Square Enix: Building a Social Network for Enthusiasts (from WOMMA's Word of Mouth Basic Training 2007 Conference)

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

Some Background... 1989 Dragon Warrior I (NES) 2005 Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King (PS2)

Brand Challenges 40 million+ worldwide sales Dragon Quest VIII launched in Japan previous year – 3million units sold in 3 days Diminished North American presence Single-player game with no online component Gaming community uneducated about series First PS2 release – no previous DQ Playstation release had exceeded 200,000 units sold

RPG Genre Challenges Subset of the “hardcore gaming” audience Historically sell less than 150-200k copies Non-social / single player Difficult to play (40-100 hours to complete) Cerebral action with heavy focus on story telling ‘ Dungeons and Dragons’ – geeky!

Fragmented Marketing Landscape Official Sites Fan Sites General Social Network and Social Media Sites Video Game Information Sites, Blogs and Communities

The Passion Pyramid General Consumers Niche Consumers Brand Champions Customers / Brand Enthusiasts Casual Hardcore Passion/Buzz Spills Out

Engage, Empower, and Connect Passionate Consumers Anticipation Co-creation Education Motivation Engage Recommendation Consumers Customers Measure

“ 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: Unique and distinct cel-shading art style of Dragon Quest artist Akira Toriyama: Quest: Mimic the cel-shading art style of Dragon Quest

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 :

140+ Quests 27,000+ Submissions

Spreading the Word IM Icons Messageboard Banners Desktop Wallpapers

Sharing Personal Experiences & Research

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.

New York 135 West 26 th Street 8 th Floor New York, NY 10001 (212) 684-9100 Bob Troia Founder and President bob [ at ] beaffinitive.com www.beaffinitive.com More Information California 665 3rd Street Suite 230 San Francisco, CA 94107 (415) 278-9700

Square Enix: Building a Social Network for Enthusiasts (from WOMMA's Word of Mouth Basic Training 2007 Conference)