Denuology: The Observation and Observations of Denuo. » mdebrunner

Matt Story talks mobile gaming at Digital Hollywood

mdebrunner — Thu, 13 May 2010 14:57:15 +0000

Last week, Denuologist Matt Story participated as a speaker at the 2010 Digital Hollywood Spring event in Santa Monica, CA. A collection of leaders from the media, creative, technology and entertainment industries gathered for this three-day event exploring topics ranging from smartphones to online video to music to Hollywood to videogames.

Matt’s panel focused on the strategies, market and rewards for games, music and content. It also specifically spoke to the rise of SmartPhones, iPads and digital tablets. Joining him on the panel was Stephen Jackson, President and CEO of Smashing Ideas; Jason Henderson, Games Product Manager at Verizon; Michael Schade, CEO and Co-Founder of Fishlabs; Daniele Calabrese, Founder and CEO of sountrckr; and Jennifer Cooper, Founder and Principal of Rocket Spark Media, who also participated as the panel moderator.

Naturally the panel kicked off with a conversation about Apple and its majority share of gaming and music applications across smartphones and whether its dominant position was good for consumers and the industry-at-large. The group agreed that greater competition was good for all, but dominant standards set forth by the Apple App Store provided the industry with a common, controlled platform for developers and publishers could program on, which, in turn, leads to more competition in app development. The cost savings on app development could also be passed onto consumers.

The conversation also turned to best-in-class strategies for breaking through the growing app clutter on smartphones and tablet devices. With so many new apps being created by the minute, it’s often hard for developers to make their app stand out. So what did the panel think was the secret to app differentiation? They agreed that having a good app always helps the cream of the crop rise to the top. Further, they thought another key to success was to consider programming on the less popular platforms to increases the chances of breaking through the clutter and driving attention to the application. Finally, they agree that it required some luck, and being in the right place at the right time.

The group also agreed that developing content and apps that leverage the growing mobile and tablet platforms was key. As consumers continue to be more mobile, these devices will only increase in penetration and the usefulness of the apps is dependent on the ability to leverage the device strengths vs. porting content/apps from other environments.

Click here for more information on Digital Hollywood Spring, the topics the event covered and who participated.

Saneel’s send-off in 140 characters

mdebrunner — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 20:14:42 +0000

This week officially marks Saneel’s last week at Denuo. Conveniently, volcanic ash seemed to keep him far away from us (i.e. Vienna) until hours before our rousing farewell party at Vertigo at the Dana Hotel in Chicago. Coincidence? We think not. But we do know that he will miss us…and the feeling is mutual.

Saneel has long been a driving force inside of Denuo. He helped put Play on the map; gave Denuo a voice in the social space via Denuology; and turned Denuo’s team of hybrid talent mongrels into Alchemists. He even tried to make Transformers and Snuggies cool.

So, before he takes off for the Big Apple and settles into his new role at BBH Labs as Director of Media Innovation, we wanted to share our gratitude and support via Saneel’s favorite method of communication: witty tweets.

So below are some short, heartfelt farewells to our creative leader! We wish you well in the land of even more pretentious creative hang-outs, foodie-worthy restaurants and places to buy matching shoes and watches!

Love, Us

This officially marks Saneel’s last week at Denuo. Conveniently, volcanic ash seemed to keep him far away from us (i.e. Vienna) until hours before our rousing farewell party at Vertigo at the Dana Hotel in Chicago. Coincidence? We think not. But we do know that he will miss us…and the feeling is mutual.

Below are some short, heartfelt farewells to our creative leader. We wish you well in the land of even more pretentious creative hang-outs, foodie-worthy restaurants and places to buy matching shoes and watches.

XOXO,
Us

Courtney: A sad yet happy goodbye to @saneel as I will at least have a friend for Blue Ribbon anytime I’m in town but I really can’t decide who I will miss most, u or ur wife.

Anisha: Dammit. I’m the only Indian left:(

Eric: Your new coworkers should know that you’re terrible at Halo. Luuuuuuuuuuv you.

Caroline: I Caroline-Sigh at your departure, but take slight satisfaction in knowing you weren’t hot enough for a tiled-carpet catalog. Bai.

Sarah: Made u an infographic about how @saneel > chuck bass + kanye, but it kind of looks like a v… Best wishes.

Katie: I will miss fighting over the diet cokes with you, but at least I can keep the can tabs to myself (and Ronald McDonald House) again… Bye

Durbin: Very happy for you in the move. You will be missed. Don’t name any new practices Cartography. I will be checking regularly.

Benny: Mrs. Jolie: Thanks for Art o Shaving, a mentor, a rescue, Alchemy, Indian Chex Mix, Larry/Choco Pie, and a friend. LOOOOOOOVE U. <3, Maddox.

Chris: Can’t think of anyone I’d rather have sitting next to me in a meeting at 3pm or a craps table at 3am – you will be missed sir.

Stephanie: With you leaving, am I now the fastest talker at Denuo? Also, who will continue to tell me when I look good?

