Biborg's Entertainment Benchmarks: June 2019

1. McDonald's French fries create music on Spotify

Challenge

Reinforce McDonald’s customer convivial experience and keep boosting brand preference.

Response

The world famous fast-food, McDonald’s, teamed-up with Spotify to offer a new experience to Brazilian consumers in its restaurants. They were invited to place their French fries on a Spotify code shape drawn on their tray liners. Then they could scan it with a Spotify smartphone app, to access exclusive playlists based on the “fries” theme (like “Keep Calm and Eat Fries”) and choose the one that matches with their current mood.

The more and the minus

The operation’s gamified and exclusive concept surely arouse consumers curiosity and engaged them quickly. The experience mixed two compatible services (McDonald’s + Spotify: eating while listening to music) however it mainly worked for people eating alone with their headphones, which is different from McDonald’s DNA (home-like, creator of shared moments). We could propose a similar experience, still based on a set of tables, by adding zones making different notes and instruments to let a group compose music all together. After placing the French fries in the different possible areas, users could scan the code, which would give them access to the full music. This would create an authentic group activity, for a family or friends, using gamification, and therefore more in line with McDonald’s DNA.

2. JACOB (Just Another Cool Online Bot), Disney’s Bot Office

Challenge

Keep Disney’s control on ticket sales, and have a real impact on them without depending on their distributors and sale counters.

Response

In Singapore, Disney has decided to merge Facebook Messenger technology and movie ticketing website, Popcorn, to create a BOT. This one is able to converse with people on Messenger and offer them suggestions of films, information, reservations, comments and reviews. With this tool, going in theatres to watch movies is simplified for consumers, who now have access to Disney Studio content without leaving the brand ecosystem.

The more and the minus

This tool responds to a consumer need and provides a service that really improves their daily life while facilitating access to the brand contents. The concept of the bot itself reinforces Disney brand charisma. However, one barrier to this bot can be the user “fear” of receiving too many notifications.

3. Let’s visit Xbox

Challenge

Promote the high quality of the improved visuals in Xbox One X Enhanced video games (4K and UHD) and therefore reinforce Xbox One X positioning as the world’s most powerful console. 

Response

Microsoft launched 'Visit Xbox,' a new marketing campaign positioning all Xbox One X Enhanced video game experiences as tourism places-to-go: the immersion and quality of visuals were therefore more important than the gameplay itself. Xbox presented all the enhanced games like if it was a tourism agency, inviting gamers to discover games’ best destinations on their website, social media and other advertisements. People could even create their own postcards on the website to share them on social networks.

The more and the minus

It is an original and clear way to promote Xbox One X Enhanced games and therefore highlight the unique experience gamers will live with these conditions. Also, this is a great advertising platform to reach gamers who are on the lookout for immersion and great graphics, especially solo game players. Most of new-gen video games offer high quality graphics and gamers mostly value the gameplay and the storytelling to differentiate games. This operation has potentially reached two very specific targets and not the entire core gamer community: players who mainly seek immersive gaming experiences but also a non-gaming audience that could be attracted to Xbox thanks to the promise of immersive entertainment.

4. Enigmatic Twitch stream for Death Stranding release date announcement

Challenge

Create a momentum for the official release date announcement, staying in line with the very enigmatic and exciting marketing approach Playstation and Kojima Production are having since the game announcement.

Response

The 28th of May, a mysterious video went live on PlayStation official Twitch channel. The video was covered with a black background where viewers could only see the video underneath through strange hands (from the Death Stranding enigmatic creatures). The more viewers were on the stream, the more hands appeared, providing more visibility on the trailer that was broadcasted, giving exclusive breakthroughs on the gameplay and narrative. After 2 hours 19 minutes and 45 seconds, the new (and 9 minutes long) trailer appeared full screen in the stream, finally revealing the game release date.

The more and the minus

This activation made total sense with the PlayStation and Kojima marketing strategy to keep building the hype around the game by suspense style mechanics. By using a ‘teasing’ mechanic, they also excited the community and boosted them to organically share the stream link to their peers and generate viewership on the live. The technology used was also quite simple as it seems the dark layout was directly integrated to the stream (not a Twitch Extension). Moreover, it proves once more that Twitch is a platform of choice for all gamers; not only for multiplayer, competitive, PC players but also for console, solo gaming experienced ones. We could have created a Twitch extension and/or Discord Bot (gamers’ chat platform) in order to animate the community watching the live and avoid a high rebound rate.

Check out the video here.

5. Assassin's Creed gives you the opportunity to create your own stories

Challenge

Strengthen the ability of Assassin's Creed to retain gamers and reinforce its "game as a service" dimension (a videogame that could be consumed continuously over time thanks to regular addition of content).

Response

Announced at E3, Ubisoft launch a Story Creator Mode for the Assassin's Creed Odyssey game. This new tool that everyone has access to allows the creation of unlimited new content, with a very advanced system, and share it to the gaming community. The user can create new quests by choosing characters, theirs dialogs, their designs, their interactions, roles and their location in game.

The more and the minus

This enhancement creates a new interest in a game, giving it new life and infinite content. This feature also allows Ubisoft to respond to the trend of over-personalisation that is increasingly present in the video game industry and can be seen by examples such as: Fortnite Fashion Creator, Google Game Builder, Super Mario Maker, GTA V Online Mods, … Thanks to this creation and sharing tool, a community will reunite around the game more easily. However, the customisation system is very complete but very complex. This can slow down the creation despite the tutorials, and users must own the game and practice it a little to access new quests made by the community.