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Court TV, along with sponsors Suzuki and Applebees, are pushing boundaries again. After the CourtTV campaign That Girl Emily to promote Parco PI, they are now taking it a step further with a fully fledged ARG attempt. But not everything has gone smoothly.
The Game
The principle is straightforward. Andrew Goodis has been kidnapped and his wife is trying to find him. Over 8 days, clues and puzzles will be provided for the players to answer, by sending the game the solution to each puzzle, you get the link to the next days puzzle. The game started June 4th, but was open to registration before this. At the end of the gameplay, you need to provide the names of the people behind the kidnapping and the location of where he is being held.
Clues are through videos, emails and texts over the 8 days; as well as the main site at savemyhusband.com, there are additional sites that are in game, such as akarmcorp.com.
The Prize
The prize is a share of $25000. There’s no guarantee about the amount you will win; all the players who successfully get the correct answers to the final 2 questions get a share of the prize
Promotion of the Game
Promotion for the game is quite heavy and mass media focused. Commercials on Court TV and online advertisements are all pushing people to the main site of savemyhusband.com. One of the key reactions to this is from people who did not understand that this was a game from the advert, that they were going to something that was real and that the wife had skipped over the formal channels and gone straight to the web to find the kidnappers. Don Park at the Daily Habit posted on how he was initially fooled from a text ad on CuteOverload.
Clicking through, I ended up at SaveMyHusband.com site where there were two videos, one by the wife of the abducted man and another of the abduction taking place. The site and videos smelled fake but I didn’t notice anything that clearly indicated that site is a marketing gimick by CourtTV.
The ad that is currently there now has an obvious disclaimer in it, as do the TV ads. There are other comments dotted around about how people did believe the TV and online ads and are now annoyed that they were taken in by them. Reading the comments on Don’s there is a lot of emotion on both sides of the argument. From Richelle:
I was severely annoyed when I discovered it was fake. All I could think was that people were really missing loved ones, people’s husbands really were being kidnapped and killed, people’s children really were missing – and here is a contest about it?!?
From Kyle:
The point is that once you go to the site you see it is just a game. As someone else mentioned, there are many other forms of entertainment (movies & tv…) that focus on the same fictional topics (and a lot of reality shows talking about TRUE stories, as well) and that’s not raising an eyebrow.
The Partners
Suzuki and Applebees are the partners for this prize; I’m not sure what part they are playing or what they are getting out of it apart from brand exposure, however the project “ grew out of “our advertisers’ and our own interest in exploring entertainment opportunities online,” says Court TV general manager Marc Juris.”
Reactions
The gamers did what they normally do; jumped all over it to try and solve it. Unfortunately the game makers, Deep Focus in this case, Court TV or the other agencies, underestimated the skill and passion that is out there. Very early on in the game, the URL structure of the site was discovered and all the daily videos were revealed. The agency had placed all the information out there ready to go – makes it far easier from a resource issue. However by doing that, using security by obscurity, the clues were easy to find and many people have worked through the answers in advance and were ready to go at each stage. This necessitated the agency re-doing the last few days of the clues (wonder how much they are over budget now?) From catherwood on unforums:
rookie mistakes like sequentially hosted websites, plus a curtain breach I discovered, makes me glad that this is merely a contest of short duration and not an attempt at a full-blown ARG. I did track down an article about the promotion, which confirms in my mind that these are first-time gamemasters at work. Let’s be kind.
Within 3 days of the announcement on this forum, they had found the emails that were being sent out and all the videos, 3 days before the game went live. Furthermore, names and addresses of employees and testers were out in the open long enough to get into Google cache. Whether or not this information was in game or not has been the subject of some discussion, leading the CEO of Deep Focus to issue a plea not to contact them. This demonstrates the focus players put on such games, when anything can be considered part of it until absolutely proven otherwise
For the sweepstake competitors and non-gamers who are either after the money or just playing for casual fun, the reaction of the ‘professional’ argers has been frustrating. This audience has been trying to win the money and feel strongly that the argers are ‘cheating’. From Diana on argn.com
Stop asking for hints!!! and stop cheating! if you cant get it oh well youre ruining it for those of us WHO ARE figuring it out on our own.
