A site focusing on the area of Interactive Video used these words to describe the first product from Cecropia’s new direction, Flash Comedy Skits. Cecropia – where I’ve been interim president since 2006 – first developed a coin-op product, The Act, which proved that the building blocks of sketch comedy – characters, personality, and story – could be used not only as the setting of a video game, but also as the actual game play. We learned how to create a powerful, emotional connection between game players and interactive characters – particularly among people who previously were not game players.
While experimenting with this genre, Cecropia made an unexpected discovery – personality games may be ideally suited for branded interactive entertainment.
So we have transitioned the company to become a developer of a new kind of interactive advertisement, a Flash Comedy Skit, intended to be a key component of the Facebook strategy of large consumer products companies. To help companies reach today’s Facebook consumers, Cecropia has developed a new kind of interactive advertisement meant to be shared virally. Unlike videos, which are already shared virally, Flash Comedy Skits are interactive. And unlike traditional ‘advergames,’ playing with a skit causes the consumer to interact meaningfully with the company’s brand. Our first Flash Comedy Skit is on our web site with two more to follow early in the year. Play each one until you achieve the goal.
