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Trends and Insight in association withSynapse Virtual Production
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Biborg's April Entertainment Benchmarks

30/04/2019
Advertising Agency
London, UK
119
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Biborg breaks down six entertainment campaigns from April, discussing the good, the bad, and how they could have been taken further

1. #NoBuildChallenge: WWF x Fortnite challenge to save the planet

On the 5th of April, the WWF teamed up with Solary (a French esport team), Twitch (a gaming streaming platform) and the unmissable video game Fortnite to run the #NoBuildChallenge. This goal was to invite all gamers to avoid using in-game natural resources while they play, with the message “without natural resources, it is difficult to stay alive”. Much of Fortnite’s gameplay involves gamers using natural resources, such as wood, to build protective walls or stairs that give them in-game advantages.

The Good

The concept of inviting young gamers to avoid using too many natural resources is totally related to Fortnite's gameplay. This makes WWF’s message even more impactful.
The global ecosystem of this activation is totally relevant to the audience’s usual user journey: social networks, Twitch, Fortnite and the Solary team who launched the challenge.
The concept of the challenge, already trending on social networks and even more with younger generations (especially thanks to Tik Tok), has the potential to boost the activation virality.

The Bad

Weak media support, which was not strong enough to organically boost the hashtag. Indeed, only the live Twitch with the Solary team and some press coverage were used to communicate it.
There was no platform or page to gather the participants’ videos which made it quite hard to share the content.

To take this further...

We could have pushed the gamification further via a partnership with Fortnite, giving the opportunity to participants who shared their challenge video to win something (a WWF skin for example, or an emote with a WWF panel, etc.) via votes from the community.


2. Pornhub wants to save bees thanks to a cartoony porn-comic



Running for one month from 17th of April, Pornhub, the renowned adult streaming platform, has launched its channel "Beesexual", gathering cartoon porn-comic videos featuring bees. The objective here is to raise public awareness on the essential role of bees in the world’s natural balance. Every view on the channel is monetized and converted into donations for two associations dedicated to the protection and conservation of bees: Operation Honey Bee and the Center for Honeybee Research.


The Good 

An offbeat and surprising approach that naturally attracts attention, because it is quite different to the content we are used to seeing from a platform such as Pornhub.
The different videos are very short (between 30 and 90 seconds) which is totally in line with the current trend in terms of video consumption: the shorter the videos are, the better.

The Bad 

The only way to access the content is to visit Pornhub's regular website, and once you are on “Beesexual” channel, you still have to see a lot of pornographic advertising. This might be a limitation to the sharing potential of the Beesexual videos that might otherwise reach a broader audience.


3. The PNL rap group offers you VTC rides for the release of their latest album


On 5th and 6th of April, PNL, the French rap duo, offered VTC rides to their fans within Paris in partnership with Uber. Users could select the "PNL" option when they had to choose a ride on the app. The ride was then free of charge and users could listen to PNL’s new album.


The Good

A surprising action that uses unconventional channels, in partnership with one of the most important applications of VTC, which greatly boosted its visibility.
An action consistent with the very urban universe of the group.
The whole concept is based on a great opportunity and insight: VTC’s users have time and attention available during their rides. It is therefore the perfect occasion to listen intently and receptively to music.

The Bad

The operation was only available in Paris and for limited time slots, obviously for budget reasons, but it considerably reduced its scope.

To take this further...

We could have created an immersive 360° live video filmed inside an Uber trip in a specific Paris area that PNL wanted to represent, with their album providing the musical backdrop, to make the experience accessible to the widest audience. The video could have been live on YouTube only for instance (just as they did to tease their new album).


4. Uber Eats offers you coupon codes if you let them spoil Game Of Thrones for you


For the grand return of Game Of Thrones, OCS, exclusive publisher of the series in France, teamed up with the meal delivery application Uber Eats to create the Spoiler Code. The idea is to test fans’ resilience and see how far they are willing to go to enjoy discounts on the app: Uber offered them 10€ in exchange of them accepting to receive a big spoiler (a revelation as yet unrevealed in the episode), 5€ for a medium one, and free delivery costs for a small one.


The Good

The idea to play on a strong insight: the will of Game Of Thrones fans to avoid show spoilers at all costs.
A partnership that seems logical and quite strategic: Uber Eats could be the food partner of the series, that people call every Monday for a Game Of Thrones night.

The Bad 

The activation was only available in cities where Uber Eats is running, which limits its coverage.

To take this further...

Knowing that the worst spoilers are the ones our friends reveal to us (betrayal!), Uber Eats could have offered a considerable discount to users choosing to send a spoiler to a friend. Thanks to the social dimension the activation could have gone even more viral.


5. Because Science scientifically explains the fatalities of iconic Mortal Kombat characters


For the launch of Mortal Kombat 11, the channel Because Science teamed up with Warner Bros Games to create educational and entertaining videos about the most iconic character fatalities (gruesome finishing moves). As the self-styled nerd scientist Kyle Hill always does in the Because Science videos, these episodes try to tackle and make sense of character’s weapons and powers by applying real-world maths, science and experiments.


The Good 

The production of episodes is high quality and really pays tribute to the fatalities of the game.
Since Kyle Hill’s content is always based on pop culture references, this content makes the game and its universe appealing to a wider audience than just MK players.

The Bad

This type of content is appealing for core fans who know the characters and their fatalities but might be less accessible to new fans who just got introduced to the game.


6. Netflix creates an interactive trailer for the launch of its new series You vs Wild


To capitalise on the success of the choose-your-own-adventure experiment with Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Netflix dropped an interactive Trueview on YouTube that invited viewers to accept or reject a call from Bear Grylls. Whether they accept or decline, viewers were redirected to more interactive videos until they watched the full series trailer.


The Good

The interactive Trueview is an extremely clear way of introducing the uniqueness of the series itself and gives people a taste of the thrills they will feel while having a direct impact on Bear Grylls’ adventures in the wild.
A good way to turn advertising into experience, which allows you to strongly engage your audience and forge a pre-launch bond with the content.

The Bad 

The interaction via the "buttons" at the end of the video can only happen after 20 seconds in a Trueview. The video might take too long before it gets really catchy and that might be an issue in retaining viewers as long as possible.
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