Nikhil Shahane, Vice President, Mobility & International Business, Indigo Consulting talks about his love for video games and the different lessons that marketers and advertisers can learn from them
BY NIKHIL SHAHANE
VP - Mobility & International Business, Indigo Consulting
I started with video games very early in life and while that sounds like a normal thing today, in the late 80s, video games in India were a rarity. I spent many evenings and some late nights lost in 4-bit and 8-bit awesomeness as it playfully toyed with my imagination through those formative years. My relationship with video games was casual until the mid- to late 90s. I remember the random awkward relationship or the horrible first job trying to distract me from important quests and raids in World of Warcraft, but those memories pale in comparison to the glory of Azeroth. And while my mother thinks all of that was a waste of time, more than a decade into digital advertising, I’m glad I spent all that time playing video games and picking up a whole bunch of side skills to aid me in my various quests over these years.
There’s actually plenty that we as marketers and advertisers can learn from video games and I’ve done my fair share of video game referencing when suggesting ideas or trying to sell concepts to my clients.
Here are a few interesting pointers that I find useful:
1. Tell a story: I totally get the importance of ensuring that any communication has to ensure “brand recall”, but realistically when was the last time people remembered your brand because your logo or product was bigger than the brand ambassador in the banner? The human brain, however, does remember stories much better than it would anything else in isolation. If you can associate your brand with an interesting story, you’re far more likely to actually have people connect with and remember it.
2. God is in the details (Even the God of War): As clichéd as this sounds, it’s true. Music, sounds, subtle abstract visuals, etc… if done well, can take your messaging to the next level. Most of the ad world gets caught in all the wrong details.
3. Allow for self-discovery: The brain makes very strong associations when it’s allowed to discover something for itself. Some of the most memorable video games, movies and even ads for that matter, take people on an adventure but don’t explicitly state everything and let people figure things out. The Marvel and DC films do a great job of leaving small details strewn across their movies for fans to find and enjoy.
4. Stimulate as many senses as you can: We’re entering an era where one can’t just see, touch or hear through your mobile device, but soon be able to smell and taste (here’s looking at you ‘Wake up and smell the bacon’) through your phone as well. While video games haven’t really done the smell and taste parts (yet!), they’ve always been able to use more than just the visual medium to communicate. The more sense stimulated, the more the associations the brain makes. This is why certain experiential advertising is the most effective. Especially when done right.
5. Select your difficulty level: Sometimes, talking to an evolved audience allows you to expect more than just a simple action when trying to engage with them. The more evolved the audience, the more immersive the experience you can create. Of course, the downside is that you might be reaching out only to a niche. BMW MINI audiences in Europe have been treated to some very immersive campaigns like Catch the MINI.
6. Gamify the experience (if it fits): Leave people with a feeling that they accomplished something after interacting with your brand or product, and they’ll want to share that, making campaigns memorable and “viral”. These are just some of the things that I learnt from video games that also help when it comes to creating interesting brand experiences. Generally speaking, if one can find a way to approach each campaign or idea with the end goal of wanting people to go back and ‘play it again’, I think it’s a step in the right direction.
@ FEEDBACK
nikhil.shahane@indigo.co.in
