This week we look at a 4th trend out of the jam packed Cannes 2021 Creativity Report:
MASTERING THE VIRTUAL WORLD and glean inspired insights from the work that won in 2020/2021 with experiences from Fortnite, Wendy's, Samsung, Burger King and Genentech as examples.
To access the full Cannes 2021 Creative Report and case studies - visit lovethework.com with your Cannes Lions subscription.
Mastering the Virtual World with trends and insights from the Cannes Lions 2020/2021 Creativity Report:
First let's take a look at a top-line view of the growth in this area: 13% of Grands Prix awarded at the Cannes Lions 2020-2021 had a gaming or gamification component, which is 8% up from 2019 and with Gaming as a new category in the Direct Lions this year, the category attracted 50 additional pieces of work, including the Grand Prix Winner: Burger King's 'Stevenage Challenge' by DAVID Madrid & Miami. Accessing connection to culture through gaming, virtual memes or trending shows increased to 38% in the Social and Influencer Lions with 'Super Wendy's World' from VMLY&R Kansas City as a prime example.
“For a long time, advertising in gaming has been interstitials and pre-rolls to win extras on Candy Crush. What a lot of this year's winning work did was achieve the most incredibly sensitive adaption to the environment". GERRY D'ANGELO Vice President Global Media | Proctor & Gamble Media Lions Juror
As we know the pandemic opened opportunities for brands to engage with isolated communities and consumers and appointment-to-view digital events replaced in-person experiences and real-world events.
Here we summarise the top 4 insights from the 4th trend in the report:
1. Be patient
As we become used to the fast pace of the online world and as consumers connect in real time with high expectations for immediate, personalised and relevant experiences, being patient in creating a virtual world and authentically and responsibly bringing your brand to life within an existing virtual world takes time.
Insights from the Cannes Lion 2020-2021 Creativity Report also confirm that ideas involving virtual worlds can take a long time to generate results and that it is important to build in time for audiences to play around with your idea, enabling it to build reach and make an impact.
“Gaming ideas develop at a different pace from normal ideas... you need to be patient to make the whole thing unfold and reach people". PANCHO CASSIS Global Chief Creative Officer & Partner | DAVID Winner of 11 Cannes Lions, including three Grands Prix in Direct, Brand Experience & Entertainment and Social & Influencer.
While this might sound discouraging and not your real cup of tea... with the metaverse set to become 'normal' in the next couple of years, there is no better time to start (if you haven't already bought your first NFT or property site on Africarare). And with ever decreasing attention spans and demand for a higher level of creativity, Millennials and Gen Z are moving away from established platforms, with as many as 84% of smartphone users skipping ads > creating meaningful marketing has never been trickier for brands.
2. Make it must-see
Fortnite has consistently delivered on exciting partnerships to create must-see experiences that achieve brand objectives. In 2019 'Keeping Fortnite Fresh' for Wendy's by VMLY&R Kansas City wins the Grand Prix for the Social & Influencer Lions (see above); in 2020 Fortnite partnered with Association L'Enfant Bleu with their 'Undercover Avatar' by Havas Sports & Entertainment Paris and offered a parent-free way for at-risk kids to speak up with year-on-year donations increasing by 30%; and then in 2021 R/GA New York partnered with Fortnite to build the 5G 'Verizon's Fortnite Stadium' so that 40 million fans could come together for the Super Bowl despite lockdowns.
In the Cannes 2020-2021 Lions, it won the Digital Craft Lion Grand Prix with 'Astronomical'.
“Astronomical was a world that everyone wanted to spend time in. The digital craft is incredible and the creative is first class” JAX OSTLE-EVANS Managing director | Stink Studios Jury President | Digital Craft
Fortnite's 'Astronomical' attracted millions of eyeballs (12.3 million players tuned in live; a total of 27,7 million unique players in-game participated; 45,8 million times across 5 events to be precise) with their Fortnite concert by Epic Games Inc Cary, staring rapper Travis Scott. This partnership repositioned Fortnite as a social platform offering huge global reach for culturally significant, entertaining moments.
It also demonstrated how to make an appointment-to-view event on a gaming platform, as well as how to integrate brands in a non-disruptive way.
3. Make a stand against cyberbullying
As brands and their partners continue to deliver work in the real world that addresses multiple levels of authentic, sustainable and responsible messaging, this has never been more important to continue this meaningful effort into the virtual world. And accompanying the growth of both the virtual population and the growth in gaming, there is a need to encourage more responsible social behaviour, including that of combatting cyberbullying.
In terms of cyberbullying, South Africa News24 reports (NOV 2020) "South Africa has a high prevalence of cyberbullying, based on a majority (54%) of South African parents who know of a child in their community who has been the victim of cyberbullying. "The threat of being cyberbullied has now increased given the unprecedented rise in screen time during the coronavirus pandemic".
Engaging and participating in the gaming world is not cheap, with in-game purchases, skills and skins all part of the gaming economy. While the options and opportunities are broad, it is not a level playing field in terms of affordability and when Samsung noticed that players were being picked on for using the free 'default skin' the tech brand partnered with Cheil Worldwide Sao Paulo, to give away 'Anti-Bullying Skin' free with purchase and encouraged owners and influencers to donate their skins too.
The Cannes 2020-2021 Creativity report asks us to consider what our brands can do to help victims in a specific way.
4. Differentiate on Twitch
The Cannes Lions 2020-2021 Creativity Report shares this 4th and final insight out of the winning work from last year's winners: Differentiate on Twitch.
Like any successful digital brand experience where your choice of the platform to share your message and engage your target audience is strategic and purposeful, as Twitch partnerships become more commonplace, it is important to find a way to differentiate your purpose on the platform so that your reason for being there is clear.
Genentech took a Silver Pharma Lion with their 'Bloodless Battle' in partnership with 21 Grams a Part of real Chemistry New York on Twitch Rivals.
To reach business objectives in a meaningful way and be relevant to media channels of choice - in this case, specifically on Twitch, Roche-owned US biotechnology corporation Genentech took out the blood from high action shooter games in a customised tournament called The Bloodless Battle on Twitch Rivals (a regular feature on the e-sports platform), where Haemophiliac gamers took on some of the biggest names in esports. Removing the blood from popular video games prompted a five-fold increase in unique traffic to the Genentech Haemophilia website, offering further information and support.
Other meaningful moments in the metaverse and virtual world included Xbox enabling remote travel by teaming up with Rough Guides and repositioning its hardware as a passport to fascinating places and Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons as a safe place for their Pride Month June 2020 event.
Next week we look at the 3rd trend from the Cannes Lions 2020 - 2021 Creativity Report: MODERNISING MEDIA where creativity and media merge to deliver bigger impact and meaning. In the meantime, book out 30 minutes this Friday 18th March at 12 noon for the Futureboard.online Creating Clarity webinar. Founder Paula Hulley looks at how the process of innovation and creativity can take us from chaos to clarity - see you there!
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