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游戏色情广告是用户选择的必然结果?

发布时间:2013-08-20 12:24:30 Tags:,,,

问题:

我(Nicholas Lovell)在《Social proof, sex and intrigue–a depressingly effective advertising combination》一文中表达了对《Stormfall》的营销策略的看法。这款平庸的中等硬核RTS游戏使用画着衣着暴露女性的图片和煽动性的口号作为广告。

我怀疑A/B测试已经表明,带有性暗示的标题和图片可以带动点击率,所以Plarium认为这是一种理想的用户开发策略。这是对的吗?Facebook和手机营销的趋势就是不可避免的低俗(通常是色情)广告吗?

sexis ad(from flickeflu.com)

sexis ad(from flickeflu.com)

回答:

Anthony Pecorella,Kongregate虚拟产品制作人

“色情营销”当然没什么新鲜的。我认为Facebook广告的这种趋势也越来越明显了,因为正如Nicholas所说的,通过传统媒体(游戏邦注:电视、广播、广告牌等,都很难追踪点击活动)收集准确的数据更加困难得多。当然有些公司接受传统媒体的那一套理念(如90年代的斧版身体喷雾、草本洗发露等大量产品),但大多数公司选择更加保守和有效的方法,或选择专注于打造自己的品牌和形象,而不是制作他们觉得适合而能代表公司及产品的广告。

也许Facebook、Google和其他需要做广告的网络公司,通过个性化广告、基本上自动化的内容和减少那些不想建设品牌而是获得点击量的公司的责任,夸大了这个趋势。虽然广告商(也许还有那些点击广告的人)有直接的责任,平台也必须决定他们想为用户提供什么样的体验。我认为平台也许应该执行一些更加严格的内容过滤措施,以防止这类广告出现。显然,他们已经有禁止裸体广告的条款,如果他们认为合适,还可以推出更加严格的条例或进一步允许用户过滤和标记他们不喜欢的广告,以自定义他们的体验。

Ben Cousins,DeNA(欧洲)游戏工作室主管

问题不是A/B测试法,而是正在改变的变量。

我不是说服你相信,如果你只看点击率去挑选游戏,你就必然会看到衣着暴露女性的图片。

在这个过程中,有时候邪恶的人会建议:“我们可以增加另一种胸部吗?”

Eric Seufert, Gamefounders顾问

我认为,他们不只缺少深厚的营销分析基础设施,而且正确分析这种实验的内部知识也不足。不用看任何数字,我可以告诉你,用半裸的女人做广告可带动点击率。但在免费模式中,点击率不是最佳目标。那些新用户期待在游戏中看到半裸的女人,是吗?当他们意识到这只是广告,他们会马上离开吗?如果是,那么为刺激他们下载一款自己抱着不切实际的期待的游戏而花钱,不是浪费了?

Mark Sorrell,Hide & Seek开发总监

到今天晚上,数据告诉我们,我们正在在做的不是我们期望做的事。我忍不住揭晓正确的结论,就是,这种营销策略之所以能管用,就是易受这种广告影响的人足够多了。但问题是,我们不愿意承认这一点,而不是使用这种策略。我们可能不希望这种策略生效,可是那并不意味着它们就会无效。

好吧,正如已经指出的,不出现赤身裸体女人的游戏会流失玩家。也就是说,我想看看他们在意识到这一点以前能玩多久。

顺便一提,把性暗示真正地做好的游戏几乎没有,这总是令我感到吃惊。

Tadhg Kelly,Jawfish Games创意总监

最近,我看到大量Facebook游戏用“大波女”做广告,宣称是18禁的幻想冒险游戏。游戏到底是什么,并不重要了。

这使我想到,亚文化杂志后面的分类广告(如“按摩院”之类的广告)和青少年漫画书后面的广告(如“你也可以有强壮的二头肌”之类的广告)。

这些广告的共同点是,它们必须在1张邮票大小的空间里表达信息,这意味着广告信息必须直接、吸引眼球;太微妙、复杂或艺术化的表达就不适合了,因为目光停留在广告上的时间不够让大脑理解它们。

所以,那种形式的广告最有效,我一点也不感到惊讶。但我认为性本身不是唯一有效的方式。

Facebook广告和上述分类广告是有天壤之别的,前者的目的性更明确。理论上,Facebook广告应该更有强大,但我看到的是,许多工作室并没有花太多时间掌握它。这些工作室选择随便摆上一些色情广告,而不是思考看广告的人是否会喜欢自己的游戏。

从长远看来,谁有可能成为更忠实的消费者呢?

