Research

Research

I conducted loads of research into the project because there are certain areas in this project that required some looking into, because I had to investigate some potential competitors for the game and after conducting some research, I was able to find some potential competitors.

For my research, the game had to meet the criteria that is was a Kickstarter-based game meaning that it started off as a Kickstarter project and took off instantly.

The first Card game I found that met my criteria was Muffin Time, Muffin time was a Card game that got released in July 2020 and was developed over the course of a year by Thomas Ridgewell, Elliot Gough and Eddie Bowley, the game is based on the popular web series “asdfmovie” created by Ridgewell, the cards in said game are based on multiple gags from the first 12 episodes.

Another Game I found was Blockbuster, this game was released by Big Potato games who also distributed Muffin Time, the basic premise of the game is you’re given a specific movie category or criteria such as “movies with talking animals” or “Horror Movies” and you have a set time limit to name as many as you can.

The 3^rd game I found was called “Truth Bombs” which was made by YouTubers Dan and Phil, the basic premise of this game is each of the players anonymously writes things about each other based on mischievous questions, such as, “What would they taste like?”

 

There are also many advertising terms I researched as well, the first of these was ‘anchorage’ which means the words that accompany an image and the meaning of that word is meant to associate with that image. Aspirational is also another Media term which means the text is meant to encourage the audience to want more money, so they can buy the product or service in question.

 

Brand Identity is what your brand, business and product is associated with and is the association the audience will make with the brand.

 

Cross Platform marketing is a text that is distributed across different platforms, so a game for example might be distributed across various consoles, like Batman: Arkham Knight would be distributed across 3 different consoles which includes PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

 

I also decided to conduct some research into Target Audience as that is an important factor in the world of advertising, Target Audience by definition is the main audience or demographic that your product or service is mainly aimed at, my advertising project that being Cards Against Humanity is aimed at young adults because I feel that the young crowd or as the public deems them ‘millennials’ would be attracted to a game like this.

1) What scenario have you thought of based on your target audience?

The scenario that I have thought of is because we're all in Lockdown at the moment and maybe people will want to take a break from using their technology and will want to sit down and play a good game.

2) Describe your Target Audience profile in detail

My target audience profile is based on young adults, more specifically University students or young people living in their own home as there can be more than one person in that group so if they're stuck inside and have nothing to do, they can get the game out and play it.

3) What methods of 'telling the story' have you looked at? (List 3 examples)

I looked at 3 methods of telling the story for the product, firstly I observed looking at telling the advert's story via some form of Comedy Sketch, like a sitcom style environment where 2 characters are greeted by someone advertising the game.

Another one I looked at was creating a parody advert for the product like the Krusty Krab Advert from SpongeBob SquarePants and it's actually the main basis for the Advert.

I also analysed some interesting advertising strategies and here's what I found

Strategy Name	Definition
Avante Garde	The suggestion that using this product puts the user ahead of the times. For example, a toy manufacturer encourages kids to be the first on their block to have a new toy.
Weasel Words	“Weasel words” are used to suggest a positive meaning without really making any guarantee. Let’s say that a scientist says that a diet product might help you to lose weight the way it helped him to lose weight or a new brand of dish soap leaves dishes virtually spotless.
Magic Ingredients	The suggestion that some almost miraculous discovery makes the product exceptionally effective like a pharmaceutical manufacturer describing a special coating that makes their pain reliever less irritating to the stomach than a competitor’s.
Transfer	Positive words, images, and ideas are used to suggest that the product being sold is also positive, perhaps a textile manufacturer wants people to wear their product to stay cool during the summer and shows people wearing fashions made from their cloth at a sunny seaside setting where there is a cool breeze.
Plain Folks	The suggestion that the product is a practical product of good value for ordinary people, for example a cereal manufacturer shows an ordinary family sitting down to breakfast and enjoying their product.
Snob Appeal	The suggestion that the use of the product makes the customer part of an elite group with a luxurious and glamorous lifestyle. A coffee manufacturer shows people dressed in formal gowns and tuxedos drinking their brand at an art gallery.
Bribery	Bribery offers you something “extra.” Buy a burger; get free fries.
Bandwagon	The suggestion that you should join the crowd or be on the winning side by using a product—you don’t want to be the only person without it!

I also researched some different adverts for my project and they can be considered adverts as all of them are advertising something, the 3 adverts I researched were

1) The Krusty Krab Advert from Spongebob Squarepants

On a technicality this is and can be considered an advert because it is advertising something but this advert as a whole was the format for my own advert for Cards Against Humanity, an advert that starts out with someone watching it but then transitions into a Comedy sketch and in the case of the Krusty Krab, that's  the advert that was made.

2) The Advert for Muffin Time

As I mentioned earlier, Muffin time was a Card game that got released in July 2020 and was developed over the course of a year by Thomas Ridgewell and while there weren't any TV format adverts, there was this video that advertised the game, the video explains how to play the game and the cards that are used in the game.