Frenzoo Blog

Teen Vogue teams up with Me Girl for new mobile game: Teen Vogue Me Girl

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:08:00 -0500

Teen Vogue Launches Branded Mobile Game: Teen Vogue Me Girl

New York, NY—February 5, 2012

Teen Vogue—the number one source of fashion and beauty news for style-conscious teens and 20-somethings everywhere— announces today the launch of an exclusive TEEN VOGUE edition of the mobile game Me Girl, available for free on The Apple App Store, the Amazon App Store (coming soon) and Google Play.

Teen Vogue Me Girl is the first 3D fashion role-play game from Teen Vogue, a unique collaboration with mobile game company Frenzoo, creators of the hit Me Girl™ series. Inspired by the successful mobile game Style Me Girl™, the new Teen Vogue edition simulates the experiences of real-life fashion interns. Players work their way through virtual assignments styling models, editors, and celebrities for magazine layouts, cover shoots, red-carpet events, and more. The game features a virtual replica of the Teen Vogue fashion closet, complete with custom-created 3D items curated by the brand’s editors and based on current fashion and beauty trends. As each new styling challenge is achieved, players are rewarded with new trending fashions, achieve status, titles and in-game currency. At launch, there will be 10 assignment levels, with new assignments arriving frequently.

Teen Vogue represents a multi-platform millennial generation, and gaming is a medium we have had our eye on for a few years now. The growing trend of young female gamers is exploding, especially on mobile devices, and the timing was finally right for us to expand into the space” says Teen Vogue Editor-In-Chief, Amy Astley. “Since our audience is also incredibly career focused, we wanted our game to have elements of fashion and career, and this game encompasses both. Teen Vogue’s audience is extremely mobile-savvy, always on their smartphones and tablets so we wanted a way to reach them on a new and exciting media platform with a product that is fun and true to our brand.

“Our mission with Me Girl™ is to create personal, playful and inspirational experiences. We’re thrilled to work with Teen Vogue to bring this exciting fashion game to life” says Frenzoo CEO, Simon Newstead.

Teen Vogue Me Girl Features Include:

SEE the actual Teen Vogue Fashion Closet
STYLE your own avatar for realistic Teen Vogue assignments.
SHOP virtual fashions in the latest trends curated by Teen Vogue editors.
SHARE photo shoot images on Facebook and Twitter.
SHOW OFF styling skills with players around the world.
SEASONS updated regularly – every month new assignments to play.
FREE to download and play

Download links:

Apple App Store

Google Play

Amazon (coming soon)

Images and screenshot

Press pack

About Teen Vogue
Teen Vogue, a Condé Nast publication, a division of Advance Publications, which operates in 25 countries, is the number one source of fashion and beauty news for style-conscious teens and 20-somethings everywhere. In the United States, Condé Nast publishes 18 consumer magazines, two trade publications, and 27 websites that garner international acclaim and unparalleled consumer engagement. The Teen Vogue brand brings the sophistication and authority of Vogue to a new generation of savvy young women who desire to be on the cutting edge of fashion, beauty, and culture. Launched in February 2003, Teen Vogue publishes ten issues a year and has a circulation of more than 1,000,000 readers.

About Frenzoo
Frenzoo is a mobile game startup creating a new class of 3D lifestyle games for girls and women. The company’s offerings include the hit Me Girl™ series, enjoyed by millions around the world. The company is backed by Ambient Sound Investments, an early stage venture firm supported by the founding engineers of Skype, as well as Siemer Ventures, K5 Ventures, Metaverse Services and others. For more information, visit http://www.frenzoo.com and http://www.megirl.com.

Press Pack - Teen Vogue Me Girl

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 07:36:00 -0500

Hi Press and Partners,

Feel free to use the following images:

Me Girl logo

Frenzoo logo

Teen Vogue Me Girl icon

Teen Vogue Me Girl banner

Teen Vogue Me Girl screenshots

Teen Vogue Me Girl video

If you have any other requests please email press@frenzoo.com

Thanks!

Me Girl: Meet Me Girl's New Community Queen - Ashley

Fri, 07 Dec 2012 00:03:47 -0500

Me Girl: Meet Me Girl's New Community Queen - Ashley:

megirlgames:

It’s Ashley here, the newest addition to the Me Girl team.

I’m the new Community Manager here, but I secretly like to call myself the Community Queen.

I’m thrilled to be apart of Me Girl and I can’t wait to get to know all of you.

WHAT DOES A COMMUNITY MANAGER DO, ANYWAY?

