Appealing to the MMOB:Building Massively Multiplayer Online Brands

Brian Robbins

Executive Producer / Gaming Evangelist

Fuel Industries, Inc.

INTRODUCTION

What is a MMOB?

• Massively Multiplayer Online Brand

• Massively Online Brand

• MOB – doesn’t sound as cool

What does that mean?

• Experience engages a large number of players in the brand

• The brand association improves the overall experience

• It happens online

Everything is a MMOB

• Has a brand

• Need to preserve and promote that brand for success

THAT’S NOT REALLY TRUE

A MMOB has a brand that primarily exists outside the game experience

INDUSTRY CANON

Coke StudiosOver 7 Million users in 2006

Virtual Magic Kingdom2 Million characters in 2 years

Originally just part of the 50 years celebration

Nicktropolis2.5 Million registered in 2 months

MTVConnecting all 3 with seamlessly moving between online and real-world

RELATED CANON

ToontownApproximately 120,000 paying subscribers

WhyvilleCDC and the flu shot bug was a huge success

NON-TRADITIONAL MMOB

American Dad vs. Family Guy7 Million visits and a minor You Tube sensation

Retroville Rescue800,000 players in the first week

Many of those created a custom level

ecomagination92,000 flowers posted

CandystandOnline for over 10 years

What’s common?

• Almost exclusively funded by marketing

• Biggest driving factor across everything else discussed today

Pain in the Ass

• Approvals based on screenshots and logo usage

• Little to no game experience

• Brand wins over gameplay

SO WHY BOTHER?

No revenue – No problem

• Goal is to drive the brand

• Don’t need resource sinks or a balanced economy

• Allows more experimentation and variation

Experimentation

• Much easier to tie to offline– Brand already exists offline!

• Offline interaction may be the driving factor

Experimentation

• Use game types and mechanics that don’t drive revenue– But do drive usage

Experimentation

• Can target audiences that don’t monetize well

Brand Vision Rules All

• Marketers worry about promoting and protecting the brand value

• This isn’t always conducive to game design

Do need ROI

• # of players

• Repeat visits

• Length of play

• Offline tracking

CONCLUSIONS

Ways to Fail

• Ignore the brand team feedback

• Focus on gameplay over the brand instead of finding a compromise

• Try to hide the brand’s involvement

Keys to success

• Be honest with the users about the brand

• Remember your job is to promote the brand vision

• Find out what’s important to the brand team

• Don’t compromise game design

Final Thoughts

• You’re getting paid to work on a really hot property

• It comes with a brand following and almost guaranteed players

• You don’t have to worry about milking money out of the playerbase

Questions

• Slides posted soon:– www.dubane.com/cons/

• E-mail– brobbins@fuelindustries.com