I've been reading a lot about in-game advertising lately, and I thought we could use this thread to post our thoughts.  At this time, the impression I get is that MXO is understaffed because it's underfunded.  More sponsorship would mean more revenue, which in turn leads to more people and more stuff.  The Matrix is the perfect environment to do this because it's a simulation of a reality very similar to our own.

My thoughts:

1) Intel, Alienware, MS Development: good.  Chattering Jeep billboards: bad.

2) Biggest squandered opportunity:  fashion.  No other game places as much emphasis on your look and your style.  Show this to major fashion labels, and just like Rocawear, they'll be on board.  The big plus here is the subtlety:  what fashion junkie wouldn't want to show off a genuine look?  SOE could pitch this to everyone from Armani to Hot Topic and someone's going to want to bite.  You keep in continuity because the style of the Matrix films is not only high-fashion, but it set some fashion trends of its own.

 3) Last thing anyone wants to see:  NASCAR-ism.  Keep ad space as-is, don't grow any new billboards, just fill the ones you've got and do so in a way that fits the audience: we prefer gaming and computers more than we do Geico and Chrysler.

Jewelry!  Earrings, necklaces, armbands.  We need some sparkles

I'm completely serious when I say this...

how much would it cost to advertise Shickle across The Matrix?

I would really pay for it.

Don't hijack the thread, Schickle. Make another one if you want to spam self-advertisements.

Advertisements for jewellery might be tricky. I'm not sure if things are different in the US, but I don't think I've ever seen a poster up advertising jewellery anywhere in Canada or Europe.

I think what you all are saying really expands the potential here.  We know that Syntax, Vector and Recursion are our "servers", but the truth of the matter is that there are many physical and/or virtual boxes behind managing each of these environments.

I would wager a guess that, in order to keep performance consistent across the planet, SOE maintains specific servers to handle requests from specific regions.  I don't know if that's true, and I'm going out on a limb to say it, but...

...if SOE does have a way of determining who's coming from where, suddenly the potential grows:  here in the U.S. we see ads for jewelry all the time, billboards, television, etc.  If that's not common in Canada, feed Canadian players another sponsor's product, meaning now each location for an advertisement can lead to more than one deal.  Same for Europe:  it makes no sense for a company in one country to pitch to others, so just switch up and find interested target companies for each of the regions.  It's either managed by a parameter that's passed to the game server ("this player comes from this place" or it's all pushed down to the user on a regular basis with the updates (you get one set of billboards, I get another).

 Schikle's hinted at something, though:  a contest among players.  Win and you get your character's face/sig plastered all over an area for a day--how cool would that be?

I'd thought people might flame this thread, ranting about sellouts and garbage cluttering the screen.  I'm glad to see that instead people recognize that if it's done right, it's a win-win situation for everyone.  I have to give respect to SOE for being careful to keep in the right marketing zone (Alienware, MS Development, etc.).  As long as it's part of the experience, I think it'll work.  And then maybe the dedicated team of people supporting MxO can get some more of what they need, be it people or pay or simply a bigger overall budget.

I don't think any of the high-end fashion labels (Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Prada, Versace) would sign on. I am just working from my own  position, but for the prices these companies charge, the people the in-game ads would reach don't generally spend $170,000 on a diamond necklace or $1,150 on a velvet waistcoat; especially when somewhere like Primark will be selling a knock-off for a fraction of that amount (private rant... probably with slander implications, though a precedent was set when they had to take a dress off sale because it was identical to someone else's).

A sensible solution would be to allow player created content to be added. But I think I read somewhere this wasn't possible for various legal or technical reasons.

Maybe you should focus on adding more items and more stuff to wear like for Machines Police Badges and Name Tags that says "Special Agent" and/or "GOV" the rest all Blurred.. For Zion all kinds of jewelry and newer Face masks and for the Merovingian different types of Cat Eye Contact lenses and Vampire teeth! Everyone should be able to wear these Items. Also make Clothing that you can wear like GOV, SWAT,  Exiles, Gangs and so on! Give members the free Trail to your friends again.  Tell everyone to tell their Friends!!! go to Anime - Sci/Fi Conventions and Advertise the New Stuff... Maybe Bring back the Exile Agent Known as Smith or do something like that totally unexpected!!! Bring back "DECOY" but make it more like a "Proxy Simulation" that can Fight instead of disappearing!!! And also have "DISGUISED" last untill you take it off^^ hehe

 Thanks for listening,

Aq3nt

I've got to admit, at the very least a few official T-shirts would sell. 

Okay, so maybe I was dreaming a bit too high when I name-dropped some of the biggies...but still, I'm convinced there are some companies who might be willing to throw some extra cash at MxO in exchange for the coolness of their clothes being featured, or their already-made ads dropped into the "This Space for Rent" signs.  I've seen magazines like Spin, Rolling Stone, FHM and even Wired throw a few fashion pages in, in an attempt to be more haute couture, and the brands they pick aren't out of the price range of those of us earning far shy of six figures.

I think MxO isn't alone in having a lack of outside promotion Codiak:  it's been a looong time since I've seen an EverQuest commercial on TV.  SWG's drawn attention because its content has been bundled into that collection, but are we seeing anything promoting it?  Need I even mention Planetside?

There are a lot of good games out there that rely on word-of-mouth (but not spamming).  The truth is, promotion costs money.  If MxO gets money, there's more to add, and perhaps more to promote with.  And then everybody wins because the players get what they want, and new players find out what all the excitement is about.

Mostly, I find myself trying to think of ideas that would keep MxO from going away.  Or wondering what might help the people supporting this game have an easier time managing it.  When I think about how much goes into making an MMO versus a boxed product, it kind of boggles the mind...

Maybe it's time to remake Matrix Online... The Seventh version of the Matrix!

 What you can do is First redesign the game and upgrade it's Graphics.. Look at other online games and compare them.. Specially City of Heroes/Villains See what you are missing and what you should do to beat them at their own game.. lol^^ Once done, you'll make a Web Series... using Cartoon Animation for Real World and 3D Game Animation for the Matrix World... Then put them out on DVD at FYE, Hot Topic and so on... Companies will Noticed and people will want join the Online game and say I was there.. make the Web Show apart of the Matrix Online... Companies will want to Advertise and Players, Friends, Family will want to be in the Matrix!!! You can do something special too, like get a chance to have your name, crew or faction mention on the show or have a picture of your Character/design on Billboards/posters as the background of the show.