Oscar Clark,Applifier倡导者

我同意那种形式是让人不舒服的,同时限制了差异性,但有一个“丑闻”说那是因为营销团队太懒太居心不良。任何A/B测试都不可能真正地衡量用户的终身价值。

这是对我们太过迷恋派生测试和绩效营销(不知道你应该问什么问题)的诅咒。我是非常支持测试和收集尽量多的数据,但有时候会出现一些无法直接测量的二次效果。测试是有局限性的,特别是A/B测试。它不能可能让你的创意更好,它只能告诉你,你糟糕的设计中哪一些最不糟糕。

怎么使用这么一张邮票大小的广告空间?与简单地贴上一对“大波”再加上一句煽动性的口号相比,还有其他更聪明的做法……但从短期看,我可以理解人们为什么会选择前者。他们想收获尽可能多的眼球,根据平均定律,总有一些点击广告的人转化成付费玩家——如果这些玩家想要真正的色情娱乐,我觉得他们根本不会通过点击Facebook广告来寻找资源。

我们所处的位置太奢侈了,不能完全影响在线媒体;任何网络或手机应用都可能直接把你带去消费我们的产品。身体好的营销人员会意识做这一行。因为他们做得越久,挑战性就越大。所以他们得办法创造一种可以综合作用多媒体/PR的活动来建立长久有效的信息,甚至成为一个可信任的品牌。然后,当他们使用一张邮票大小的广告位时,它突然变得极有效了。你不必使用性来出售可信的品牌……品牌出售自己。我们这个行业是不是应该成熟起来,好好做营销?

Felicity Foxx Hearst,Skype (Microsoft)程序经理

关于正确衡量点击率和终生价值,这是一个关键点。

但说到终身价值和“把性暗示真正地做好的游戏几乎没有”,不妨看看在最近18个月发布的内日本卡牌游戏。当我在日本工作时,正是这种A/B测试使我们添加生动的动画到所有横幅广告/启动画布/应用图标,以及将这些暗示性的东西整合到核心机制中,不论这么做有多么地不自然和做作。

我个人最喜欢的是:《Slime Elena》。

当然,就玩家流失、道德和名声而言,当然有失败的地方。不要忘记这对人才和留存率的影响——我是一个女性产品经理,所以我不再为日本公司打工了。

大体上,这个问题不外乎游戏设计—-如果你的应用的唯一的主要的目标或商业就是赢利,那么总有更快挣钱的方式。

sexist-videogames(from shapingyouth.org)

sexist-videogames(from shapingyouth.org)

Ben Board,Boss Alien资深产品主管

个人认为,即使测试和广告到那种程度,表明提高了品质、增加了开支、把人们留在游戏中,我仍然不会那么做。我喜欢在自己的工作中寻找自豪感。

(在这个意义上说,我更像一个癌症研究人员或者人道主义援助者。我认为制作模拟赛车类游戏能让我产生自豪感。)

Stuart Dredge,《The Guardian》记者

我举的例子有一点离题,但我认为还有是关的。当我为一个小杂志工作时,如果我们做焦点小组测试,大部分人会说:“哦,用赤裸的模特作封面,是贬低女性,好像在问,你怎么看我,我是性感的傻瓜?”

