Atari o&fb strategy document

LYNX

Atari : The Once & Future Brand Brand Strategy | DMBA Fall 2013

Nick Lawrence

THE ONCE & FUTURE BRAND PROJECTIdentify a defunct company or product that could have relevance or a unique offer

in today’s market. Imagine this new offer based on what the brand was known for.

Define and get to know a new target market and assess the competition by

performing a market audit. Articulate the brand value and growth opportunities by

creating a strategic brief.

Games Have Been Around A Long Time

Atari Changed the Way We Play Games

Games have been around for thousands of years. It is not a concept that is new to us by any means. Gaming techniques have been used to motivate, engage, challenge as well as encourage us to solve problems from the simple to the complex. Technological shifts over time have made gaming more accessible, life-like, and more immersive. One of the key visionaries in this field was Atari, the creator of the first commercially successful video game which was Pong. Atari was responsible for introducing the phenomenon of interactive digital gaming to the world and successfully made it mainstream. However in recent times, the name has disappeared from the market but we have identified that there is a unique opportunity to make Atari relevant and vibrant, restoring the cachet that they once had.

Atari Company History

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

1972Atari is Founded

Pong is released same year

1975Home Version of Pong

Released

1976Atari is sold to Warner

Communications

1977Atari 2600 Released

1983North American

Video Game Crash

1984Jack Tramiel buys

consumer division of Atari from Warner Communications

1988Atari Lynx Released

1998Jack Tramiel sells

remaining assets to Hasbro Interactive

1999Hasbro Interactive sells

Atari to Infogrames Entertainment

2013Atari files for Bankruptcy

Why Did Atari Exist? (Original Positioning Statement)

As a trailblazer of the interactive gaming world

Atari created games for cross-generational audiences

Who desire fun and radical experiences

Enabling players to immerse themselves in worlds of

fantasy and dreamscapes, unlocking joy and imagination.

Atari Brand Equity

Joystick

Cartridge

Kinesthetic

Competition

Game

Low-Fidelity Graphics

Fun

Sounds

Progressive/Forward Thinking

Logo

The Video Game Market Today

The developments since Atari’s inception and infancy as a company have been dramatic. Technology using game mechanics and game design has evolved significantly that it can be applied to virtually any experience. Gaming has grown to be such a popular activity it is estimated that the gaming population is currently comprised of 500 million people who collectively spend more than 3 billion hours a week playing games. It is projected that within the next decade the gaming population will grow exponentially to reach 1 billion people.

Digital Marketing & Gamification Are the Future

• Digital Marketing: $62B industry• Gamification market: projection $421M to $5.5B in 5 years• By 2014 70% of companies will gamify

Current Trends & Opportunities

(digital marketing) (gamification)

+ =(brand loyalty)

Film and television, once considered traditional outlets are now becoming passive forms of media and being eclipsed by gaming and on-demand media consumption as the choice and preferred entertainment platform. Companies now have a major opportunity to exploit and take advantage of converting that customer engagement into brand loyalty.

Design Is The Problem

80% of enterprise efforts will fail quickly due to poor game design

Amongst the enterprise services, points, rewards and badges are hailed as hallmarks of gamification platforms but these elements only really scratch the surface in terms of engagement and changing the behavior of the consumer. These achievements are awarded to users in many cases for just simply clicking on a link or liking a specific site on social media. These elements should be considered a thing of the past because they completely neglect the elements of discovery, the awe-inspiring, the mastery of the challenge, or the gratification from being on the verge of an epic win or even achieving an epic win.

Standard Enterprise Platforms These companies provide standard softwareplatforms that use game mechanics, including badges, team points, and leaderboards to help businesses improve customer loyalty and online engagement.

What We Saw In The Market

Customized Enterprise PlatformsEnable businesses to play a role in the customization and management of gamified platforms that create engaging user experiences to benefit brands and customersthrough the offering of rewards and loyalty programs.


Customized Gamification ExperienceDevelop custom built and highly creative interactive gaming experiences for brands, leveraging imaginative content to engage users to participate and explore.



Standard Enterprise Platforms Customized Enterprise Platforms Custom Gamification Experience

Low-Engagement Stimulating

Who Creates Better Games than Atari?

Who Creates Games Better Than Atari?

The market needs player-centric applications that engage the customer fully in a captivating thrilling experience to achieve that “epic win”. Who knows the world of gaming better than Atari? Game designers have a 40 year head start on digital marketers and have a true understanding of what constitutes an absorbing and immensely satisfying experience through gaming.

An epic win is defined as an extraordinarily positive outcome that one didnt know was possible until it was achieved. It is a destination that is beyond the threshold of imagination.

The world has evolved, business has evolved, the interaction between brands and consumers has evolved. For this reason, we think that Atari should evolve as well and the way to remain relevant is to provide an interactive brand experience. Keep providing ways to connect people and encourage people to enjoy leisure time activities.

Where Atari Fits

Only games Other touchpoints

Entertainment

Incentivize behavior

Where Atari Fits

Only games Other touchpoints

Entertainment

Incentivize behavior

Where Atari Fits

InstantGratification

Long-Term UserEngagement

Co-brand

White Label

Where Atari Fits

InstantGratification

Long-Term UserEngagement

Co-brand

White Label

Clients FocusedOn Brand

Clients Invested In Interactive

Gaming Experiences

Atari Culture

Non-Atari Culture

What Customer Segments Should Atari Be Targeting?

