How can an ARG help Cancer Research UK?
Charities are finding it increasingly difficult to connect with young people. It’s not that we’re any less charitable than previous generations, it’s that the old ways of talking to us just don’t work any more. We believe that issues like cancer are best told through stories, and that the most powerful stories are told in the medium that their audience favours. Once upon a time, that was the novel. Then it became radio, then movies, then TV. Today, it’s the internet, text messaging, Facebook, Myspace, email and IM. That means that if charities want to connect to young people, they need to tell stories in all of those media, and that’s what ARGs excel at. What’s more, ARGs are participative – the people who play them form strong communities that shape and direct the story just as much as the game designers. An ARG that tells a powerful story can rally an entire community to help fight cancer in a way that’s never been seen before.
