Inception, the mind-bending movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was shrouded in mystery even days before its release. But thanks to Moxie, fans were able to pick apart secret documents and even train their own brain to prevent mind crime throughout a story that built over the course of several weeks. More importantly, we introduced Verizon as a key element in the narrative organically and unobtrusively.

At the beginning of the summer, seemingly normal Verizon banner ads appeared. After a few seconds, something strange occurred as each banner was hijacked and participants were warned about the dangers of Mind Crime.

The banners (along with QR codes on traditional media) drove to www.WhatIsDreamShare.com.

There, fans were introduced to a blogger that

constantly dropped clues (some of which he received

on his Droid) about the movie’s back story.

Those cryptic posts and theories not only gave fans a taste of exclusive Inception content, but they also seamlessly led to the launch of Verizon Mind Crime Prevention at www.ProtectYourThoughts.com. On the site, fans can download an exclusive Inception Droid app, learn how to turn their mobile device into a totem and even get served up some nerve-wracking but fun dream simulations.

By subtly making Verizon a part of the rich environment the filmmakers had created, fans remained fully engaged throughout the course of the campaign. They didn’t care that it was marketing. They just cared that it was smart. To quote one excited member of NolanFans.com: “This is the coolest viral ever!”

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For the past two years, social media was more like a reality show. “It was about getting exposure. YouTube emerged as our ‘Big Brother.’ Facebook was our ‘Real World.’ LinkedIn was our ‘Apprentice,’” said Joel Lunenfeld, CEO of Moxie Interactive, a digital marketing agency based in Atlanta. “It didn’t necessarily require talent.”

 
 
Today, Lunenfeld said, marketers need to think more like video game developers. “Don’t create campaigns–create missions” he advised digital marketers during his presentation, “What Video Games Can Teach Us About Marketing in Real Time,” at the CM Summit in New York. “Reward users for completing their actions.”

 
 
CMO.com followed up with Lunenfeld about the parallels between video games and marketing, the importance of appealing to users’ narcissism, and what marketers should look for in a digital agency.

 
 
CMO.com: What do you mean by “video game theory”?
J.L.: The video game theory is less about video games and more about underlying rewards programs behind marketing and customer relationships. Because your customers and prospects are already seeing the same information and videos, and they’re talking to each other in the digital space, the line between CRM and marketing is extremely blurred. This type of video game reward system is one that current customers and future customers can partake in regularly.
 
 

CMO.com: In practicality, what does that have to do with marketing?
J.L.: Any product or category that already engages in contests, sweepstakes, and promotions can integrate this theory by designing different levels of rewards for different levels of engagements and/or purchases. These companies can either expand on their current rewards programs or incentives, or seek partnerships with social gaming companies that integrate with advertisers, such as Moxie or Zynga, producers of FarmVille and Mafia Wars.

 
 
CMO.com: Can you provide an actual example?
J.L.: The advent of location-based services, such as Foursquare, Twitter, and Gowalla, has created a new playing field for local retail. These consumer-facing services allow easy ways to reward or unlock promotions targeted in specific areas and promote store visits and loyalty. A great example of this type of execution is how Diesel partnered with Foursquare to help users unlock rewards at Diesel stores. Diesel alerted Foursquare users who checked in within a three-block radius of deals nearby. The offer told them to head to a Diesel store to get their prize. Not only was this program highly successful in bringing in customers to the stores, it also received a significant amount of buzz and press both online and off.

 
 
CMO.com: What else have you seen?
J.L.: Even the most conservative brands can get involved by integrating several touch points for their consumers to interact with their brand, such as putting mobile or QR codes in their print advertising to link to mobile content, or driving people from TV spots to follow them on Twitter or Facebook. They can also give away information coupons or products by getting consumers to pay with their tweets.

 
 
CMO.com: How should marketers think more like video-game developers?
J.L.: I encourage any CMO out there to play a casual game on Pogo.com, or more advanced game on a platform like Xbox, and they’ll quickly notice it’s all about levels, achievements, and points. We call these “micro rewards” because you are constantly achieving and unlocking rather than give one large reward at the end of a lengthy program.

 
 
CMO.com: You talked about appealing to users’ narcissism. What’s the takeaway for marketers?
J.L.: There has been a fundamental shift from brands talking about themselves to brands talking to their customers and letting the customers talk about themselves. A good marketing program invites participation, and a great marketing program gives everyone the chance to have a voice.

 
 
CMO.com: What is your biggest challenge in working with CMOs and other digital marketing leaders?
J.L.: The challenge for an agency like Moxie is to drive innovation while putting it in context of traditional concepts. For example, the number of likes you have on Facebook or the number of followers on Twitter and the positive and negative promotions to the brand can be compared to a Net Promoter Score. Another way to ground these familiar concepts is likening it to a reward program–a CRM program or couponing and discount programs. The only difference here is that social interaction is at the core of these programs.

 
 
CMO.com: How can a CMO determine whether an agency is at the leading edge of digital marketing?
J.L.: A good indicator of a stale agency would be to have it answer one question: Have you failed recently? If it hasn’t, it means it hasn’t been taking enough risks.

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