MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
This year’s London Games Conference on November 19th will have a number of high profile speakers from around the games industry sharing their knowledge.
Buzzfeed UK’s creative director Philip Byrne talks to MCV about some of the site’s marketing campaigns and what we can expect from his talk at this year’s show.
For the unaware, who are you and what do you do?
I’m creative director of BuzzfeedUK. I run our creative services team – we work with brands to create shareable content that lives on Buzzfeedand the wider social web. I also really like dogs and am the singer of the thrash metal band Gama Bomb.
Tell us a bit about your talk at LGC. Don’t just tell us the title – what is it really about?
It’s partially a story of Buzzfeed’sevolution in tandem with broader changes in the web as it’s evolved from search to social. It’s also a lesson – or rather a series of lessons – in how brands can best prepare themselves to become relevant and valuable in that social web, with insights from our experience working with Fortune 500 brands. Also it has cats.
Can you give us an example of a successful product / launch you have worked on, and any specific learnings?
We’ve worked on social advertising campaigns with dozens of Fortune 500 brands. Our biggest partners in the US are Geico and Virgin Mobile, who have an ongoing brand publishing presence on Buzzfeed. Here in the UK we’ve worked with brands including Volkswagen, British Airways, Pepsi and American Express.
What are the biggest challenges currently affecting the way games are marketed?
I think marketing faces the same challenge in every industry – finding relevance and fully embracing an authentic way of communicating.
What single area of games marketing should we pay attention to in 2015 – and why?
Content. With technology adapting so fast, especially in mobile, it’s key for the games industry to keep building relationships even outside of gaming time. I believe relevant content is the way to do it.