1PORTFOLIO BUILDERS2MONEY

MAKERS

3REQUIREA GAME PLANX

Opportunity

Game Mechanics

Fun & RadicalStorytellers

Interactive Branded

Experiences

AtariCreative

Digital Agency

Some commonly held beliefs in the gamifcation ecosystem is that when applying traditional gaming concepts such as rewards, points, and badges these incentives have a high influence over purchase behavior and provide meaningful feedback about the customer experience, however, we dont believe this to be the case.

While gaming is thought to be a highly engaging and low distraction activity which has been proven to be twice as effective in achieving engagement than other media, according to an Internet Advertising Bureau UK study, it is susceptible to losing it appeal when there is too much emphasis on points and prizes, rather than delivering fun and excitement.

Consumers don’t want to be manipulated, they want to be motivated through games. Game mechanics and dynamics that inspire players to explore, search for elements of surprise, and have a sense of freedom and independence will provide a richer experience and narrative. People are more driven to share what is exciting, energizing, compelling and creative. At its core, gamified experiences are designed to be viral campaigns and meant to build an engaged community through interactions that are relatable, relevant, and awe-inspiring.

Fun & Exciting Content Is More Favorable Than Rewards & Badges How Should The Agency Be Structured?

What Atari Offers Today (new positioning framework)

Competitive FrameDeveloping highly interactive, fully customized gamified experiences is Atari’s core competency. It is our job to translate your brand’s story into the gamified world.

As a digital agency that builds interactive gaming experiences


Target MarketCompanies anticipating or currently experiencing growth, that desire Atari’s unique, exciting, entertaining, fun, and gamified interactions and want to establish energized relationships with their customer base is our key target.

Atari helps growth organizations and their brands








BenefitBrands must continue to seek highly differentiated non-product interactions to attract and maintain customers. We offer differentiation through radical and fun gaming experiences.

Enhance their visibility in a cluttered marketplace






Reason To BelieveEncouraging companies to push boundaries and see beyond the limitations of what is possible creates fertile ground for meaningful stories. We strive to create richer and more imaginative content to be the spark that ignites storytelling amongst consumers.

By forging deeper connections with people through radically fun interactions

BenefitBrands must continue to seek highly differentiated non-product interactions to attract and maintain customers. We offer differentiation through radical and fun gaming experiences.






By forging deeper connections with people through radically fun interactions

Atari : A Digital Agency

toggle joystick to play.

philosophy. portfolio. careers. contact.We help brands put their game face on.

Our Philosophy.

We believe games are great storytellers. Stories are what ignite the spark for conversation amongst consumers and create

engagement. Our in-house expertise and proprietary formula bring that dialogue to life.

Our games tell your brand’s compelling story in awe-inspiring and imaginative ways. Encouraging companies to push

boundaries while testing the limits of what is possible is our core competency and what we have always done best. We

have an unwavering commitment to translate your company’s vision into a creative immersive concept that will deliver the

customer loyalty and engagement you greatly desire.

our process.

research. game plan. create & iterate. deployment. analytics.

philosophy. portfolio. careers. contact.

Hello Player 1.

Atari is a digital agency that builds interactive gaming experiences for brands.

We help brands put their game face on.

We help companies forge stronger bonds with their audiences through interactive gaming technology and rich imaginative content .

Our Portfolio. VIEW BY CARTRIDGE VIEW BY LIST

2 0f 25

Designed By

Designed By

Client Case Study

x

Designed By

Our Client: Cheetos

Our Challenge: How do you get devoted

fans of original Cheetos to branch out

and try the many varieties of Cheetos

flavors?

x

We then craft an individualized game plan.

x

Our main characters became...

x

Our main characters became...

x

Cheetos fighter and General Chester

x

The magic starts to happen: 3D Modeling

x

The magic continues: Coding

x

The battle begins

x

User experience

x

User experience

x

Atari fixed the last few bugs...be prepared for battle

x

Results: Within a week, hundreds of

thousands of engaged consumers

battling for an average of 27 minutes.

x

What Atari EmployeesWill Say To Each Otherinternal messaging & guiding principles

Internal Messaging Pillars

What is Atari? Atari is a community of people passionate about gaming who understand that crafting a brand’s story into a rich and creative narrative is fundamental to a company’s success and future growth. We offer value to our client’s by helping them translate their defined purpose in the world into a storyline that invites playful user interaction. Through our deep knowledge of game mechanics and programming, we can help brands wire up their customer experience in imaginative and engaging ways.

Why is Atari Relevant? Many digital agencies today need to fight disintermediation to survive. However, we aren't a conventional digital agency or consultancy. We provide highly differentiated value because no one knows game design like Atari. Even for small companies or organizations that haven’t experimented with interactive digital gaming, we believe in delivering gamified prototypes that illustrate the minimum viable brand concept to illustrate the power and capacity of such tools. We don’t treat gamification as a buzzword but rather as a design ethos and our north star.

LYNX

Thank you!

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Atari o&fb strategy document