Part 1: Gemini Division's Gemini 360 & Potential Lessons Learned

I admit that we've been hard on NBC Universal Digital Studios; 'we', the web viewing audience and ARG players, have high expectations and we tend to get irritated when they aren't met.

In previous articles we've discussed how NBC has mishandled both the website branding and the alternate reality gaming for Gemini Division, the first of it's kind web series. From issues with the alternate reality game to the "Intel website with Gemini content" the launch of this series has caused viewer angst and anger.

In part one of this two part series I will retract a previous criticism as I examine the “ARG that isn’t” and review some potential lessons learned from the first four weeks of Gemini Division’s expected 14 week run. Part two will focus on the successes of Gemini Division, weeks one through five.

Gemini Division “ARG”: Gemini 360 enhanced experience

Gemini Division, NBC, and Alternate Reality Gaming and Viral Marketing gone wrong, my article from August 30, focused on what many considered to be a foible ridden ARG released without common sense consideration of the player.

I will always be the first to step up and take responsibility when I am wrong...and in this case I was.

Much like the action figure 80’s, today’s entertainment projects must release ancillary content. While the majority of that content falls in the ARG realm this property’s doesn't and I was incorrect to include it.

Beginning with some contextual terminology that vexes me: we've all heard the buzz terms Alternate Reality Gaming [ARG], Immersive Media, and Viral [anything] used to describe the future of multi-platform entertainment.

None of those terms appropriately address the vision of true multi-platform immersive entertainment: a cutting edge, monetized entertainment experience that drives advertiser brand engagement and maximizes ROI for production and distribution partners.

Gemini 360 is more an 'enhanced experience' than alternate reality game. As such, the issues that we've raised with ARG aren't directly applicable. While the EE does share some of the aspects of ARG gaming it contains components that are exclusively EE. The first being the puppet master, or game designer, removing a substantial portion of 'the curtain': that barrier that separates the PM from the player and creates the ARG appearance of reality.

A forgone conclusion with the enhanced experience is that the PM is providing additional content to heighten the viewers experience while remaining within the contextual realm of the property being viewed.

Unlike alternate reality gaming, where the goal is to provide a mutable real world experience in which player interaction can path the overall plot of the game, enhanced experience content is known to be an accompaniment to the entertainment property rather than being see as a standalone reality that may or may not impact the overall plot or universe.

Using that reasoning, NBC has done an good job of creating the enhanced experience for Gemini Division.

From MySpace profiles through almost-real-time player/cast interaction on Twitter accompanied by puzzle sites and enhanced experience websites the ancillary content for Gemini is engaging for those who wish to participate with the EE components easily found on Gemini's home page.

While EE lacks the mystery of true ARG it is enjoyable and engaging.

Potential Lesson’s Learned for Gemini Division & Enhanced Experience Media:

While it appears Gemini Division is an overall success there are several areas where critical failures have occurred. As the first of its kind Gemini is being watched closely by industry insiders attempting to gauge if a web-only series will provide a return on investment.

Failure 01: Marketing the Series.

Gemini Division has been in the works since late 2007 with the first brief information being released in January 2008. This limited information release continued until days before the series premiere on August 18 generating a too-little-too-late buzz fest the day of the premiere.

With the interest in the ability to monetize this form of entertainment NBC’s lack of marketing would seem to be setting the series up for failure. A powerhouse among broadcasters, NBC dropped the ball on communicating this series to potential viewers through their front line medium: television.

With exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics NBC failed to air any GD promos for the two weeks prior to the series premiere. Nor has there been a push on promos during prime time, though one was aired during The Office last week. To my knowledge that is the only promo that has hit the airwaves. However we have seen Fox series promos on NBC aired during the same period; Fox staples produced by NBC Universal Digital Studios.

Print media has also been largely ignored, though the producers of Gemini Division, Electric Farm Entertainment, received excellent coverage in several articles including the August issue of Wired.

Beyond the traditional mediums, NBC has opted out of most potential online marketing avenues as well. The articles, blogs interviews, and online communications driving the show are all originated by the show’s producers though it appears that NBC has purchased listings using Google Adwords.

Failure 02: Marketing the Enhanced Experience Gemini 360.

Similar to the previous issue, Gemini 360 has also suffered from a lack of marketing. Earlier this week I spoke with Jonathan Waite, founder and senior editor of ARGnet, about the possibility of joining the net/vidcast to discuss Gemini 360 . Waite advised, “We really don’t know that much about Gemini Division; we’ll have to rely on those of you who have been actively involved to be our experts.”

ARGnet, along with UnFiction, are the premiere venues for information related to ARG and EE gaming. If they “don’t know that much about” the enhanced experience it has failed its communication. A search for “Gemini 360” is more likely to turn up information on a Phillip’s PET scanner or e-business related to 360 degree virtual tours than it is the Gemini extended experience.

Failure 03: Gemini 360 playability.

Gemini 360 is also confusing for participants as cited by Gemini fan and popular author Emma Ray Garret:

“I know there's been sort of a slew of new content tossing in new stuff when old stuff, like the Mutable Response site, remains unsolved. Do the majority of those interested in the ARG feel like this one plays like any other they've participated in?

