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A bi-weekly recap of the topics that have us talking at Denuo, related to our industry, our group, and our everyday.

Despite how poorly our teams may have performed, we at Denuo have always thought that fantasy sports stand out as one of the best examples of utilizing game mechanics to drive consumer behavior…also known as gamification.

When you boil it down to the most basic level, fantasy sports leverage mundane statistics from the real world games to create consistent engagement with all potential sport fans. The mechanics operate in such a way that participants remain invested in the coverage of the games throughout the entire season no matter their team allegiance. The numbers suggest it is working given over 32 million players in the US and Canada (of interesting note 20% are women).

As with all good case studies, there are lessons that can be observed and hopefully applied by those of us looking to execute an experience with gamification. The following themes bubbled up once I stopped licking my wounds of once again underperforming in my own fantasy leagues.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a scant three years since I wrote about how to fix college football by eliminating the championship game.

Go give that a read for a refresher and make these notes:

• Stop reading before you get to the predictions. Other than Clemson and Georgia Tech playing in the ACC title game. Stop after that one.
• How about a little pat on the back for the prescience in saying conferences should be 10-14 teams
• BC was coming off back-to-back ACC championship games and so it was only mildly insane to pair them with Alabama in a game. Sidenote: Please fire Frank Spaziani.
• Navy is joining a conference. Thanks fellas! However, BYU has left a conference. Sigh.

But here we are with another debate. The BCS is dead and a four team playoff will happen. But of course nothing is simple, so there is all kind of debate as to the best way to do this. With that, I present to you fresh in 2012, my NEW fix for college football in which I explain very simply how this should work.

Microsoft took another step in its quest for living room domination today, launching HBO GO, MLB.TV, and Xfinity TV apps for gaming’s most popular console, the Xbox 360. Pair these latest additions with the 360’s existing slate of Verizon FiOS, Netflix, ESPN, Hulu, and video marketplace content and there’s a decent chance that you’ll never need to switch your plasma’s input again.

This past weekend I attended the in Boston for the third straight year. Typically after coming back I recount everything I heard like an excited first grader coming home from summer camp. Mostly because I hear awesome nuggets of information and can’t wait to tell someone because then it’s like I came up with the ideas.

This year, though, I was struck by how many things that were discussed that were applicable to brands. This shouldn’t come as a surprise because the ultimate goal of marketing and sports business is the same; sell. The following are five things that marketers could learn from the sports business world.

Culture Comes First

There was an entire panel dedicated to franchises in transition. There was one resounding consensus: the most important thing for a team is its culture. That will be way more valuable than any draft pick. The 49ers hired Jim Harbaugh because he is a strong personality and would create a winning culture. Drew Bress came to New Orleans because it felt like family to him because that is the culture they fostered. It’s how teams identify themselves and connect with fans. It should be no different for your brand.