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Most marketing departments see the hip hop world as a strange, mysterious cloud of activity - periodically reaching in and pulling out an endorser without really understanding why hip hop artists, or the urban lifestyle in general, are so appealing to so many people. Influx opinion on the subject.

Designer Marc Ecko, founder of *ecko unltd and Complex magazine, knows that there's a lot more to urban life than hip hop: rich feelings and meanings that go along with the idea of meeting daily challenges creatively and on your own. Ecko recognized a huge gap and opportunity in the video game market when he saw how most urban video games out there are 'hip-hop-washed,' a soundtrack thrown over a fighting game, a few elements tweaked here and there - but they miss some of the core dimensions of what is appealing, exciting and compelling about the urban experience. This same kind of 'missing the mark' could describe many brand attempts at co-opting hip-hop and urban themes.

Ecko is now the Executive Creative Director on 'Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure,' a new urban/graffiti game that's getting lots of buzz. He said, "because a video game has a Hip-Hop soundtrack doesn't automatically make it a true representation of urban life. The urban reality is about making your voice heard and with Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure we're looking to authentically capture that daily challenge in a highly engaging manner."
Getting Up Preview: Quicktime Windows Media

At the DICE game development conference Tuesday, Ecko delivered the following five trends he feels are truly important for game developers and, by extension, for brands at large:
Popstalgia: making products that feel like history - 'classic-ness.'
Instant Gratification: people expect entertainment on demand. People will be willing to wait less and less allowing for new 'more instant' entrants to steal the show in many categories.
Apocalyptic Marketing: People want to be in control of their world as they are more afraid of what's going on outside it - war, terrorism, frightening realities.
Customization: Everyone wants to look different, sound different and be different - give them a chance to modify/personalize/customize
Democritization of Design: Everything has to be designed well at all price points - it's expected.
More about his presentation
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