Magazines are rethinking how they seek revenue from advertisers and consumers
FOR traditional media like magazines, remaining relevant in a world of new media and social media is no walk in the park. So how about a workout in the park?
That is the inspiration for an initiative from Self magazine, part of the Condé Nast Publications division of Advance Publications in New York.
On Wednesday, Self plans to introduce an online game that will bear the name of an event, Self Workout in the Park, that the magazine has hosted for 19 years in New York and other cities.
The game, like Self magazine, will be aimed at women, featuring game play in areas like fitness, health and wellness, beauty and fashion. The intent is for the game to be an online version of the Self annual workout event, adding interactive elements like avatars, virtual goods and puzzles.
It will also be what is called a social game — that is, an online game played through a social network, in this instance Facebook. Examples of social games include the Zynga time-fillers FarmVille and Words With Friends. Women are devoted players of social games, particularly those that eschew violent action.
The Self game, in addition to bearing the Self brand, will be sponsored by several marketers, including BlackBerry, 7 for All Mankind jeans and Skype, which will be integrated into the social game play. Plans call for the game to be playable on mobile devices and computers.
Self is spending an amount estimated in the mid six figures to develop and market the game. The marketers are paying a total amount estimated at several hundred thousand dollars for sponsorships.
The game was conceived of and produced by a team at Self that included Laura McEwen, vice president and publisher, and Elizabeth Chan, director for integrated marketing.
Other companies that worked on the game are Smerc, a social and mobile game design studio; Live Gamer, which handles e-commerce and advertising for online entertainment; and Kontagent, which offers analytics to track users online.
The Self effort is part of a growing trend that reflects how profoundly legacy media like magazines are rethinking how they seek revenue from advertisers and consumers.
Event-marketing programs like the Self Workout in the Park once represented the vanguard for traditional media. Now, such media say they must look even farther afield, or beyond the park.
The goal is “as publishers to innovate in the digital landscape,” said Ms. McEwen, who is to describe details of the game on Wednesday at a session of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The game was inspired by “looking at the concept of community” in an era of social networks, she added, “and where consumers are spending their time.”
Read more . . .
Bookmark this page for “Social Game” and check back regularly as these articles update on a very frequent basis. The view is set to “news”. Try clicking on “video” and “2” for more articles.