Lets use Xbox Live as my test case. Live has millions of users and has a perfect overlap with the consumer for products advertised and distributed on its platform so it has hit home: promotions are often "barried" and there is little targetted user exposure.
A good example is the recent demos, game video docs (Gears of War 2), and trailers (e.g. Halo 3 whatever), etc. I had to hunt down for the Halo 3 video for a while and I didn't even know the Gears doc was Live at all (saw it online but never even noticed it on XBL).
I don't know if the new dashboard will resolve some of this, but I was surprised that the new Walmart kiosk does to a degree. It has 5 panels on "top" of the dashboard with graphical panes with core "focus" and content groups that navigate you to the specific section in the dashboard. This idea could be easily used to highlight the most recent media additions, changes, etc.
Which brings me to my main point thought: Why no weekly (or bi-weekly) "Show" ala tech TV? Make it 10 minutes, spotlight upcoming games, XBLA titles, demos that just came out, etc. Sure, it would be like an infomercial, but it could be designed to provide exactly the content people are looking for. Tell them about upcoming games with video snippets, the lead designers talking about the best new features, mention new demos available, announce big new games, etc. These could even be interactive (e.g. "Hit 'A' to begin demo download" and so forth) while you watch the video.
I find the social networking elements on the console to be quite weak actually; I frequently find out about demos, features, and the like through online sites and left alone to my own devices with XBL alone I would never know about this stuff. MS spends a lot of time with magazines and whatnot doing this sort of legwork and I don't understand why they don't do a lot more on their own platform--I am sure publishers would be more than happy if MS was highlighting 50-100 games a year through their XBL-"TV" show.
It is all about exposure.
From here they could also do special episodes focused on particular markets which can be repurposed in kiosks or shipped with new units (e.g. a variety of videos for different segments, like family friendly episodes, would be a great introduction to the platform). Sure this effort would have a cost, but it would be an effective marketing tool imo. This is essentially done already through the press, but it is lacking internally.
As a sales tool I think XBL has a long way to go in regards to maximizing exposure and building consumer awareness. The new dashboard design may help, but a blase devoted to social networking, building inroads with consumers, and building consumer awareness about products would be a good move... especially if they seriously looked at Facebook and YouTube and stretched out into a similar venue "for gamers."
I know the platforms are young but I have found the experience to be less in tune to the busy, passive gamer. A bi-weekly media show which highlights new demos, new game media, developer interviews, and so forth could be a great move. They could even hire some "faces" for the company who are devoted to PR.
A good example is the recent demos, game video docs (Gears of War 2), and trailers (e.g. Halo 3 whatever), etc. I had to hunt down for the Halo 3 video for a while and I didn't even know the Gears doc was Live at all (saw it online but never even noticed it on XBL).
I don't know if the new dashboard will resolve some of this, but I was surprised that the new Walmart kiosk does to a degree. It has 5 panels on "top" of the dashboard with graphical panes with core "focus" and content groups that navigate you to the specific section in the dashboard. This idea could be easily used to highlight the most recent media additions, changes, etc.
Which brings me to my main point thought: Why no weekly (or bi-weekly) "Show" ala tech TV? Make it 10 minutes, spotlight upcoming games, XBLA titles, demos that just came out, etc. Sure, it would be like an infomercial, but it could be designed to provide exactly the content people are looking for. Tell them about upcoming games with video snippets, the lead designers talking about the best new features, mention new demos available, announce big new games, etc. These could even be interactive (e.g. "Hit 'A' to begin demo download" and so forth) while you watch the video.
I find the social networking elements on the console to be quite weak actually; I frequently find out about demos, features, and the like through online sites and left alone to my own devices with XBL alone I would never know about this stuff. MS spends a lot of time with magazines and whatnot doing this sort of legwork and I don't understand why they don't do a lot more on their own platform--I am sure publishers would be more than happy if MS was highlighting 50-100 games a year through their XBL-"TV" show.
It is all about exposure.
From here they could also do special episodes focused on particular markets which can be repurposed in kiosks or shipped with new units (e.g. a variety of videos for different segments, like family friendly episodes, would be a great introduction to the platform). Sure this effort would have a cost, but it would be an effective marketing tool imo. This is essentially done already through the press, but it is lacking internally.
As a sales tool I think XBL has a long way to go in regards to maximizing exposure and building consumer awareness. The new dashboard design may help, but a blase devoted to social networking, building inroads with consumers, and building consumer awareness about products would be a good move... especially if they seriously looked at Facebook and YouTube and stretched out into a similar venue "for gamers."
I know the platforms are young but I have found the experience to be less in tune to the busy, passive gamer. A bi-weekly media show which highlights new demos, new game media, developer interviews, and so forth could be a great move. They could even hire some "faces" for the company who are devoted to PR.
