What is 51? We found the answers(Updated)

by Travis Gardner

Update: We Managed to pull a few more answers out of the elusive Whatis51 Gang, and added them here.

Since the What is 51 campaign started Corey and Myself have been fascinated with it.  We asked questions and only got vauge answers which somehow made us like Fiftyone even more.  Fiftyone Marketing strived to make thier campagin fun for everyone and let me tell you it felt like a rollorcoaster.  Well today we sent them an email with 10 epic questions.  Do you want to know what 51 is?  Well the answers can be found below.

1. (AP) When and where did Fiftyone Marketing start?

(51) FiftyOne Marketing started a little over 9 months ago in a secret meeting amongst gaming industry people that I was a part of.  I guess you can say that’s where the inspiration for it began and the ball started to bounce towards establishing it.

That meeting took place in California but FiftyOne Marketing is based here in Dallas, Tx.

2.  (AP) Who’s idea was it to start Fiftyone Marketing and what kind of people
make up the team?

(51) It was an idea I had as I mentioned and to date I’ve gathered a range of awesome people to contribute to team FiftyOne.  We’re each very passionate about gaming and giving something more to the community of gamers.

The kind of people I sought after to help me with FiftyOne had to each pass one simple test.  That test was an ego test and I’m happy that each of them passed it.  To make something such as this work it was important that the people I introduced to the project have zero ego and were able to work easily with others towards one unified goal.

3. (AP) What was the idea behind the viral marketing including the original site and countdown?

(51) The idea was two-fold really.  First, it was aimed to separate FiftyOne from the typical marketing company you’ve experienced. I knew we had to do something different.  So what I thought was an awesome idea was a viral
aimed at introducing the company.  You don’t see marketing companies participating in the fun and I wanted those who played along to understand that we’re different in our approach.  We’re all gamers and we know how
fun it is solving a viral.  We all had a lot of fun sitting back as things played out.

The countdown was specifically set for this year’s Penny Arcade Expo because that’s where we planned our coming out party so to speak.  It was our first visibility test and it went great.  We managed to get a lot of interest about what we’re doing.

Secondly, which is something most people don’t know, is that it was not only aimed at gamers.  It was also aimed at publishers and developers.  The initial stage was to give gamers something fun to do and the final stage (which hasn’t completed) was aimed at publishers and developers.  I mean who aims a viral campaign at publishers and developers?  It’s unheard of in this industry because it’s usually the publishers aiming the viral at gamers. But that is the unique thing about FiftyOne.  We don’t do use conventional tactics when it comes to creating buzz or any type of
marketing campaign.

4.  (AP) We know the team is comprised of gamers and we know you market games are there any you are marketing now?

(51) There are a few games that we have in the pipeline but I can’t speak to the specifics of them just yet.  Keep your eyes peeled though.  When you see that 51 Seal, you’ll know it’s something we’re working on.  If it doesn’t have the seal, then it’s not real and likely from robots.

5.  (AP) How did “the list” start and what is the goal behind it?

(51)When the viral started, I knew that I wanted to reward those who took the time to play along.  What’s the harm in having a little fun on the internet?  None at all so those who did have a little fun and were good sports about it would be on “the list”.

The goal is simple.  You show us love and we show you love.  It’s a great relationship to have because the projects we work on will be aimed primarily at the very same people we’re establishing an early relationship with.  So “the list” is just a reminder of the people who were with us before things got either a) really successful or b) really not successful.
We’re hoping for a) though.

And it’s nothing that you have to do specifically to be on the list.  Saying hello on Twitter, shooting an email, saying hello when you see us can all get you on the list.  I don’t want people to think that if they’re not on the list it’s some awful thing.  It’s not. It’s just a little fun we’re having with people who have been there since the beginning, middle
and ongoing.  Bottom line, everyone will likely be on the list because that’s how we roll.

Building trust amongst each other is the only way a successful partnership can thrive and I think we’ve done that with everyone who continues to support FiftyOne.