然后,每一次他们做封面的A/B测试,如在封面上放一个小玩意,但没有模特,那期杂志的销量就不会太好。

有些报刊经销商用音响杂志而不是“小伙子杂志”折腾他们,但事实不是这样的。

也许这是间接反映了许多男人有疯狂点击横幅广告的习惯,即使他们之后又是很正常的、“我是为了游戏,广告不会影响我”的玩家。

或者相反的。从长期看来,《Evony》又会怎么样呢——它仍然流行吗?(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Are sexist ad campaigns an inevitable result of A/B testing?

By Gamesbriefers

Question:I wrote a post about Plarium’s marketing techniques for Stormfall, where scantily-clad women are used to market what is a run-of-the-mill midcore RTS.

I suspect that A/B tests have shown that a headline that implies exclusivity and an image that implies titillation leads to improved click-through rates, and that Plarium thinks that this is the optimal customer acquisition strategy. Are they right? Is Facebook and mobile marketing on an inevitable trend towards lowest-common-denominator (and often sexist) acquisition campaigns?

Answers:Anthony Pecorella Producer for virtual goods games at KongregateIt’s certainly nothing new that “sex sells”. I think it just comes into extremely sharp focus in Facebook ads because of, as Nicholas noted, the extremely fine granularity of data that would be much harder to collect through traditional media (television, radio, billboards, etc. are all very difficult to track clicks/actions from). We certainly see companies who embrace that philosophy in traditional media (Axe body spray, Herbal Essences shampoo in the 90s, and plenty of others), but most companies choose to be more responsible or conservative or focused on their brand and image and instead produce ads that they feel are appropriate and representative of their company and product.

Perhaps Facebook, Google, and other targeted ad networks exaggerate this through individualized ad displays, mostly automated (and thus less curated) content, and and a sense of reduced accountability for companies who don’t feel like they are building a brand but instead just getting clicks. While immediate fault lies with the advertisers (and potentially with those clicking on them), the platforms also need to decide what they want the experience to be for their users. I think it will probably require the platforms to implement some more content control to really filter out these types of ads. Clearly they already have rules against nudity in ads and if they see fit they can either provide tighter regulations or continue to allow users to filter and flag ads they find objectionable to customize their experiences.

Ben Cousins Head of European Game Studios at DeNAThe issue here isn’t A/B testing methodology as much as the variables that are being altered.

I’m not convinced that you will always arrive at an image of a scantily clad woman if you literally try images of everything and select and refine for click-through only.

At some point in this process a nefarious person needs to suggest ‘can we add one variant with tits?’

Eric Seufert Mentor at GamefoundersMy money would be on their lacking not only a sophisticated marketing analytics infrastructure but also the in-house domain expertise to properly analyze such an experiment. I can tell you without looking at any numbers that a half-naked woman on an ad will drive CTR higher. But CTR, in freemium, is the wrong thing to optimize for. Those new users are expecting half-naked women in the game now; are there any? Won’t they churn away once they realize that? And if they do, wasn’t the money spent enticing them to download a game for which they have unrealistic expectations wasted?

Mark Sorrell Development Director at Hide & SeekAt the end of the day, data tells us what we actually do, rather than what we wish we did. I’d be far more tempted to suggest that the correct conclusion is that enough people are susceptible to this kind of marketing for it to work, rather than blaming those who use it. The flaw is in the unwillingness to admit that, rather than in using such techniques. We may not want these techniques to work, but that doesn’t mean they don’t.

Well, that and the fact that the game features no semi-clad women and thus, as has been pointed out, will result in lots of churn. That said, I’d love to see how long people play before they figure that out.

As an aside, I am constantly (un)surprised by how few games are genuinely and deliberately titillating, arousing or sexual.

Tadhg Kelly Creative Director at Jawfish GamesI see a lot of ads for games on Facebook these days featuring a busty lady, a promise of fantasy adventure and that the game is for 18+ only. It doesn’t really matter what the game is.

They remind me of classified ads in the back of subculture magazines (the ones that advertise “massage parlours” and such) and the ads I used to see in the back of comics of my youth (advertising many a you-could-have-biceps-too product).

What all share in common is that they have to tell a story in a 1-inch postage stamp format, and that tends to mean they have to be immediate, shocking and oriented toward lizard brain desires like sex or pride. They can’t be nuanced, complicated or artful because the eye just won’t see them long enough to take them in.