Keeping you…

Frenzoo speaking at the Social Gaming Asia Summit

Wed, 28 Nov 2012 16:56:22 -0500

Given the rise of Social Casino games over the past year it seems somewhat appropriate that the Social Gaming Asia Summit is being held later today in the worldwide nexus for gambling, Macau.

Today I’ll be joining a panel on keys to success on Mobile, together with Eric Tan, Gameloft’s head of China as well as Frank Yu, CEO of Kwestr.

Other speakers include Japanese gaming expert Dr Serkan Toto talking on the differences between social gaming in the East and West, and Wang Yong, CEO of DeNA China talking about exporting Japanese models to other countries.

If you’re coming along, do say hi!

Simon
CEO, Frenzoo

Creating Me Girl

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 01:34:29 -0400

Creating Me Girl:

Our CEO Simon has blogged about creating a game brand and Me Girl. Take a read.

Frenzoo was proud to speak at the the Unity 3D MIT Game Jam....

Mon, 22 Oct 2012 00:45:27 -0400

Frenzoo was proud to speak at the the Unity 3D MIT Game Jam.

Our fearless engineering leader Kevin shared his experience in developing 3d games on mobile, and what it takes to make a hit. We also presented the award to the winning team, who created “Mono Cell”, a really creative cell/virus simulation game, with hints of World of Goo and Spore elements.

Well done to all the teams!

Everyone was in a playful mood in the office so we decided to...

Sat, 20 Oct 2012 00:32:50 -0400

Everyone was in a playful mood in the office so we decided to take some snaps and turn it into a video. Hopefully it gives you a taste of what working at Frenzoo is all about :)

Come put smiles on more faces :)

Thu, 04 Oct 2012 01:17:00 -0400

Want to have fun and create fabulous games?

We’re hiring for the following positions:

- Freelance graphic designer
- Analytics / mobile engineers
- Game testers
- Junior data entry

Frenzoo creates inspiring games for women & girls around the world.

Please email simon@frenzoo.com to find out more :)

Welcome Christina, Frenzoo's new Creative Director

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 08:52:40 -0400

We’re thrilled to welcome Christina, our new Creative Director!

She’s new to the team but not new to Frenzoo - originally she was a player and UGC fashion designer on Frenzoo.com, our web 3d world, and kept up as we made the transition into our Me Girl™ mobile games.

She’ll be leading all things design and creative - from UX, game design and art style through to Me Girl™ vision and branding.

We sat down for a mini Q&A on her first day:

What are you most looking forward to in the new role?

Creating Fun!

Learning and discovering what surprises and delights our players. And then working on game flow to make it a reality.

Where do you get your inspiration from?

In general, the world and people.

We live in such a dynamic and amazing world with so many different cultures and beliefs which are all so fascinating - I am inspired by those who dare to be different, those who dare to shine, those who fight for what they believe in and from those who pull through all challenges.

I am also inspired by people who I do volunteer work with and the people we work with, there is a wealth to be learned from those who battle through so many odds.

So why move from the fashion industry to gaming?

I love the fashion industry but at my heart I’m a creator and love technology - so the move feels like a good challenge and and my creativity can be utilized well in this industry!

What games have had the most impact on you over the years?

Wow, it all started with the The Sims, then The Sims online which was my first step into MMO’s.

The biggest game that has impacted me is definitely when Star Wars Galaxies launched, which kicked off a period in my gaming life that I truly cherish.

Then Second Life and later I discovered Frenzoo.com and then Style Me Girl which allowed for my inner fashionista to be unleashed. I play a lot of games and others I’ve loved include Mall World, Puzzle Pirates, Words With Friends and most recently Stardom.

What fashion brands do you admire most?

Fashion loves include Maison Martin Margiela, Alaia, Viktor and Rolf, Comme de Garcon, Barbara Bui, Vivienne Westwood, CK Calvin Klein and Armani Exchange.

But for my day to day, I love mixing and matching quirky items with everyday looks, feminine with the edgy, casual with the elevated.

A quote to live by?

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”

Thanks Christina and welcome!

Amazon's Appstore progress - Frenzoo in VentureBeat article

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 03:48:18 -0400

The folks at VentureBeat just wrote a post on Amazon’s progress with their appstore, and how monetization and growth have developed with original launch last year - particularly with the introduction of IAP.

We were happy to be included in the discussion :

“Our apps monetize 50 percent better than they do on other platforms we’re on, in turn, helping us scale our business quickly,” said Simon Newstead, the CEO & Co-Founder of Frenzoo. Frenzoo publishes Style Me Girl, which is available for both Android and iOS. TinyCo, which makes games such as Tiny Monsters, Tiny Village, and Tiny Pets (sensing a pattern here?) also said that monetization on Amazon was better than “any other platform.”

