Alternate reality games (ARGs) are a hot topic these days. Interactive agencies big and small are dabbling their toes in the water, and clients are hopping on the bandwagon. They point to the latest, greatest headline-maker and say, “Make me THAT.” And that’s great. There’s nothing better than an ARG take a bunch of customers and turn them into impassioned evangelists. We love ARGs more than we love cupcakes. And we really, really love cupcakes.
But the ARG isn’t a good fit for just any brand, the way that most brands can use a website and TV spots. So how do you know if an ARG is right for you? Well, first it helps to understand just what an ARG is.
The classic ARG is a story played out both online and in the real world, often featuring puzzles and other challenges, in which a community of players is trying to achieve a collective goal. That goal can be solving a mystery, finding a hidden treasure, or helping a fictional character solve a problem. The ARG toolset uses a lot of great tools, including narrative, social media, and game mechanics. It’s all very new-media-chic.
The ARG-style campaign works the absolute best when the client has a property with a narrative element already. TV shows, films, video games: These are the ARG sweet spot, because the game can expand on the core experience of the property to make it deeper and richer than it would have been otherwise. Most of the ARGs you’ve heard about lately fit into this category: Why So Serious? for The Dark Knight and Blood Copy for True Blood, for example.
Other entertainment products, most famously the Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero, have had great success. And ARGs have run for brands of perfume, beer, and sports, with varying degrees of success. A growing number of charities have deployed ARGs to raise money and increase awareness. But there are brands for which the ARG isn’t a wise choice. If your brand is primarily B2B, for example, you might be able to use some of the tools in the ARG toolbox, but a full-blown classic ARG probably isn’t right for you. The same goes for companies whose core brand identity hinges on a firm grasp of reality: Financial services companies, for example, are not an ideal candidate.