This week, we distill insights around MTV Fantasy Election - a fantasy league game with which MTV aspires to educate and engage millennials around the 2012 US elections. 80+ thinkers and planners within MSLGROUP share and discuss inspiring projects on corporate citizenship, crowdsourcing and storytelling on the MSLGROUP Insights Network. Every week, we pick up one project and do a deep dive into conversations around it -- on the MSLGROUP Insights Network itself but also on the broader social web -- to distill insights and foresights. We share these insights and foresights with you on our People’s Insights blog and compile the best insights from the network and the blog in the iPad-friendly People’s Lab Quarterly Magazine, as a showcase of our capabilities. For more, see: http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com

1. crowdsourcing | storytelling | citizenship | social data
People’s Insights: Volume 1, Issue 41
MTV Fantasy
Election

2. What is MTV Fantasy Election?
To educate and engage 18-29 year olds around the 2012 U.S. elections,
MTV launched Fantasy Election – a game in which players create teams
of politicians and track their performance in five categories.
fantasyelection.mtv.com/

3. How it works
Players can change their teams on a weekly basis and earn bonus
points by answering daily trivia, checking in to televised debates on
GetGlue and events on Foursquare and by reading news articles.
fantasyelection.mtv.com/

4. A step away from MTV "Choose or Lose"
With few exciting jobs and growing debt, the 2008 election marked the
year U.S. youth chose but yet lost. As a result, MTV has moved away
from its 20 year election slogan and created MTV Fantasy Election.
nytimes.com/2011/12/19/business/media/mtv-drops-choose-or-lose-campaign-season-slogan.html

5. Lack of youth interest in 2012 elections
Even with the new campaign, MTV faces a steep challenge – 45 million
millennials (aged 18-29) are eligible to vote, but studies have found they
are less enthusiastic and less likely to vote as compared to 2008.
gallup.com/poll/155711/Young-Voters-Turnout-Intentions-Lagging.aspx

6. A better platform for political discussions
Despite youth’s tendency to over share, they tend to avoid political
discussions on social media. Bloggers feel the fantasy league format
may offer a better platform and also spark more political conversations.
articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/22/entertainment/la-et-st-mtv-game-to-engage-millennials-
politically-20120822

7. Gamification helps educate and engage
Bloggers commend MTV on using gaming techniques to make politics
more accessible and interesting, and for bringing back the ‘intellectual
core of political activism’ that was prevalent in the 60s and 70s.
gamification.co/2012/09/26/5-reasons-you-should-play-mtv-fantasy-election-12/

8. Is gaming an appropriate approach?
Several people however have criticized the gaming approach: they do
not believe that gaming techniques should be applied to a matter as
serious as voting, and consider it a frivolous waste of time.
edition.cnn.com/2012/04/24/tech/web/mtv-game-youth-vote/index.html

9. Ranking tool helps combat skepticism
People have also appreciated MTV's innovative ranking system which
helps voters keeps digest the overwhelming amount of information
available and focus on candidates’performance in areas that matter.
1) fantasyelection.mtv.com/candidates
2) techland.time.com/2012/08/14/mtv-ditches-choose-or-lose-for-new-fantasy-election-game/

10. Tracking candidates is hard work
While MTV provides plenty of incentives to keep voters engaged and
actively tracking candidates’ behavior throughout the elections season,
players have still found the effort strenuous and hard to sustain.
1) fantasyelection.mtv.com/
2) slickdeals.net

11. Can MTV convince youth to vote?
Bloggers question if gamification of politics is enough to motivate
millennials to vote. At the very least, MTV believes it can help create
more informed and active citizens in the long run.
1) fastcocreate.com/1681559/can-mtvs-fantasy-election-12-rock-the-biggest-youth-vote-in-history#1
2) edition.cnn.com/2012/04/24/tech/web/mtv-game-youth-vote/index.html

12. More People’s Insights Weekly reports
Every week, we dive into one topic for discussion on the MSLGROUP
Insight’s Network and discuss insights and foresights, in four key areas:
crowdsourcing, storytelling, citizenship and social data.
Crowdsourcing Storytelling Citizenship Social Data
Mahindra Spark the Rise @MarsCuriosity #Kony2012 MTV Fantasy Election
For more reports, visit: peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights/

13. Read People’s Lab insights and foresights
The People’s Lab team shares the insights and foresights from the
MSLGROUP Insights Network on the People’s Insights weekly blog and
the People’s Insights Quarterly magazine.
MSLGROUP Insights People’s Insights People’s Insights
Network weekly blog Quarterly magazine
50+ MSLGROUP planners We deep dive into Every quarter, we will compile
share and discuss inspiring conversations around one the best insights from the
projects on corporate project -- on the MSLGROUP network and the blog in the
citizenship, crowdsourcing and Insights Network itself but also iPad-friendly magazine, as a
storytelling. on the broader social web -- to showcase of our capabilities.
distill insights and foresights.
For more, visit http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com

14. People’s Insights Annual Report
In early January 2013 we will publish the ten-part People’s Insights
Annual Report, in which we synthesize our insights from 2012 and
provide foresights for business leaders and change-makers for 2013.
Now & Next: Future of Engagement Part 1: Crowdfunding
(coming soon as an iPad app)
Subscribe to the report at: http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com/peoplesinsights/annual-report/

15. People’s Lab: Crowdsourcing Insights &
Innovation
People’s Lab is MSLGROUP’s proprietary crowdsourcing platform and
approach that helps organizations tap into people’s insight for
innovation, storytelling and change.
For more, visit http://peopleslab.mslgroup.com

16. For People’s Lab
solutions, contact
pascal.beucler@mslgroup.com