Blade_Runner
Skilled
AEG and NVIDIA's 'outreach programme' - What's it all about?
In recent days, information has reached a number of parties concerning the activities of a company called AEG (Arbuthnot Entertainment Group), and in particular their involvement in running a marketing campaign for graphics giant NVIDIA. Yesterday, this information was brought in to the public domain courtesy of Beyond 3D forum member geo, in this thread. The information supplied to him matches information I myself received just the day before.
Of course, marketing partnerships are formed all the time, so what's so special about the programme instigated by NVIDIA and AEG? Read on to find out the full story of this rather unique set of circumstances.
Who are AEG?
As we've already mentioned, AEG are otherwise known as the Arbuthnot Entertainment Group and, to put it simply, are a marketing organisation. To get a more official idea of the company's activities, let's take a look at a quote from their own web site's front page.
Quote:
Quote:
One of the feathers in AEG's cap is viral marketing, something which is a powerful part of any marketing team's arsenal in this day and age. WhatIs.com has a pretty succinct definition of viral marketing:
Quote:
This kind of marketing has already proved successful with the likes of Microsoft, whose infamous I Love Bees campaign used a bee fan site as a 'cover' for what was really a promotional web site for the Xbox title Halo 2. In a similar vain, the TV series Lost has also employed viral marketing based around the web site of fictional airline Oceanic among other things, a site which in fact contains a treasure trove of information about the show for fans who stumble across it.
However, as AEG's material suggests, and the definition of viral marketing points out, there is more to it than simply setting up spoof web sites - Viral marketing also relies heavily on word of mouth which, for the Internet hardware enthusiast community, revolves heavily around forums and their users. The question for the marketing people of course, is - How do you influence forum goers, single minded people voicing their own opinions on the issues (and hardware) of the day, to promote their products?
What does the 'outreach programme' involve?
Moving on to the clients page of AEG's web site, we see their own definition of the programme they have put in place in conjunction with NVIDIA.
Quote:
What is so unique about this campaign? Our next clue comes from NVIDIA themselves, courtesy of their very own Derek Perez:
Quote:
What are the ramifications of this programme?
Of course, the major question for those of us who are active participants in the hardware enthusiast community is with regard to the ethics of such a programme (Ignoring, of course, the fact that ethics very rarely finds its way into marketing opportunities). As we've already established, the online community and their word-of-mouth can have quite an impact on a products image amongst those most likely to buy it - A groundswell of popular opinion often flows under certain products within the community, and these opinions often find their way into wider circulation and influence hardware purchases of others within that community, if not beyond.
But what if such groundswells of opinion were being altered, or even outright falsified, by otherwise well-respected forum members acting upon an 'agenda' laid out to them by a company with a vested interest in making sure their products were seen in the best possible light while belittling the competition? Traditional advertising is one thing - Most of us know to question the claims made in press releases and commercials - But when one of your online peers tells you that you should be thinking about buying a particular brand or model of video card, the reaction is different, and the natural reaction is to trust the information given not as a marketing ploy but as good advice based solely on personal experience.
Of course, this wouldn't be such a problem if the users involved in the programme disclosed this very fact, as it would allow other members to make a more precise opinion regarding the veracity of the person's claims. But, the very nature of viral marketing of this kind is in its 'secret' nature, thus naturally neither AEG nor NVIDIA want anyone to know who is in the outreach programme. Indeed, it seems clear that programme members are under some kind of NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) regarding their participation and activities. This creates a dangerous situation that could serve to damage the 'friendly, neighbourhood' atmosphere of many online communities, turning it into a more X-Files-esque 'Trust no-one' scenario.
Please read the whole article Here
Related discussions
B3d
AT
In recent days, information has reached a number of parties concerning the activities of a company called AEG (Arbuthnot Entertainment Group), and in particular their involvement in running a marketing campaign for graphics giant NVIDIA. Yesterday, this information was brought in to the public domain courtesy of Beyond 3D forum member geo, in this thread. The information supplied to him matches information I myself received just the day before.
Of course, marketing partnerships are formed all the time, so what's so special about the programme instigated by NVIDIA and AEG? Read on to find out the full story of this rather unique set of circumstances.
Who are AEG?
As we've already mentioned, AEG are otherwise known as the Arbuthnot Entertainment Group and, to put it simply, are a marketing organisation. To get a more official idea of the company's activities, let's take a look at a quote from their own web site's front page.
Quote:
So far, it sounds like a typical marketing organisation. We can also see from this front page that AEG have a number of high profile clients, from Microsoft to 2K Games to, naturally, NVIDIA. Of more interest is a certain section of their services portfolio page, which are in-line with the relationship with NVIDIA under discussion here. The items of interest read as follows, with my own emphasised items which relate to the topic in hand:
Quote:
One of the feathers in AEG's cap is viral marketing, something which is a powerful part of any marketing team's arsenal in this day and age. WhatIs.com has a pretty succinct definition of viral marketing:
Quote:
This kind of marketing has already proved successful with the likes of Microsoft, whose infamous I Love Bees campaign used a bee fan site as a 'cover' for what was really a promotional web site for the Xbox title Halo 2. In a similar vain, the TV series Lost has also employed viral marketing based around the web site of fictional airline Oceanic among other things, a site which in fact contains a treasure trove of information about the show for fans who stumble across it.
However, as AEG's material suggests, and the definition of viral marketing points out, there is more to it than simply setting up spoof web sites - Viral marketing also relies heavily on word of mouth which, for the Internet hardware enthusiast community, revolves heavily around forums and their users. The question for the marketing people of course, is - How do you influence forum goers, single minded people voicing their own opinions on the issues (and hardware) of the day, to promote their products?
What does the 'outreach programme' involve?
Moving on to the clients page of AEG's web site, we see their own definition of the programme they have put in place in conjunction with NVIDIA.
Quote:
What is so unique about this campaign? Our next clue comes from NVIDIA themselves, courtesy of their very own Derek Perez:
Quote:
What are the ramifications of this programme?
Of course, the major question for those of us who are active participants in the hardware enthusiast community is with regard to the ethics of such a programme (Ignoring, of course, the fact that ethics very rarely finds its way into marketing opportunities). As we've already established, the online community and their word-of-mouth can have quite an impact on a products image amongst those most likely to buy it - A groundswell of popular opinion often flows under certain products within the community, and these opinions often find their way into wider circulation and influence hardware purchases of others within that community, if not beyond.
But what if such groundswells of opinion were being altered, or even outright falsified, by otherwise well-respected forum members acting upon an 'agenda' laid out to them by a company with a vested interest in making sure their products were seen in the best possible light while belittling the competition? Traditional advertising is one thing - Most of us know to question the claims made in press releases and commercials - But when one of your online peers tells you that you should be thinking about buying a particular brand or model of video card, the reaction is different, and the natural reaction is to trust the information given not as a marketing ploy but as good advice based solely on personal experience.
Of course, this wouldn't be such a problem if the users involved in the programme disclosed this very fact, as it would allow other members to make a more precise opinion regarding the veracity of the person's claims. But, the very nature of viral marketing of this kind is in its 'secret' nature, thus naturally neither AEG nor NVIDIA want anyone to know who is in the outreach programme. Indeed, it seems clear that programme members are under some kind of NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) regarding their participation and activities. This creates a dangerous situation that could serve to damage the 'friendly, neighbourhood' atmosphere of many online communities, turning it into a more X-Files-esque 'Trust no-one' scenario.
Please read the whole article Here
Related discussions
B3d
AT