My book hits the TOP 10 Management books by Kluwer

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I am happy to announce that my book has been chosen by Kluwer to be part of the TOP 10 Management Books in 2010.

Apart from that I can announce that the free English summary is almost finished and will be available for download from the 1st of January 2011. (1-1-11 😉

This is the link to the English part of the website for my book (A Brand New Playground).

The book will unveil the latest insights in digital consumer behaviour, provides an overview of the games industry in the past 30 years, provides about 30 case studies categorized in product-, price-, place-(innovative distribution and micro-transactions), personnel and promotion-related objectives and presents three models how games can be used in the field of brand management and marketing.

 I hope you will enjoy it!





Games for Internal Branding: Microsoft Silver Line Society ARG

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Microsoft used an Alternate Reality Game to encourage players (employees) to increase cooperative working. The puzzles had to be solved by working together before the 7th of december….

The strength of the execution lies in the fact that both virtual- and real-world elements have to be combined to achieve all goals… check the films to learn more!

Service in the Industry is not a Product Feature but a Business Model

>This presentation show you how services can be sold as product-add-ons. Just like in my book it describes opportunities to sell services as product+ or upgraded products. Like a game with 5 extra levels (this was done during the presell period of the game R.U.S.E. for instance)…

Festival of Games

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Games Anywhere:
How platforms, business and media are changing the way people play 
In two years’ time more iOS games have been released than the total of all console games since 1980 – in fact, twice as many, with four times the number of Flash games on game portals, while games are entering the television and physical spaces too. 

Entitled “Games Anywhere” the 2011 Festival of Games event will be all about how the eruption of games in every sector of the consumer market has interacted the videogames business. The two-day Conference on April 28-29 will have a strong focus on convergence and transmedia, with the first speakers set to be announced shortly.

The games industry has been developing very rapidly over the last ten years, becoming one of the key dominant forces in entertainment. But with the introduction of social media and smartphones, plus the increasing penetration of high-speed broadband, games have expanded into new areas. From internet portals to television and from advertising to movies, the traditional console gamer is no longer the leading influencer of the industry.

Publishing and distribution take place across new channels, with new market players taking lead roles – but in this ever-changing landscape, it’s still – even more so – all about games. “Since our inception in 2005 we have seen the industry shift from being publisher-driven to being consumer-driven,” said Seth van der Meer, chairman of the Festival of Games. “This development has paved the way for online publishers, indie developers and transmedia developers to become the new and daring kids on the block.”

This explosion of games into all areas of entertainment has created a host of new business models, new marketing methods and a changing view on publishing, distribution and retail. The Festival of Games will give you an insight into how you – as a director or marketeer – can leverage your success based on the examples of your peers. Industry leaders and seasoned entrepreneurs will share their stories, helping you to make the right decisions and to get the optimum return on investment.

Two days filled with discussions, lectures, keynotes and panels are the backbone of the 6th Festival of Games on April 28-29, 2011. A wide range of topics will be covered by thought-leaders from the international games industry. Speeches from industry icons that defined the present industry environment are combined with sessions from front-runners that will shape the future of the industry.

“The Games Anywhere theme really does tie into so many of the crucial aspects of development and business that our industry is facing, both now and into the future,” said Phil Elliott, publisher at GamesIndustry.biz. “For anybody that wants to understand how to tackle one of the fastest-moving sectors there is, heading to the Festival of Games will be vital.”

Expect sessions in the disciplines of Business and Finance, Marketing and Strategy, Art, Design and Production and Technology aimed at improving your day-to-day business. Once again, the Conference will be a gathering place for anyone who wants to make profit with digital games: The games industry executives will blend with influencers from TV, Broadcasting, Media, Telecoms, Investment, and Social Networks.

THE FESTIVAL OF GAMES
The Festival of Games takes place on April 28-29, 2011, at the Jaarbeurs in Utrecht (the Netherlands). The 2010 event attracted over 2000 visitors, with 180 companies from 25 countries.

The Festival of Games is the most effective games industry event, that combines a conference, an international matchmaking event, called Pitch & Match, a business Expo for trade visitors, and the largest games industry Career Fair of Europe. The Conference in 2011 is powered by GamesIndustry.biz.

The Festival of Games is organized by the NLGD Foundation and is made possible by the Dutch ministry of Economic Affairs, the province of Utrecht and the city of Utrecht.

See www.festivalofgames.org for more details.

A Banner you just WANT to click on…

> Check out this really funny banner… but euh… don’t click it… unless you want to find out what the fun is…

Cool banner

Games to support change management problems

>Today my dear client Air Cargo Netherlands (Aniek) and I held a presentation at the Marketing Information Event 2010 at the World Forum in The Hague (Den Haag ;-).

IJsfontein GameWise, Atos Consulting and BrandNewGame have teamed up to develop a great game containing loads of e-learning elements in a series of three stunning games of which the first is soon to be released.

It all started end 2009 when Air Cargo Netherlands, Schiphol airport and the Dutch Customs approached IJsfontein GameWise with the question how a game could support their goals.

We sat down with them and decided to go into an ‘analyse-fase’ to determine if – and if so – how games could help to achieve their goals. Soon we discovered that this would be a really cool project and we have been working on it the past year, doing interviews with all the stakeholders within the logistic chain surrounding Schiphol. After the interviews BrandNewGame developed the first ideas which gameconcepts could be effective for their specific needs. IJsfontein is nearly finished developing the first game and I am very proud to have been working with them on this FANTASTIC project!

The presentation below will explain more about their specific situation and will give you insights how games can be used to achieve marketing goals.

The gametrailer for the first game is stated below:

400 monthly unique visitors!

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I know this weblog is not yet the next Wired.com but I am very proud to announce that I currently have 400 unique monthly visitors according to Google Analytics with a refuge-percentage of only 10%
This means that people that come to my weblog are actually reading the content and got there because they wanted to (instead of getting there by accident).

So a BIG THANK YOU to all my 4.800 readers in the past year.

I hope my postings have been inspiring, helpful and fun.

Please join my group on Linkedin (called BrandNewGame) as well, if you with to receive weekly automated updates.

If you want to post articles yourself send me an email at barthufen@brandnewgame.nl

Let me know!

PS The girl in the shirt is NOT me. You can buy the T-Shirt at nerdyshirts.com 

Pritt Stick | Knutselwereld – Best Dutch advergame 2010

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Yesterday I visited ‘Game in the City’ in Amersfoort (The Netherlands). I held a short presentation in the morning how games can be used as a marketing tool and after my presentation there where three case presentations by Flavour, Real & Soepel and Achtung!
During the day there where various presentations about games, serious games (I hate that term), social games (that one as well) and a lot of companies presentation their cool innovative products.
In the evening there was a dinner organized by Control-Online (sponsored by ABN AMRO) when the Dutch Game Awards were presented.
Little Chicken won the prize for best advergame. I also described this case in my book. It’s really a fantastic gameconcept and well executed.
Below you will find another short impression of the award ceremony.

Bubble gum game at Game in the city

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An incredible original game by students from Breda (The Netherlands) during Game in the City in Amersfoort. My best friend and collegue from Spilgames played the game while I was filming and impersonating Yoda…

Loads of opportunity for ingame advertising and branded content here!

Lost Generation

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This is INCREDIBLE and tear jerking… what a great story…