marketing

The social gaming market is predicted to reach $1bn in 2011, a result of investment by big brands using games to engage consumers. One of the drivers for this investment is the development of technology leading to a deeper integration of social technology and online gaming, making it more attractive to a wider audience (as shown in both US and UK research).

Branded social games and virtual world environments can provide consumers with the chance to immerse themselves in an online environment dedicated to their favourite film franchise (such as Lord of the Rings Online) or book (like Scholastic’s upcoming Horrible Histories world, based on our HuzuTech platform).

But the most important development that’s opened up the market is the ability to include a social element to games. This stops the game becoming the domain of a single player and opens it up to allow players to chat to each other, share scores and information, and effectively market the game on the brand’s behalf by bringing friends in and posting updates to their existing networks (like Facebook).

A new initiative announced by the Technology Strategy Board (TSB), sees the launch of IC tomorrow, a platform for content owners and app developers to test drive ideas and applications with a closed group of consumers (sign-up here) using content from major content owners including Sony Music, Getty Images and Crytek.

The platform will host 20 consumer trials focused on the creative industries including music, TV/film and publishing, with a total fund of £200,000 up for grabs to support six month-long trials on the platform. Entrepreneurs are being encouraged to use the platform which will also include mentoring, as well as up to £10,000 per project funding and access to premium content.

Some brands are actively scared about using their social channels to provide customer services, but they don’t realise the opportunity they’re missing.

In general the thinking goes something like this:

• If we let people leave negative remarks, then they will put off other potential customers.
• It’s impossible to solve every problem through social channels – so why try?
• If someone has to answer all the queries, that will mean having to hire more staff.

Let’s look at each of these in detail.

Congratulations to the 31 leading UK digital companies that have been selected for this year's UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) Mission to SXSW Interactive 2011.

This trip will see the companies travel out to Austin, Texas for a five day trip in and around South by South West Interactive, one of the largest conferences focused on digital media and technology.

Each of the companies is listed below, don't hesitate to drop them a line directly to arrange a time to meet up in Austin, or follow their progress via their Twitter accounts below. You can follow the UKTI team's coverage of the mission on Twitter @uktiatsxswi.

UKTI SXSW 2011 Mission Companies

• Acunu Ltd
• Brandwatch
• Casual Films
• Completely Novel
• Cyber-Duck
• DAD Solutions
• Digital Outlook Communications
• East London Productions
• Engage Sciences
• Fortune Cookie
• Fly Post
• Get-ctrl Limited
• Glass Eye Productions
• Lingo24
• Minute Box
• MOFILMS
• MoodShare
• Namaste Entertainment
• Parcel Genie
• Planzai
• Psonar
• Rummble Labs
• Screenreach Interactive
• Shout’em
• Somethin’else
• Teamly
• The Play Mob
• w00t!media
• We are Social
• WhoSampled.com
• Zkatter

A key mistake made by brands when they first enter the social sphere is to forget that they’ll need a way to measure the tangible success of their efforts. Effectively brands leave themselves unable to measure the ROI of their social activity and as a result it can very easily become a wasted effort.

When you first engage through sites such as Facebook or Twitter it’s very easy to be fooled into thinking that a million online followers is an end to itself, but if you haven’t at the very least considered a future strategy for turning your new online friends (followers and fans) into *real* customers, it’s highly unlikely to happen on its own.

Just as with any other marketing campaign, clear objectives should be set right from the start that can be clearly measured and analysed in order to tell you exactly how successful your activities have been.