As my previous post mentioned, Matmi co-chaired a brand-e.biz event with Microsoft last week. It consisted of a panel of business men, all experts in their fields, in which they gave a brief talk on their given topic followed by a Q and A.

Jeff is no stranger to projecting his voice and speaking to an audience on a subject he is passionate about. He is always happy to share his thoughts on how effective an advergame can be to a brands exposure. So it came as no surprise that he was asked to tackle the topic of Branded Gaming and it’s use in effective marketing. Naturally, the subject of gamification came up.

Jeff Pabst, head of international planning and product management at Microsoft was just one of the Brand-e.biz panellists who mentioned the topic. He told the audience that the term gamification need not even include what is traditionally associated with the idea of gaming. BA offering air miles is an example of gamification (similar to the United Airline campaign offering passenger incentives…the difference being that games were used to pull in the user initially).

Pabst said:

“At its heart, it is simply about keeping the consumer engaged through ever-increasing rewards. To do this effectively, marketers need to know their target audience, and how audience interests change over time.” - Brand-e.biz

Gamification is at the very heart of everything Matmi does and has done (very successfully might I modestly add) for the last ten years. However, as previously stated, it is important not to get too caught up with the ‘game’ terminology.

Gamification does not simply mean making a game and reap the rewards of the masses flocking to your site/brand. Matmi are all too aware of this false perception of ‘if you build a flash game, they will come’ (I think that’s how it went) in relation to building brand awareness. There’s far more to it than that. I think it only fair to leave the last words on the subject to our very own Jeff Coghlan, MD:

“Gamification is everywhere. Nectar cards, Tesco Club Card, LinkedIn profile percentage complete ect. are all forms of gamification. It’s about achievements, getting rewarded for interaction. They are all ways to encourage users to return and engage with the brand. To reach that magical 100% complete or to breach the next barrier for point rewards.”

He went on to say:

“Everybody is a gamer, everyone plays some form of game. So [when it comes to brands getting involved], brands should decide what they’re seeking, what audience. If they’re trying to talk to 18-to-34 year-old males, they should look at Xbox-style(console/pc) games.“ – Jeff Coghlan

According to analysis compiled by the Social Media Café, Manchester has the largest number of Twitter users in the UK after London and is third in Europe behind London and Paris.

London actually topped the World Wide charts for most Twitter users. (Hmm, I’m sure there’s a witty joke or pun about London being full of ‘twits’ to be had there. )

The ‘social meet up’ group has used a tool called Twittergrader, to identify the top 100 locations worldwide. US cities dominate the rankings but the UK capital is ranked atop the entire list. Followed by Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. Take a look at the full results here.

“Manchester’s high Twitter rank reflects the concentration of digital and social media activity within the city says Josh and the city’s ranking is also reflected, he suggests, in the rapid growth of and interest in the Social Media Cafe which claims to be the largest, regular social media meetup in the UK.”

how-do.co.uk

If you would like a indepth look at how Manchester based groups use Twitter, theEword conducted an indepth study last year. You can download and read the results here.

Manchester has clearly embraced the modern digital age and I think this is shown in the type of media companies that are growing in the North West.

The digital media industry has been big business for a while now and it’s nice to see that the folks of Manchester are keeping up with the latest trends and, in some cases, leading the way. Let us not forget the impressive ‘baby’ computer developed in 1948 by the University of Manchester.

The ‘baby’ computer has actually been replicated for the new multimillion pound gallery at the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, designed by kin. The developers of this modern day ‘baby’ computer have also created a simple game that visitors can play. They can also send a love letter, based on an early computer program, written for the Ferranti Mark I, which generated random love letters (Valentines Day is approaching. What better way to show your love than a computer randomly generated love letter).

Another one of the gallery’s most impressive features is the UK’s largest indoor video wall which is made up of 50 screens! There is also a “digital chandelier spanning 3 floors of the building, which has been renamed the Great Western Warehouse in recognition of its roots. It was a former railway warehouse for Liverpool Road station.” It truly is an incredible display and well worth checking out if you are ever in Manchester.

Matmi is proud to be a part of the North West digital community. Long let it continue…

It was triumph for Lily Allen at the Brits last night as she snagged the award for ‘Best Female Solo Artist’, beating the likes of Leona Lewis and Bat for Lashes to win the prestigious accolade.  As well ‘Best Female Solo Artist’, Lily was also nominated for ‘Best Single’ and ‘Best Album’, which we hoped she would win as well, but she was sadly pipped at the post by JLS and Florence & the Machine respectively.

The official Lily Allen game – ‘Escape the Fear’ – has been played by  people all around the world and our stats show it was a pretty darn effective tool for getting Lily’s music heard.  In countries where the game did well, the single did well too. Not that that was much of a surprise, after all, that was kind of the point, wasn’t it? (more…)