One blog, jossip.com, got really angry that this was “the network’s shameful attempt at collecting your personal information”. The reaction is strange considering that nearly all online marketing is, in one way or the other, a way of getting your information so that they can send you emails. It’s a standard business practice – provide something to the user and hope it entices them enough to let you send them further marketing communications via email or direct mail. There’s always an opt-out.
Conclusions
There’s a lot of mixed reactions to this promotion and some valuable lessons to be learnt if you are planning on doing this.
- As I’ve said before, this type of promotion can lead to a high level of engagement with the brand over a period of time. People are exposed to your message for as long as the promotion lasts and there are plenty of opportunities to take the viewer beyond the high level exposure that a tv or print ad can give you. I think they are a good way of marketing and I think we will see more and more of them. Without knowing figures, one aspect that indicates the success of this game is the absolute hammering the unfiction forums are getting, with the site very slow. Some threads are getting nearly 200k views in the site.
- However running an ARG is hard. It’s a relatively small (but dedicated) audience. Trailheads promoting the game are usually sent to a few key influencers who know the rules. Even for the big games, such as I Love Bees for Halo2, the game was started by sending clues to people in the ARG community which eventually got linked to the URL that was been promoted as part of I robot trailers. In this case, the ad was promoted using mass media which confused many who are not used to the fictional worlds surrounding ARGs. Many people thought the situation was real or concluded that the situation described was too close to reality (or not good for the children…)
- Getting the technical details right on such a game can be even harder. The agency had obviously not predicted the behaviour of ARG players, even though a casual perusal of forums could have told them that that anything on the web, especially when ‘easy’ to find, would be fair game. There was a lack of understanding here of part of the audience – they may not be the target audience of Court TV but they are a segment that play ARGS and you had to understand these people as well as the puzzle and crime game playing people who were the main targets.
Moving things like ARGS to the mainstream is not for the fainthearted and not for the inexperienced. There’s no doubt that high levels of engagement can be produced – especially for a cash prize – but care is needed in setting it up.
1208 days ago
[...] for (and are sometimes incredulous at) the community’s insistence on collaboration. As Behind the Buzz describes it: For the sweepstake competitors and non-gamers who are either after the money or just [...]
Hi Rachel, never got an e-mail, never heard a word. The check was dated Aug 2nd and the letter that came with it was dated Aug 9th, no voucher, it’s a real check for $4.16.
Mike N – did you not get an email? At least the cheques have been put in the mail, after 2 months. Did you get money or an Applebees voucher?
Big news.. I got my check yesterday 4.16 weeeeeee. ok when is the next game?
Wow, I was real disappointed, spent all that time playing the game, I was sure I won but never heard anything from them. I got my check in the mail today, $4.18.
I was a winner as well and I never recieved anything. I am still wondering if there will be another game with Sonia being the main character. I have tried emailing court tv in the past but I have never gotten a reponse from them.
I played this game as well and was amused by how easy and sloppy it was but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I also answered correctly and received the confirmation email (posted earlier in this blog) that I was one of the 6,013 winners (and therefore entitled to $4.16 or equivalent value Applebees reward). But nearly 2 months later from the June 26 email, I have yet to receive another communication about getting my reward. Has any other winner received either their reward or an affidavit in order to get the reward??
Has anyone ever heard back from SMH?
There is a new show coming out, I saw an ad for it from this organization I belong too, casto, anyway they are looking for contestants, it sounds like fun. It is at http://www.embassyrow.com look at “Power of 10″ they ask, “Do you know what America wants?” I would enter, but I won’t fly. but maybe some of you guys might want to apply. I still like the Savemyhusband idea alot better. I guess this show will air in August.
1779 days ago
[...] Kelly has added a comment to My Save My Husband post, a copy of the mail that went out to the winners. I was really surprised – and touched – by [...]
Thank you, thank you, thank you for helping find my husband. You successfully solved the 8 Day Mystery and will receive your share of the $25,000 reward. If it weren’t for the dedication, smarts and persistence of people like you, Grant would still be walking around a free man and I wouldn’t have my husband home safely.
I was really surprised – and touched – by the amount of interest in my husband’s disappearance and by all the support I received. Over 30,000 people tried to help me and my son Max and 6,013 actually solved the mystery all the way through. I am working on sending out the reward money.