6. (AP) You made a twitter feed as your primary outlet why did you choose it over other outlets?

(51)I don’t think there’s any other outlet that lets you communicate a message as quickly as Twitter does.  I started randomly following people, posting Tweets and before I knew it, the hunt was on and the occupants in Viral City started to rise.

We’ll communicate with other outlets of course but Twitter just seemed like the best one to use for some quick communication.  It seems that was the right choice.

7.  (AP) Most marketing companys don’t normally communicate with the consumer  (aka gamers in this case) what sets you apart from those other marketing companys?

(51) You said it yourself.  Most don’t normally do what we do.  In fact, you can probably count on one hand the number of marketing companies that you’ve even spoken to directly.  That’s ridiculous really and something that we’re aiming to change because gamers aren’t robots and numbers.  We’re not robots so you’ll never get a robotic response from FiftyOne.

I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing both sides of marketing so I know how much it sucks not having communication and being treated like you’re beneath a company.  That’s not what we’re about.  Marketing isn’t a one-way street and somehow that got lost in translation over the years.

And it’s not only our communication that separates us but it’s also our ideas and trust within the network of friends we now have.  We do 51 things better than everyone else!  (more on that later)

8.  (AP) You mentioned on your twitter feed that your main offices are in Dallas, TX but mentioned that other team members are in italy.  Are there any other countrys where team members reside?

(51) There are FiftyOne team members in the United Kingdom as well.

9.  (AP) Does Fiftyone Marketing have any other websites you operate?

(51)We have a string of gaming websites that each team member owns and operates outside of FiftyOne  Marketing.

10.  (AP) What is the end goal of Fiftyone Marketing?

(51)We want to bridge the gap between marketing and gamers.  How best to develop something by starting inside the heart of the people who make marketing work?  We’re gamers here and our goal is create the type of marketing that reflects what gaming and gamers are all about.

If it’s a campaign that you can say “hey, that’s exactly what I do, or need or want to hear”, then that’s music to our ears.  Because let’s be honest, the games we play and purchase are being fed to us by people who know nothing or very little about them (or you) at all.

It’s time to have a marketing team that gamers can stand behind to feed them good milk and cookies…not the kind that expired a month or so ago.

Part 2.

1. what were some of the ideas that people had in phase 1?

Most of the ideas during Phase 1 revolved around establishing FiftyOne as something that wasn’t robotic and establishing the fact that we were people who first and foremost communicated.  There were a couple of funny ideas that eventually got tossed. For instance, I had a crazy idea to use a camera following someone’s bar3 bottom around (not my bare bottom).  This bare bottom of course would have had a 51 on it but I decided against even approaching the team with that.

2. who is a part of the team? you mentioned on Twitter for a contest that it was 5 parts man, 1 part woman?

Initially the team was made up of 5 guys and 1 young lady.  We’ve grown acouple in each sex since then.  So now there are actually 7 guys and 2 ladies.

3. How do you plan to aim at the gaming industry? or what does 51 marketing? I mean so far we have seen a 51 themed xbox, t-shirt, and pins, is it going to be like a Fatal1ty brand name? or?

Well we aren’t exclusive to anything although we have a very strong focus to market primarily in the gaming sector because that’s what we are.  We’re gamers who know how to market to other gamers.  That particular audience has yet to be truly reached and we believe FiftyOne Marketing is the only way to reach it in a way that won’t cause rebellion.  Judging from the response internally with some of today’s publishers, they too believe in what FiftyOne is doing.

4. 51 problems but games ain’t one?

Those familiar with the rap artist Jay-Z will understand that one.   Although he originally had 99 problems, I figured 51 played a bit more to the moment.  We’re big music fans here at FiftyOne too so when I created the Twitter account, it just seemed like the perfect line.  It’s perfect because I may have many problems but doing this, marketing games and being who FiftyOne is, isn’t one of them.

Thank you Fiftyone Marketing for taking the time to answer our questions.

Written by Travis Gardner aka. (AlkalineProdigy)

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