The Story of an ARG
No, it’s not an expression of frustration. It’s an acronym for Alternate Reality Game.
“What the heck is that, and what does it have to do with marketing?” you might ask.
Let’s start with what it is. You may have glimpsed the edges of alternate reality games, like the seemingly-real websites for fictional companies that appear in Lost. Or you may have even participated in a major ARG yourself, like The Beast promotion for the film A.I.. At its core, an alternate reality game is about creating a network of online and offline media that mesh together to tell a greater story, then letting people online figure it out. Alternate reality games can encompass tens to hundreds of elements, from conspiracy sites to voicemail messages to listings in newspaper classifieds to eBay auctions to tagged photos on Flickr and videos on YouTube. Participants have found these games so compelling that they’ve risked hurricanes to pick up recorded messages on pay phones in Florida.
“Wow, that sounds stupid,” you say. “I don’t see what it’s good for.”
Not so fast. ARGs are real marketing, with real results. For one, ARGs are a way to get hundreds of thousands of eager participants sucked into your message, millions of interested spectators, and the equivalent of tens to hundreds of millions of ad impressions.
But, even more importantly, it’s a way to get your audience to not only accept, but embace, marketing. Consider these comments, taken straight from SomethingAwful, regarding the latest Year Zero alternate reality game:
“I am loving this. One quite scary thing about the Presence that was on the Art is Resistance “forum” wasn’t noted is that when people see the Presence, it follows you. And you get a feeling that it’s watching you perpetually, knowing everything bad you have ever done.”
“I don’t want to say anymore because figuring it out is half the fun but reading every bit of info on this site gave me goosebumps in a very nerdy way.”
“If only all advertising was this cool. I’d be compelled to buy a lot more shit.”
“This is some of the finest marketing I’ve seen in a while.”
And on and on. When someone comes on and says, “Well, but this is just, like, marketing, right?” A whole lot of people jump on him and say, “No no no! This is great, this goes beyond that.” They KNOW this is marketing, and that’s all right!
Let that sink in for a bit.
Now, imagine what an alternate reality campaign might do for you.
