Square Enix: Building a Social Network for Enthusiasts (from WOMMA's Word of Mouth Basic Training Conference)

Square Enix: Building a Social Network for Enthusiasts Word of Mouth Basic Training April 18, 2007 Bob Troia, Founder and President Affinitive

“ Slime Knights”

An enthusiast community for fans of the Dragon Quest series combining elements of:

Social Networking

Education

Loyalty

Activities

Research

Word of Mouth, Viral and

Buzz

Activities and Content Creation

“ Quests”:

50% Fun and Engaging

50% Reinforce the key selling points of the game

Selling Point: Open, non-linear story and environment that players can explore endlessly in their own way Quest: Create your own hero and back-story for Dragon Quest VIII :

Fan-Created Ads

140+ Quests 27,000+ Submissions

Spreading the Word IM Icons Messageboard Banners Desktop Wallpapers

Sharing Personal Experiences & Research “ After being a member of Slime Knights, I have become more willing to talk about other games and products that I love both online and offline . Now I don’t care who knows I’m a gamer!” “ Being a part of this community has expanded my knowledge of how others feel about the Dragon Quest series. I can make more educated recommendations of its titles to others , knowing how so many people here fell in love with the games.” “ I just want to say that Slime Knights really increased my loyalty to Dragon Quest . The fact that you are taking note of what consumers want is very important to me.”

Results

14,000+ members

140+ quests

27,000+ submissions

160,000 WOM

recommendations

(58% online, 42% offline)

167,000 member

interactions

38,000 hours of brand

engagement in past 9

months!

Results 600,000+ units sold to date Dragon Quest VIII has been the most successful release since the original Dragon Warrior , which sold approximately 500,000 units.