 In
the Spotlight:
Erik Hauser, Founder and Creative Director, Swivel
Media
KP:
What has been your most successful marketing campaign for
2006? How have you measured its success? What do you think
made this campaign resonate with the youth market and is there
a particular trend you capitalized on?
EH: Well this one is easy! We are very proud
of the work Swivel Media is doing for Wells Fargo. We created
a first of its kind MMORPG. We utilized a Multi-Player on-line
role playing platform (described in release below) called
Stagecoach
Island.
We were able to create an experience that engages our audience
for more than just minutes at a time and engages them long
enough to teach them a few things about finances. We were
elated that we were able to blend the financial education
into the game play in an opt-in fashion. If you want to learn,
great - AND you are rewarded too! If not, no problem. One
thing we found is that 85 percent of players visited our learning
lounge while 73 percent were return visitors.
KP: Given the amount of marketing exposure youth
and their families are experiencing, what are you doing to
stand out?
EH: We will continue to be genuine and an
authentic agency. We are extremely passionate about what we
do. We develop strong partnering relationships with our clients,
and use the "world as our canvas" methodology to
connect them with their customers. We never confine ourselves
to any medium. We use BrandAnimation, which simply means we
cleverly integrate our clients into the lifestyles of today’s
youth to give them immediate relevancy. We continue to find
emerging methods and mediums to effectively engage today’s
hyper-distracted youth.
KP: Do you find marketing and advertising to the
youth market is easier or harder then five to 10 years ago?
What are the biggest challenges now? What has changed to open
up new doors?
EH: Marketing hasn’t gotten any harder
or easier. All that has changed is the environment in which
we market and how to reach people while they are on the move.
Sure, in today’s hyper-saturated marketplace there are
more brands out there competing for their attention, but that
stimulates more creativity inside of the agency. Our agency
thrives in this type of environment. Obviously, the internet
and mobile technology has changed the world of marketing in
the last 10 years, but as you can see with the example of
StagecoachIsland, we know how to stay on the leading edge
of those changes.
KP: What advertising outlet do you use the most
to drive results -- TV, online, print?
EH: I believe that a proper overall marketing
experience is what drives results. Each medium has its pros
and cons, and certain mediums should be relied on more heavily
depending on what type of product/service that you are marketing.
As marketers we simply want to make sure that we are telling
an effective, engaging story through every medium to ensure
that our first touch with the customer is a pleasant experience
and that it continues at every touchpoint.
KP: There's been quite a bit of concern from consumer
advocates and parents regarding the level of exposure kids
have to marketing messages. What are you doing to address
this concern?
EH: We make sure that we properly represent
ourselves while we are out in the field. We are committed
to being open, upfront and ethical in how we communicate our
message, and we represent companies who feel the same way.
We feel that a creative and genuinely engaging marketing program
accompanied by a great product/service is all you need to
win the hearts and minds of today’s youth and their
parents.
KP: What is the most crucial step in your planning
process when you bring a new product or service to the market?
How many people in your company are responsible for the process,
and what departments are involved?
EH: The most crucial point is getting your
client to analyze and fully understand exactly what their
product/service is -- their brand promise. Then the next crucial
step is determining who your audience is so that you can deliver
the right message to the right audience via the right medium
at the right time. The staff we allocate to a given project
depends entirely on the analysis and the scope of the assignment,
and it's decided on a case-by-case basis. However, I am always
personally involved in the creative development of every campaign
we design.
KP: If you could dream up the best event you could
attend to network and learn about what is hot with the industry,
what would that look like?
EH: It would take the traditional trade show
model and throw it out the window. There would be no booths,
and the environments would be designed to stimulate interaction
between all participants. It would have an extremely open
floor plan designed with engagement and interaction as the
key to stimulating conversations. And, I would probably be
keynoting!
KP: If you were a kid today, what do you think
would attract you the most to a product? What do you think
would be your favorite product or service if you were say,
6-years-old?
EH: I have always asserted my individuality
-- even at the age of 6. I would buy products or services
that I truly felt were expressive of me or an extension of
myself. To this day, that is how I buy things. My mom would
tell you that it started at age 3. I would have every X-Box
360 game and be completely immersed in on-line gaming.
KP: Let us know what your personal favorites were
as a kid; mention specific brands, products, etc.
EH:
Apparel/Gear: Anything that nobody
else had. It never mattered what the brand was as long as
I “felt” the clothes.
Shoes: Converse, VANS
Toy: Intellivision, Matchbox cars
-- never left home without them.
TV Show: Land of the Lost
Movie: Breakfast Club
Music: REM, REM, REM, REM, REM …
Did I mention REM?
