

The technology is created by hiding NFC tags under the table which forms up to an entire experience. It allows for kids to have a ‘drive’ around on the table. The best and fun part of the game is the different challenges they face and stories that comes along. It also gives them something to look forward to as they learn to unlock the next part of the game through each of the individual tags. Very interesting and innovative work from Singapore. Thumbs up.

Cowabunga!

Posted on by Zack Chia

Things just can’t get any better! Were you a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? Mashable just published an article reporting a release for the turtles, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” for Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network and Steam for PC. This action hard hitting game brings back memories of the retro TMNT arcade coin-op games we used to rock during the 90s. Published by Activision, the game boosts great game play with the game’s art direction quite closely resembling the new Nickelodeon CG series.

I personally love the TMNT games since I was a kid. In fact, my favorite turtle happened to be Raphael! As usual, the rooster of characters to select will be the complete set of all 4 turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo. They are also bringing back the four person co-op function! Now you get to hammer through the stages all the way to the lairs of Shredder with three friends simultaneously! Check out the game!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows costs 1,200 Microsoft Points, or $15.

Hoops and Jumps

Posted on by Zack Chia

Sometimes the best ideas are the products from the manifestation of simple yet practical marketing objectives. When you think about basketball, you think about hoops and jumps. Adidas bring these to life with a very simple yet effective idea: Jump with Derrick Rose. In this video you see how the people would jump in order to reach for the shoe they desire. Enough said, this idea really speaks for itself. Great experience and engagement. Well done Adidas.

Be a part of fun

Posted on by Zack Chia

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Most of you would have realize a lot of creative marketing campaigns for video games revolves around a rather passive form of communication like posters, banners and magazine articles. It used to be effective and one of the best ways to market a video game was through interesting write ups on tech magazines by “video game gurus” or launching ads with beautiful game cover designs tactically placed across the country on billboards or little posters at video game shops. These days, with the massive proliferation of rich content in the game industry, it is absolutely necessary to craft an experience rather than communicate one. Sid Lee and Ubisoft has recently came up with a project for “Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.” The marketing campaign drives across their communications through online and offline. Fans were asked to log on to a site, where they would see an artwork created by artists from L’Ecole Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris. You see a really detailed painting of a fighting scene somewhat in the era of the “Age of Piracy” along the timeline where the video game is set to be.

The interactive aspect of the campaign requires users to use their webcams and have their faces placed on the characters within the painting, and the most popular faces would be featured as part of the painting. To sweeten the deal, it is said to have their faces painted on as part of the actual piece of art to be displayed in Le Musee de la Marine this November. Again, we are witnessing a creative way of engaging consumers by getting them to be part of the marketing campaign. Naturally, we would expect social and other online media to be tagging along. Great work.

Scrabble Time!

Posted on by Zack Chia

Everyone that I know of had played Scrabble and would love this game. If it is simply just the usual word puzzle game with friends, I guess that wouldn’t bring much social attention. Scrabble had recently did this very interesting campaign of getting you to literally win Scrabble time. With Scrabble Wi-Fi, you can challenge the game and stand to win free Wi-Fi minutes at locations where there isn’t any Wi-Fi! Interesting enough Scrabble had several well equipped vans with portable Wi-Fi connections and had them dispersed around Paris to places which people had problems with the internet connections. This is definitely one way to get people to start playing your game! A great idea that adds value to people’s lives at the same time allowing the brand’s presence to grow. Wonderful and creative work here.

 

The power of Gamification

Posted on by Zack Chia

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A recent study has indicated that the best way a mobile game player would find their game of choice is through word of mouth. What’s interesting is this process need not necessarily come from in-person discussion about the games. All the online talk and chatter about the game is enough to convert a potential gamer. It is extremely effective and convincing.

As you would know the famous app, Candy Crush is well played by so many gamers worldwide. You could even have started playing it after seeing someone played it on the train, your mom playing it on her phone or your close peers swapping those candies whenever they had some free time to spare. 36% of users reported that their major source of games was based on the hearing of their friend or family members. The other 25% of users said it was direct influence after witnessing a friend or family play a game.

This indicates the power of the process of showing someone how fun it is and the convincing factor through seeing how fun the game was. A lot of marketing campaigns have leveraged on the power of gamification to launch several interesting engagement activities and achieved great success. Do not underestimate the power of gamification and how it can generate the desired user interaction.