Matt: Like invisible ink when @saneel is gone, are we really going to notice?

Dan: A haiku: What a great few years/ You helped build this, now you’re off/ You son of a bitch

Raff: Now that all my Transformers toys are broken and my Tim Duncan bobbleheads are smashed, @saneel there’s nothing left 2 do but wish you the b

Ellen: Good luck in New York @saneel… I hope the window spiders don’t follow you

Christian: Good luck and best wishes. Now take ur old skool phone and ur old skool spears and get out.

Mary: Goodbye friend, will miss the SKVLs @ Bux, paranoia re: restless leg syndrome, snarky emails and Snuggie photo shoots. Good luck!

Vogel: WBNA Facebook Groupwise Harris =things @saneel has hated throughout 10 yrs | @saneel =things I hate today #trifecta #ihave10yroldpics

Tim: Alas, mybrilliantgmblngmdrately-well-likedfelofoodlversntmntlrobottrvl-debacle-prtnrdgtlDBwrk-bstiebrotherwhoMADEitabigdeal– I’ll miss you.

Rishad: The Question: Is NYC big enough for Saneel? The Answer: Probably not given the size of the hole he is leaving at Denuo.

SaneelsPhone: WHY AM I STILL IN uR OFFICE?!?! DONt LEAVE ME WITH THAT HARRIS GUY.

Denuo getting new digs?

mdebrunner — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:54:28 +0000

There are a lot of changes happening around Denuo these days. This is the latest:

No related posts.

DenuoFlash: Matt Story Talks Sports Gaming in Vegas

mdebrunner — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 21:33:33 +0000

Resident gaming guru and LA foursquare mayor Matt Story was in Las Vegas this week to moderate a discussion on gaming at the 2010 Interactive Sports Conference. He was joined by panelists from video game and virtual world publisher Six Degrees Games, game developer Quick Hit and social game developer Watercooler.

The conference, which gathered top executives from the fastest-growing interactive sports industries, covered a range of topics — from social media to mobile to venture capital opportunities inside of fantasy sports.

The panel took an in-depth look at the gaming space, dissecting issues such as multi-screen interaction, social gaming and licensing. Discussion centered around how sports gaming has evolved and is creating new ways to engage fans through social media, mobile platforms and downloadable content.

On the topic of multiscreen game playing, the panelists agreed that it shouldn’t be the main focus of the gaming industry just yet. It’s more important to focus on one screen and make sure it really works before expanding it to others. Once console gaming is down pat, then we can move on to what that means across screens.

Licensing was another hot topic. Attaining the rights to be affiliated with a major sports corporation or league can add weight to any game and lead to greater recognition on-shelf. It’s also easier to pull in business from large brand names when a significant label or logo is attached to the product.

Finally, the panel touched on the advantages and disadvantages of niche sporting games. The group agreed that despite having to overcome the stigma of a small audience, they tend to have a more concentrated core audience that is passionate about the content they’re consuming.

All in all it was great conversation about where gaming is headed and how sports games specifically can take off in the marketplace. The most surprising thing about the event, however, is the fact that Matt did not somehow find a way to weave Kobe Bryant or the Lakers into the conversation.

Taco Bell Truck Gets SXSW Crowd Buzzing @ the Hive Awards

mdebrunner — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 18:50:29 +0000

Over the weekend, Denuo took home the award for Best Use of Crowdsourcing at the 2010 Hive Awards, which took place at the SXSW Interactive Festival in Austin, TX. For this first-time ever, SXSW and the Hive Awards teamed up to acknowledge the unsung heroes of the internet. Competing among 20 distinct categories, Denuo’s Twitter campaign promoting the big purple Taco Bell Truck was a jury favorite.

For those of you unfamiliar with the campaign, Denuo helped Taco Bell promote its Why Pay More value menu by giving people an opportunity to try some of the menu items, free of charge…and did so via a big purple, branded truck with a mobile kitchen. Last summer, we headed across the country in this truck, tweeting about our progress from a dedicated Twitter account, @tacobelltruck. At first, the stops were planned, but as we gained followers and fans we decided to let them tell us where to stop next.

Through customer suggestions, we ended up making more than 20 stops, including catering weddings at a chapel in Las Vegas, throwing a comics party in Manhattan for the editor of Marvel.com, and parking on fraternity row for Greek Week at MIT. We even catered the all-day telethon to help cancer patient Drew raise money for LIVESTRONG.

The Truck gathered thousands of mentions, hundreds of stop requests, four marriage proposals, features on Extra, Access Hollywood and both the LA Times and New York Times. We made #5 on Maxim’s list of 100 Twitter accounts every guy should know about. But most importantly, we connected with our biggest fans around something that truly matters: tacos.

Tweets. Love. And Tacos. Clearly, that’s all you need to get people buzzing. Congrats to the team. This might just be the most exciting thing that’s happened to Dan, outside of getting retweeted by Jamaican dancehall musician Sean Paul.