Hobbies: Writing lyrics
Sports: Baseball
Food/Beverage: Since I grew up in
Atlanta, it was Coke, but now I am a Pepsi man.
****************************************
Excerpt from release:
Stagecoach
Island
Stagecoach Island is a free, multi-player, online
role-playing game developed to teach young adults important
lessons in financial literacy. Wells Fargo is the first financial
institution to use an online game of this kind for both financial
education and entertainment purposes. Young adults in San
Diego and Austin, Texas, are the first to experience the Stagecoach
Island game in a pilot program that kicked off Labor
Day weekend this year and will end in mid-November.
The Stagecoach Island game allows players to select
a virtual character and participate in an “island adventure.”
Participants can choose to explore the virtual island -- lush
parks, hip cafes, dance clubs, trendy shops, amusement parks,
hair salons and more. They can also interact in dozens of
virtual, social situations -- like skydiving, riding jets-skis
or playing games like paintball with other participants. Many
activities on the island are “free,” but participants
gain access to other experiences, such as dancing in a club
or purchasing new clothes, by spending, saving and earning
virtual money. Players can earn money by visiting the Virtual
Learning Lounge and answering trivia questions about banking
basics such as budgeting, saving and managing money. The Learning
Lounge content is derived from Wells Fargo’s signature
financial literacy program, Hands on Banking®.
Today, over half of U.S. high school students graduate without
knowing the basics of banking, checking and savings accounts,
budgeting, credit, and investing according to a study by Jump$tart
Coalition. In addition, 70 percent of U.S. college students
play video games, according to Pew Internet & American
Life Project.
“The young adult years are a critical time for financial
education because many of these young people are leaving home
and becoming financially independent for the first time,”
says Wells Fargo’s chief marketing officer, Sylvia Reynolds.
“Stagecoach Island is a contemporary platform
where we can educate young people about one of the most important
topics to their future success -- their finances -- in a highly
interactive, comfortable and fun environment.”
“The popularity of online role-playing games is staggering
-- there are millions of people participating in role-playing
games worldwide, and the typical college student spends nearly
as much time playing video games (10,000 hours by graduation)
as they do in class,” said Dr. Rodney Riegle of Illinois
State University, developer and teacher of the world’s
first online Role-Playing Course. “I think that young
people who’ve grown up on computers and video games
will embrace the Stagecoach Island experience, which
is similar to a video game but actually provides a better
opportunity to learn, explore and socialize in an immersive
and interactive environment.”
Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all its customers’
financial needs and help them succeed financially, and the
Stagecoach Island game is an extension of the company’s
continuing efforts to offer critically needed financial education
to young people. The online game is part of a broad, multi-faceted
financial education program for young adults called We
Take the Fun of Money SeriouslySM. Wells Fargo is hosting
a series of live We Take the Fun of Money Seriously
events throughout Austin and San Diego during September and
October, where young adults can participate in various activities
-- from karaoke and trivia games to athletic challenges and
photo booths -- and win prizes while learning about banking
basics. Event participants will receive the Web address and
a unique login code for the Stagecoach Island software
and will have the opportunity to play the online game at home
for 30 days.
Wells Fargo developed the We Take the Fun of Money Seriously
program and the Stagecoach Island game with experiential
marketing agency Swivel Media based in San Francisco. “Education
and entertainment are just beginning to merge. We’re
excited to be involved with Wells Fargo’s Stagecoach
Island, a project that really addresses young peoples’
need to learn in an engaging and realistic setting,”
said Swivel Media’s founder and creative director, Erik
Hauser. “We’re using the most sophisticated virtual
gaming platform from Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life,
to provide a highly engaging experience. We want today’s
youth to learn how to manage their finances and how to handle
credit -- and we want them to have fun doing it.”
Note: Additional information and screenshots of the Stagecoach
Island game are available upon request
Wells Fargo & Company is a diversified financial services
company with $435 billion in assets, providing banking, insurance,
investments, mortgage and consumer finance to more than 23
million customers from more than 6,000 stores and the internet
(wellsfargo.com)
across North America and elsewhere internationally. Wells
Fargo Bank, N.A., is the only bank in the United States to
receive the highest possible credit rating, “Aaa,”
from Moody’s Investors Service.
Swivel Media (www.swivelmedia.com)
is the creative, full service experience marketing shop headquartered
in San Francisco, Calif. The agency provides the highest level
of creative and strategic vision to solve challenging marketing
objectives. Swivel analyzes all aspects of the brand-customer
relationship and builds the essential brand experience. Swivel
uses a truly medium-neutral, "world as our canvas"
methodology, delivering the right message, via the right medium,
to the right audience, at the right time.
|