I played the Heroes version for the first season and it seemed to me that the content I found or was involved in had some kind of payoff; Primatech, the Petrelli site, Yamagato, etc. all offered something interesting once I accessed the hidden element. So far, I'm not really feeling that with this one and it's a bit frustrating for me.”

While I have found the components of the EE to be engaging, even fun, the structure confuses me as well. As mentioned above I have enjoyed Heroes 360 and now Heroes Evolutions; though Gemini 360 is managed by the same team it falls short of engagement and doesn’t deliver a structured payoff advancing you to the next step in the game.

From a high level view the EE structure is confusing as well. Fan’ have found information placed on the web as far back as March 2008, but that and other information, though show related, doesn’t seem to play in to the EE experience. While ARG/EE players understand that to advance to the next level you have to solve the current puzzle in this EE there is often a stop block once you reach a certain point: that in and of itself is driving player frustration.

Players understand that there will always be a period of time between levels, but weeks of non-resolution and lack of advancement are disheartening.

Failure 03: If its broke, fix it.

As a professional IT project manager, IT/IS consultant, and web architect the number one rule for deployment I follow is: Don’t implement without functionality.

NBC’s geminidivision.com has been fraught with technical issues from launch.

Through the last four weeks we've seen days when the site has been down completely. Broken inks within the site are corrected slowly, as are issues with the video player and archived videos.

One of the larger issues decried by fans related to the inability to download the videos through NBC Direct [Beta]. While this is now possible with IE, Firefox hangs on the java button to preview the tool and Safari doesn’t recognize the MIME type at all.

The general rule of web design is to create a site that is as transparent as possible between the seven major browsers. NBC's geminidivision.com fails this transparency with certain browsers [IE] functioning perfectly and others [Safari] failing to function at all within 60 seconds of page load. The following results display how each of the browsers delivers Gemini Division over FiOS after ensuring that each was updated with the most current required plug ins.

A Comparison of Browsers 60 seconds from page load
(To view a full size version click the thumbnail)

Firefox

Flock

Google Chrome

IE

Maxthon

Opera

Safari[PC]

Another issue illustrated by this example is the inconsistent branding of the GD website. Certain browsers disable the branding while it is readily prevalent in others.

With Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari being the three most commonly used browsers Intel's advertising dollar is only 33% effective. Firefox blocks the ads completely and PC based Safari won't load the site at all leaving only Internet Explorer displaying Intel's branding in an effective manner. When you examine all seven browsers Intel's branding is only effective displayed in three.

Beyond the format and branding issues, once you are on the site there are several uncompleted pieces remaining from the original roll out. Both the “Official Gemini” and the “Gemini Universe” buttons on the bottom of the page are still listed as “coming soon” almost 20 episodes in to a 50 episode series.

All launch sites experience growing pains; my expectation as a project manager would be that these would be resolved within the first few days of launch and not exist four weeks later. If this were my project the client would be replacing me with another project manager at this point.

Continued next week in Part 2: Gemini Division Successes!

Apathetic Entertainment; the impact of corporate culture on non-broadcast media distribution.

The Prentice Hall Encyclopedia of Business Terms defines Corporate Culture as:

“The philosophy, values, behaviors, dress codes, etc., that together constitute the unique style and policies of a company. Corporate-culture is everything that affects the company, it is the company's unique "style", or "the way we do things around here".

Associate Professor in the School of Media Arts, The University of Arizona, author Barbara Selznick writes in June 2008's Global Television: Co-Producing Culture that the particular processes by which the international circulation of culture takes place, while addressing larger cultural issues such as identity formation. She considers how this mode of production-as a means by which transnational television is created-has economic rewards and cultural benefits as well as drawbacks. Selznick indicates that while the style, narrative, themes and ideologies may be interesting, corporate capitalism ultimately impacts these programs in significant ways.

Another recent publication, Corporate Assault on Youth: Commercialism, Exploitation, and the End of Innocence, Deron Boyles examines childhood as a social construction increasingly influenced by corporations and commercialism. Through case studies, critical analysis, and historical/philosophical research, the essays collected here expose the degree to which children are unwitting targets of brand marketing. This is also expertly illustrated in the recent blog post by Aaron Smith: The 39 Clues: The Future of Children’s Stories?

Finally, in what I would consider a must read, Denise Mann’s June 2008 Hollywood Independents: The Postwar Talent Takeover. Hollywood Independents explores the crucial period from 1948 to 1962 when independent film producers first became key components of the modern corporate entertainment industry. Denise Mann examines the impact of the radically changed filmmaking climate—the decline of the studios, the rise of television, and the rise of potent talent agencies like MCA—on a group of prominent talent-turned-producers including Burt Lancaster, Joseph Mankiewicz, Elia Kazan, and Billy Wilder

This period saw the evolution of film production from the studio-governed system to one of entrepreneurs. Out of this new arrangement, which encouraged greater creative freedom, emerged a nascent form of independent art cinema that sowed the seeds of the Hollywood Renaissance that followed. Specifically this illustrates the similarities between that period to the current environment where the Independent is the king of non-broadcast media and the ‘studios’ lack of adaption has severe consequences.

