This is a Media & Entertainment innovation from The 70 Best Trend-Driven Innovations of 2019.
Video game studio Blizzard released a tool to help World of Warcraft players reconnect with one another; the release came before today’s highly anticipated relaunch of WoW Classic. Classic Connections 2004-2006 helps players find fellow members of their old ‘guilds’ – self-assembled teams of players. WoW Classic is a near-identical version of the original World of Warcraft, which launched in 2004.
Whether you’ve been counting down the hours to WoW Classic or not, this example taps into some core needs that every brand should have on their radar.
Again, with feeling. Frankly, WoW Classic is going to be slow. The game is littered with features that are so archaic the team had to clarify they are, in fact, features and not bugs. But none of this has dampened the excitement surrounding the re-release. Players are willing to pass on consumer needs we assume reign supreme today – convenience, instant gratification, speed – in exchange for something deeper: an emotional connection with a much-loved game. The underlying lesson here? Humans can’t live by convenience and efficiency alone; we are feeling creatures. So amid the race to ever-greater convenience ask yourself: how can you deepen your emotional bond with customers? Could you tap into nostalgia by resurrecting a much-loved, shared history? Or does your emotional connection lie elsewhere?
It takes a village. Another factor contributing to the hubbub around WoW Classic? The chance – via the Classic Connections tool – to connect to former teammates. Humans are social animals, and the need for connection is at the heart of much that we do. How can your brand facilitate new, exciting, compelling connections? Will you take a leaf out of Blizzard’s book, and re-connect communities that have fallen out of touch? Will you introduce customers to others they would never have expected to encounter? Facilitate the sharing of expertise and skills? The possibilities are endless!
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