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SEGA discusses their approach with the Sonic Twitter account, listening to fan feedback

by rawmeatcowboy
24 June 2016
GN Version 5.0

A portion of a Verge interview with SEGA's Aaron Webber...

V: Does the fact that the account is positioned as being from a character as opposed to a company give you more freedom to try weird or different things?

AW: I think so. It kind of fits naturally with Sonic. Sonic really embodies that idea of a character that surprises you and delights you in ways that you’re like, "Oh that’s kind of refreshing. I didn’t expect that kind of response." It really does fit perfectly for Sonic to be the character that does that kind of stuff. It’s interesting actually because I’ve noticed even Nintendo’s started posting memes over the last six months or so. I don’t know at all whether that’s because of any of the success that Sonic has seen, but it’s fun to see the industry changing a little bit, and becoming a little more lighthearted and getting away from "Buy this product, promote, promote, promote" marketing, and a little more into the fun, entertaining stuff that celebrates their fans and celebrates internet culture at the same time.

V: Why do you think that’s a good thing for companies to do?

AW: It makes them more human. This is a key conceit of the industry, that fans feel unheard. And if anyone knows that, we here at Sega know that. We’ve been through some tough times, we’ve been through good times, we’ve seen it all. We really have. And speaking as someone who was a fan, who is now at Sega, I’ve seen it from both sides. It’s really important to let people know 1) that you’re listening, and then 2) with social media it’s important to respond. A lot of companies forget that social media is a two-way street. It’s not a place for you to go out there and just post an advertisement or a trailer. It’s a spot where you listen, and you take that feedback and you stuff with it, whether it’s changing your game or responding to consumers. All of that it extremely valuable, and it’s an area that’s slowly getting better on social media, but there are still a lot of companies in the industry that haven’t fully adapted and evolved.

V: Are you able to actually do that? Take feedback and bring it back to the team?

AW: I’m really honored that we’re able to do that and that people listen. There are probably a lot of companies out there where the social media manager maybe doesn’t have a lot of clout. Maybe they go to people internally and say "Fans feel this, they’re really concerned about this," and it would never go anywhere. But it’s really nice that Sega people are listening. Especially with Sonic. It’s not only important for us to listen just in general, but with Sonic it’s crucial, because of the past that Sonic has had, and the ups and downs. So it’s really important for us to listen to that, and take what happens and what is said on social media seriously.

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