As previously posted the negative impact that the web series Gemini Division has suffered at the hands of NBC Universal Digital Studios adequately demonstrates that the multinational corporations distributing our entertainment have lost touch with the spirit of that entertainment. Additionally illustrated in the panel video that Tim posted, the corporate studios are unable to grasp the impact of their ham-handed handling of this new media type.

As Dan Rather succiently explains in the following video, broadcasting is no longer the realm of true entertainers or reporters, it has been relegated to a line item on a balance sheet managed by accountants in a corporate conglomeration where the bottom line and share holder returns are the driving meaning of life.

That these people do not understand that they are creating their own downfall by ensuring the apathy and disillusionment of their customer [the viewer] explains new properties like “Hole in the Wall.” Waiting years between the publish dates of our favorite book series it may be better for all of us to boycott entertainment and purchase the DVDs.

Mr. Rather sums it up:

"Joss Whedon: Studios Moving Like Dinosaurs"

Title based off Joss Whedon's comments in regard to the major studios and their interaction with new media.

This was an interesting panel discussion about the current direction of Media. Panelists include: Joss Whedon, Stan Rogow, Matthew Diamond, Chris Henchy.

There is a bit of dead space at the beginning. Introductions start at: 2:40. Panel starts 11 minutes and 20 seconds in.

The embed was automatically starting so here is a link instead:
Panel Discussion.

NBC Mishandles Gemini Division: Ad Overload

In my post, “Gemini Division Preview” I said that even if I had a way to remove the integrated ads, I wouldn't want to. Not so with NBC's abuse of banner ads.

Upon page load, NBC’s Gemini Division site begins the ad bombardment onslaught.

There are more ads for Intel than there appears to be Gemini Division content. At the top of the page is a large Intel banner ad. To the right, there is the same large intel ad. In the middle of the screen an Intel pre-roll ad commences. And, if you missed it, to the right of the title Gemini Division is another “powered by intel ad”.



NBC redefines the concept of banner ad and takes it to a whole new level. Here, NBC takes Gemini Division, the supposed content of the site, and features it much less prominently than Intel. Gemini Division becomes the “banner ad” for the content that is Intel. In fact, Intel is featured more prominently at geminidivision.com than it is even at Intel’s own website.

This further evidences that NBC still doesn’t understand: today’s viewer, new media content, ad integration, Electric Farm Entertainment, or the companies who buy ads.

NBC needs to learn to listen, adapt, and change, or they will lose out. For instance, Electric Farm Entertainment could have made money by including car/battery ads alongside AW, however they chose not too as it would have taken away from that content as Brent Friedman explained in the video “How to Monetize Web Video”.

Likewise, EFE may make money by selling distribution rights to NBC, but when doing so negates the ad integration concept that EFE was trying to accomplish in the first place, it isn’t worth it. NBC’s mishandling of Gemini Division negatively affects that content and I don’t think Electric Farm Entertainment will take this lightly.

On a positive note, this may be one case where geoblocking (though still a practice to be avoided when possible) works to the advantage of those who have to wait. International customer's may actually get a better experience than US early adopters. Sony would do well to learn from NBC's faltering blunders(i.e. don't brand ARG components, don't mislabel recap video segments as viral, don't preroll ads with ad integrated content, make sure basic html links work, etc., etc., etc., ).

So far it appears that Electric Farm Entertainment was much better off when NBC wasn’t a part of the picture. For instance, consider Afterworld’s main portal site.



Here, the content receives the focus and the ads do not disrupt it.

Not so with NBC. In addition to what has already been pointed out, NBC’s pre-roll ads for 3-5 minute of content is beyond overkill, particularly so when the content has already been ad integrated, especially so considering that viewers have options, and even more so when there is a growing resistance to blatant ad practices.

Ad branding and advertisement in general should be subtle, it should add to the content, it should not take away from that content, and it definitely should not be featured more prominently than the content itself!

[Update: 10/14/08 - [The below is no longer recommended. It appears that NBC has tightened up their ad enforcement and I don't think you can double-click the video anymore to get it to start. (This article must have caught their attention I guess).]

For those viewers who want to watch Gemini Division the way it was meant to be watched by Electric Farm Entertainment, you may want to add the following line at the end of your “hosts” file located at c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc\hosts.

127.0.0.1 ad.doubleclick.net

Then you can view Gemini Division like this:



Without the protection of that little line, NBC’s site makes me feel as if Intel has been painfully seared/branded into my ethos, into my being.

When you are at NBC’s streaming site, this line does cause the following to appear. “We are having trouble connecting to our server. If you have any ad blocking software running please disable it.”

If you see that, just double-click the video you want (this starts up the video), and advance the progress bar just a little bit. Then you can watch NBC content without pre-roll or banner ads.

I am enjoying Gemini Division in spite of NBC’s disconnect. Unfortunately again it is in such a way that I fly under the radar, without being noticed by NBC. It appears that once again, NBC can’t gauge or account for the new consumer, or the new viewer. Hopefully this will change.