AUTHORS

Disruptomatic
Angela Natividad
Angela Natividad is a freelance copywriter, journalist and strategist based in Paris. She co-founded AdVerveBlog.com, a blog and podcast about ads and design, and writes MarketingProfs' “Get to the Point!: Social Media” newsletters. She likes people and animals, but not as much as books.
Tweet her @luckthelady.
James Martin
James Martin is the community manager of music & TV tradeshows midem & MIPTV/MIPCOM. He edits their respective industry news & trends blogs (blog.midem.com & mipblog.com) and also covers video games and technology for French cultural weekly A Nous Paris
Tweet him at @jamesmart_in
Stuart Dredge
Stuart Dredge is a freelance journalist based in the UK. He writes about digital music for Music Ally, and about apps and mobile for The Guardian, The Sunday Times and The Appside, as well as his own Apps Playground site.
Tweet him @stuartdredge
The BBC’s rug-cutting talent show Strictly Come Dancing has been turned into a free-to-play web game: Strictly Keep Dancing. The idea: players pick a virtual partner from the US or UK versions of the show (the game is live in both countries - the show is called Dancing With The Stars in the US) and compete against friends and other fans for ballroom glory. The interesting thing here: in the UK, the game isn’t launching alongside a series of the show. Instead, it’s plugging the gap between seasons. “Helping Strictly fans who may be suffering from withdrawal symptoms when the show is off-air here in the UK is our goal here at BBC Worldwide,” says the Beeb’s Richar Halliwell. “In addition to rolling out brand extensions such as cruises and an intimate live UK theatre show this summer, the Strictly Keep Dancing online game offers fans a really accessible and exciting way to interact with the brand during the dancing dry spell.” The business model – besides driving viewers to the shows – is in-app purchases, with players able to buy virtual ‘cash’ and ‘coin’ for real money. Transactions run from £1 to £64. Also interesting: the game is launching on its own site, rather than within Facebook.

The BBC’s rug-cutting talent show Strictly Come Dancing has been turned into a free-to-play web game: Strictly Keep Dancing.

The idea: players pick a virtual partner from the US or UK versions of the show (the game is live in both countries - the show is called Dancing With The Stars in the US) and compete against friends and other fans for ballroom glory.

The interesting thing here: in the UK, the game isn’t launching alongside a series of the show. Instead, it’s plugging the gap between seasons.

“Helping Strictly fans who may be suffering from withdrawal symptoms when the show is off-air here in the UK is our goal here at BBC Worldwide,” says the Beeb’s Richar Halliwell.

“In addition to rolling out brand extensions such as cruises and an intimate live UK theatre show this summer, the Strictly Keep Dancing online game offers fans a really accessible and exciting way to interact with the brand during the dancing dry spell.”

The business model – besides driving viewers to the shows – is in-app purchases, with players able to buy virtual ‘cash’ and ‘coin’ for real money. Transactions run from £1 to £64. Also interesting: the game is launching on its own site, rather than within Facebook.

British broadcaster the BBC is getting into the social games market, but with an experienced partner: 6waves Lolapps. The idea: to launch a series of social games based on its most famous TV shows, including Top Gear, and Jane Austen’s Rogues & Romance. (Yes, Jane Austen. In 2012, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a long-dead author in possession of a good source of costume-dramas must be in want of a Facebook game.) “With Facebook’s global platform and user reach, it’s a natural fit to extend BBC’s IP to social games that can enrich experiences and connections for our fans and their friends,” says the Beeb’s Robert Nashak.

British broadcaster the BBC is getting into the social games market, but with an experienced partner: 6waves Lolapps.

The idea: to launch a series of social games based on its most famous TV shows, including Top Gear, and Jane Austen’s Rogues & Romance.

(Yes, Jane Austen. In 2012, it is a truth universally acknowledged that a long-dead author in possession of a good source of costume-dramas must be in want of a Facebook game.)

“With Facebook’s global platform and user reach, it’s a natural fit to extend BBC’s IP to social games that can enrich experiences and connections for our fans and their friends,” says the Beeb’s Robert Nashak.