I hope you got something out of it, too – beyond just receiving a reward. And don’t go too far. I have a sneaking suspicion that things are still not right, what with Sonia’s disappearance and all, and next time things could get a lot more complicated.
Thanks again,
Christina
well, ok a few things first it was not applebees folks that leaked the answers as they did not have them only the game designers did..
second,the guys that leaked it did it this way they took the first website premoting the game and added 1 to the ip address and guess what the designers were so lame that the ip addresses were done like this 123.456.123 then the next one was 123.456.124 then123.456.125 etc. and they made their biggest mistake was putting all the info on the sites way in advance instead of opening them each day .
third,when they were notified it was hacked/cracked they said”we are redoing the answers so no one will have a advantage. but in realality they only changed a few things but not the bad guy!!
then the real mess up was this on the 9th of june they changed the fingerprint page adding 10 names and rearranging 4 old ones for example grant was number 00927009 matching finger print but then on the 9th it was changed to robert johnson a unkonown character then on the middle of the last day after most answered it was changed back to grant at that number and print.. this was some of what is realy getting to the arg’ers because some mistakes are expected but not like this then the sites go down after the 12th and its like a ghost applebees site no mention of it same with all other sponsers now its the 25th and we still have not heard a definite answer or where the winners will be odd after all this time ..
overall i/we play many args and even work on a few games ( online mmorpgs ) but i have not seen this level of trained monkey act untill now ( sorry if i insulted the monkeys)
I called Andrew’s cell phone number and left a message with my name and phone number on it, but nothing further ever happened with that.
Did anybody ever call the number that we received in one of the clues and if you did, did you leave your name, number and email?
1788 days ago
[...] my piece on Court TV and Save My Husband, I was asked in another forum what I thought about some of the [...]
In the last email you got, there was a video that eluded you to the fact that Grant did it, and in the email they mentioned, that the address was in that website Zendell corp or whatever it was.. but in the video at the end, on the tv they zoom in on at applebee’s the anchor says there is a twist, that Sonia is missing.. so now we have to wait til on or about June 26th to find out who won the 25K.. it was a bit confusing. anyway, by all appearances, they look like they may be making a new game we have to tune in I guess and find out…
I never found who the kidnapper was nor the correct address where Andrew was being held.
I rec’d an email from Christina stating, “it’s over,” but subsequent attempts to access the website have failed. What’s the deal?
Jill, there seems to be some debate about whether they are setting up for a second part. And take a look at the unforums – there’s lots of games going on as well as whole section of more casual puzzles. Often, the more commercial games are around entertainment properties. It seems that there is a Transformers one ..and Heroes is still ticking along.
I really enjoyed the day to day play. Like many others I was annoyed by those that found the videos and emails early. I can understand wanting to work together – I had an email buddy that shared hints with me to solve the puzzles. On the last day I checked out the forums to see what other people were thinking about the final answer. Although the game was pretty disjointed, I had a great time playing and felt let down when it was over. I am sure that the sponsors knew all along they would have scads of correct answers and would be sending out $5 off coupons at Applebees. Otherwise, as another poster said, they would have just drawn the winner from the correct entries. That is ok with me – it was the game, not the prize that was the draw. I just wish there was something on the website – or an email or something – to let us all know that the winning answer is coming soon – or a new game is afoot soon. I will lose interest and start a pc game or actually go outside if they don’t keep me hooked!
John, primarily the people sharing answers were people who play ARGs..and then probably people join in. The usually play for the game and not for a prize, although the prize is nice! If you look at the main forums where the conversation was taking place and look outside the SMH conversations you’ll see that puzzles and solutions are shared all over the place. I think the starting point was the ARGers and then others join in.
Melissa, if you look at the rules it says that winners will be notified on or about the 26th June by email. Winners will have to sign an affidavit of eligibility before getting any prize money. So there’s still a couple of weeks to wait before they do anything else.
Marianne – doubt it. There’s was little in this that required a lot of skills to get the puzzles. It was just logical thinking and there was no reason to set up a game to find people who can look at html, reason out urls, desteg pictures etc, you just need to read forums to find that out. Interestingly, when the Heroes game started there was a survey that was put out and it was felt that this was trying to gauge the skill level of interested parties to see how they would play it. In this case, the puzzles and clues were far easier than many games but people still did all the things they would when playing other things.