I’m always conscious that as a marketer I never really write about marketing. Most of my posts revolve around video games so I was very happy when I spotted a tweet earlier today announcing the launch of a new competition to find a new face and voice for Team Need for Speed. This would allow me to combine marketing and video games into one lovely article.
Team Need For Speed have launched their Euro Spokesmodel 2012 search on 4th July, asking for females to upload a picture to the site and get people to vote for them by visiting their page.
When I first read and had a look at this, as a gamer I was horrified. I thought this would be a way of some wannabe ditzy model to try and launch themselves a career by wandering around half naked at press events to try and get horny gamers interested in their new game. I know some of you are thinking “But Joe, what’s wrong with that? We all like looking at scantily clad ladies, right?” I’m pretty sure most female gamers don’t want to be looking at bikini wearing ladies at events or on promotional material.
I then put my marketing head on, and hey, sex sells. Motorsport and semi-naked ladies go hand in hand really so this kind of competition would work well to complement the Need for Speed brand. As Team Need for Speed is a real life racing team whoever wins would be travelling to these events as well. The site looks smart, it has a competition element that will drive people to the site, generating traffic, and making Team NFS more visible to those who may not know of its existence. It’s also going to help the site perform even better in search engines, and people will be retweeting this like crazy.
I was having a pretty interesting discussion with some female gamers on Twitter about the page who seems less than happy about the competition; the general consensus seemed to be that it was going to be won by the best looking person, and not the person with the best personality or gaming prowess, which is understandable and was also one of my concerns. I did mention the fact that it could be considered good marketing with the amount of people it could drive to the site but a good point was raised that even more people could be directed to it if it didn’t seem to be based solely on looks.
To the left you can see our very own Katie (Kitty)!
On the back of the conversation I was pointed in the direction of the competition terms and conditions by a certain Action Man of the EA variety, which explained the selection process in more detail, the main points being highlighted in these extracts:
- To enter upload a photograph of yourself to ukspokesmodel.needforspeed.com along with 200 words explaining why you should be chosen to represent Need for Speed. Each entrant will also need to answer two (2) questions relating to cars and gaming.
- The top twenty (20) will be chosen on a number of factors; the number of cumulative shares of profiles e.g. the most number of Tweets on Twitter, Facebook and social network recommendations, your written submission and your answers to the two (2) questions. The written submission will be judged by a panel of EA judges on originality, creativity and legibility.
- The top twenty (20) will then be invited to a live track day held on Monday 8th August 2011 where you will be asked to compete against the other finalists on Need for Speed The Run game. The top ten (10) gamers will be the ones who complete a section of the game in the fastest time. These ten (10) entrants will then take the driving seat on the real track and be given a driving tuition session. The top five (5) from the tuition session as judged by the instructor to have shown the most improvement during the session will be determined as the 5 finalists.
- The top 5 based on skill of the above challenge will be invited to a Need for Speed The Run preview event taking place at a central London location where you will be judged on your progress throughout the competition.
- Two (2) winners will be chosen by the judging panel and crowned as the UK Spokesmodels for Need for Speed.
- The two (2) winners will then be automatically entered into the Need for Speed Euro Spokesmodel Search competition for the chance to be a representative for the brand and win a Talent Contract worth €10,000.
Now my fears as a gamer have pretty much been put to rest after reading that considering that the model entering doesn’t necessarily have to be the most attractive girl on the planet (although I’m sure it will help immensely) but creativity, gaming knowledge, and car knowledge is being looked at, even if it is just two questions. The fact that the finalists will actually have to drive in a racing car on a track day and will be chosen on how they conduct themselves there is pretty encouraging also, hopefully as the face of Team NFS the winner will be able to handle a car well. Don’t get me wrong I’m sure there will still be an element of more attractive girls getting through and as a bloke I’m sure I will be ok with that more than some of the female gamers out there (I’m sure they will let me know it after reading this), but if they have shown enough about themselves after actually playing NFS: The Run and being able to drive a high performance sports car at a track day I won’t see it as much of a problem.
I’m sure the amount of thought that went into a competition like this is a lot more than we would think. I also think the competition will be a success for EA, not everyone is going to like it and I’m pretty sure they know that they can’t please everybody.
I will be keeping a close eye on this competition and seeing how it progresses and will be looking to keep you up to date with it, who knows maybe a DBR reader will want to get involved and put themselves forward. If you do, let us know and we may even help spread the word.