So I guess what I’m saying is that I’m not surprised that those kinds of ads are most effective in that format Nicholas. But I don’t think sex itself is the only effective way to make them.

There is a big difference between Facebook advertising and classifieds, which is superior targeting. In theory it should be more powerful and deliver a better audience over the long term for well-loved game genres, but my impression is that many studios don’t spend a lot of time trying to master it. It’s easier to just slap a porny ad together than to figure out whether Pathfinder fans might like your game.

Long term though, who’s likely to be the better customer?

Oscar Clark Evangelist for ApplifierI agree that the format is constrained and that limits nuance but as has been said the ’scandal’ is that the marketing team is lazy and badly incentivised. Any A/B testing going on here can’t realistically be measuring lifetime value.

This is the curse of our obsession with derivative testing and performance marketing where you don’t know what question you should actually asking. I’m a huge fan of testing everything and getting as much data as possible, but sometime there are secondary effects which can’t be measured directly. Testing is has limits, especially A/B testing. It can’t make you a better creative (or better person!) it can just tell you which of your bad designs is least worst.

There are smarter ways to use this 1” space than just to stick a pair of tits in it and a catchy call to action… but short term I can see why people fall into this trap. They want as many eyeballs as possible and by the law of averages they might just convert some of the people who clicked on it- if those users wanted real porn I suspect they wouldn’t be looking at it through a Facebook ad.

We are in such a luxury position in games to be able to fully leverage the online medium; any internet or mobile app can take you to directly consume our products. Marketing guys with physical goods would love that opportunity. Because its harder for them they have to work harder. So they find ways to create integrated campaigns which use multiple media/PR to build a lasting message, to build trusted brands. Then when they use a small 1” postage stamp it suddenly becomes extremely effective. You don’t have to use sex to sell a trusted brand… the brand sells itself. Isn’t it time we grew up as an industry and did marketing properly?

Felicity Foxx Hearst Program manager at Skype (Microsoft)Good and crucial points made about correctly measuring CTR and LTV.

But regarding LTV and “how few games are genuinely and deliberately titillating, arousing or sexual”, look no further than any Japanese card game released in the past 18 months. When I was working in Japan it was precisely this sort of A/B testing that caused us to add juicy anime T&A to every ad banner/splash screen/app icon AND to integrate titillation into the core evolution mechanics, regardless of how artificially tacked on this was.

My personal favourite: Slime Elena

Of course there will be fall-out, in terms of player churn, ethics, reputation. And don’t forget the impact on your talent acquisition and retention – I am a female engineering product manager and I am obviously no longer working for a Japanese games company.

In principle this issue goes well beyond game design – if the sole and primary goal of your app or business is monetization, there will always be quicker ways to make money.

Ben Board Senior Product Lead at Boss AlienPersonally, even if T&A to that degree was demonstrated to bring increased numbers of quality, spending, retaining players to the game, I still wouldn’t do it. I like having some pride in what I do.

(In this sense I am much like a cancer researcher, or a humanitarian aid worker. I think making games about pretend racing cars is right up there on the pride-o-meter.)

Stuart Dredge Journalist at The GuardianSlightly on a tangent, but relevant (I think). When I worked for a gadget magazine, if we ran focus groups, most men said ‘Oh, having models on the cover with not much on is so tacky, it demeans women, what do you think I am, some kind of SEXIST APE?’.

And then every time they did A/B testing on covers – e.g. putting just a gadget and no model on in newsagents in one city / district – those ones sold *awfully*.

This may have been a bit about some newsagents racking them with hi-fi magazines rather than with the lad mags, but it wasn’t the whole story.

Which in a roundabout way, maybe hints that a lot of men click on bannerboobs like crazy, even if they then are normal ‘oh I’m here for the game, that marketing didn’t affect me’ players thereafter.

Or not. How did it turn out for Evony in the long term – is it still popular?(source:gamebriefs)


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