1. In the video documentary, Caine’s Arcade, Nirvan Mullick tells the story of how Caine constructed a game arcade from cardboard boxes. Mullick used various forms of media to promote the arcade, which resulted in a “flash mob.” Study the graphic below. What media was used to promote the arcade and in what way? Provide direct quotes from your reading materials and from outside resources. Provide in-text APA-style research citations.

The story begins with Caine, a cute 9-year-old boy, who uses his brilliant imagination to create a cardboard arcade in his dad’s auto parts store. The ubercool and very talented Nirvan Mullick recognized the ingeniousness of Cane’s creation and started the movement by buying a “Fun Pass.” He created and posted a Facebook page promoting a surprise flash mob event at Caine’s Arcade. He said “a friend posted it on Hidden LA which has over 230,000 fans and all of a sudden it just started going viral” (Mullick 2013). NBC News picked up the story. And “then it hit the front page of Reddit, which is like being on the front page of the Internet” (Mullick 2013). He documented the event with an inspired short film that has great video and music that he posted on YouTube. It is a very compelling media mix that is virtually free. “In the case of unpaid advertising (or media), there is no payment in return for sending messages. Word of mouth (WOM), or stories carried in the official news media about products or services are examples of unpaid advertising” (Levens 2010)

2. In the video, Caine’s Arcade 2: From a Movie to a Movement, we see that the documentary resulted in widespread attention leading to several initiatives. Answer the following in your own words: In what way did the documentary extend the brand of Caine’s Arcade, and what was the result? Using the chart above, what would you do as a media designer to further extend the brand, and what would be the anticipated result? Provide direct quotes from your reading materials and from outside resources. Provide in-text APA-style research citations.

The documentary talks about how the success of Caine’s Arcade changed Caine’s life. His dad said that he has come out of his shell, can speak freely with people now, he has lost his stutter, and he is doing much better in school. The continued attention from the initial film was picked up by ABC World News. Articles were written in Tech Now, Forbes, The New Yorker and Time For Kids online publications. There have been over 2 million Twitter feeds. Kids around the world were inspired to use their imaginations and post videos of their cardboard creations on You Tube and Facebook. Mullick says, “One of the things that I have learned is that a small gesture can change the life of a child. And to think that there are so many other kids out there just like Caine who just need somebody to come in and buy a fun pass. So we started the Imagination Foundation…to find, foster and fund creativity in kids like Caine” (Mullick 2013). The foundation started a pilot program for schools to use project based learning to teach math, science and engineering, encouraging kids around the world to use their imaginations. They created the Global Cardboard Challenge to support the Imagination Foundation.

The Caine’s Arcade brand is about stimulating and supporting kids’ imaginations. Expanding it into the area of recycling could extend the brand. Cardboard was reused to make the arcade. As a media designer, I could create an event that promotes the reuse of cardboard and other recycled materials to create fun stuff. I would film a documentary about the event and promote it in social media. It could be an annual event with scholarship awards for the most creative use of recycled material. The end result would be expanding awareness and encouraging creativity in reusing and recycling.

“Historically, the purpose of business has been to create shareholder value. The new imperative integrates economic prosperity with protecting the environment, and demonstrating care for communities and employees. For many, sustainability will require radical innovation: retooling what they make, how they make it, and how it is distributed. A new generation of companies envisions sustainability as the core purpose of their brand promise. Authenticity is critical. Social networks quickly broadcast brands that don’t stand true to their promise” (Wheeler 2012)

References:

Levens, M. (2010). Marketing, 1/e Vitalsource eBook for Full Sail University. Pearson Learning Solutions. VitalBook file.

Mullick, N. (2013) Caine’s Arcade. Retrieved 6/4/2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faIFNkdq96U

Wheeler, A. (2012). Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team, 4th Edition. John Wiley & Sons P&T, 10/22/12. VitalBook file.