It’s really a viable platform well suited to our target market, which of course is women and girls who love lifestyle content. The platform I believe has done well because of the tight linkage between users, hardware and content ecosystem.

And now like everyone we’re looking forward to the new product announcements coming on September 6th.

If you love mobile technology it’s an exciting next few weeks.

Fashionable crossover: Condé Nast & Me Girl games

Thu, 16 Aug 2012 08:15:00 -0400

UPDATE - check out the coverage on: TechCrunch, Adweek, AllThingsD, PocketGamer :)

Hey Me Girls, something fresh for you!

Fashion Hazard, Condé Nast’s first iOS casual game, and our hit game Style Me Girl, are collaborating.

Condé Nast is home to some of the world’s most celebrated media brands so we’re very excited to team up.

Fashion Hazard is a unique take on the endless runner genre, combining fashion and action in a whole new way. There’ll be Style Me Girl themed extras and achievements to add to this fun and casual game experience.

And in Style Me Girl, we’ve added 3 special Fashion Hazard themed levels, now launched on Android and shortly on iOS. In these you’ll be tasked to complete several Fashion Hazard assignments where models need to be dressed for Fashion Week parties, runway shows and even a special “behind the scenes” level. Here’s a sneak peak:

Think you’re ready for the fashion fever? Download the new assignments and check out Fashion Hazard now! ;)

xoxo,
Me Girl Team

Meet Tu, Me Girl intern extraordinaire

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 03:34:08 -0400

Our summer intern Tu from the College of Saint Benedict in Minnesota.

If you could travel to any city in the world, which one and why?
Paris because there’s a lot of history there, it’s romantic and I love French culture.

What’s your favorite movie?
It would have to be Lord of the Rings because it gets me super pumped and makes me want to fight some orcs :)

What was best about working at Frenzoo?
That would have to be the team. Team mates in USA and Hong Kong felt like friends and mentors, so I could learn and have fun at the same time.

Which jobs did you enjoy the most?
Well I loved picking out clothing styles for our new game, and also getting involved in the new partnership discussions. Oh and co-organising a fashion industry event.

At a Fashion Industry event co-organised with Jasmine Webster.

What was most unexpected about interning?
That the atmosphere in the office was so casual, in every way. One of my early days I opened the fridge to find a hard drive cooling down inside. That’s the type of place it is!

What was the most challenging part?
Community management of a community that includes young girls. It’s hard to keep things in line sometimes, but ultimately rewarding. Oh and the timezones between USA and Hong Kong.

Any parting quote for us?

“The future’s got a million roads
For you to choose
But you’ll walk a little taller
In some high-heel shoes!”

Au revoir Tu!

Meet Skype founding engineer and investor - Jaan Tallinn

Mon, 09 Jul 2012 18:49:33 -0400

Jaan Tallinn, one of the founding engineers of Skype, KaZaA and a tech investor is visiting Hong Kong this Thursday.

We’ll be hosting a casual Q&A chat with him, for any who are interested to join.

Topics: startups, investment, technology - ask him anything
When: 6pm, Thursday 12th July
Where: Frenzoo office, 19B Hang Lung House, 184-192 Queens Road Central

He is a a great guy to meet :)

RSVP - email simon@frenzoo.com (first come first served)

Frenzoo talk at Casual Connect, attending GamesBeat

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 23:51:00 -0400

I’m looking forward to two events this month, Casual Connect in Seattle and GamesBeat here in San Francisco.

I’ll be attending GamesBeat this week.

At Casual Connect I’ll be speaking 11am on Day 3, Thursday July 26th:

1 Million Downloads in a Month – How Indies Can Make It Happen

Simon NEWSTEAD, CEO, Frenzoo

Simon Newstead is the CEO and Co-Founder of Frenzoo, creator of 3d lifestyle games for mobile and the web.

Today, making a great game is only half of the battle. The other half is getting it heard above the noise of all the other games out there. For the big players with millions of dollars in advertising budget the path is clear, but what about the small to mid-size players?

This talk will examine tips for executing a strong launch and gaining downloads as efficiently and quickly as possible. It will draw on some real-life examples including the speaker’s experience launching his game, Style Me Girl, and cover topics including press, smart-launch marketing, choosing categories and keywords, optimizing for physical and online word of mouth, and a/b testing collateral. It will also contrast experiences on various app stores.

Will you be there? Please send me an email or tweet (or the old fashioned way by cell 415 562 6889), would love to connect in person.

Frenzoo is hiring - refer and get the new iPad

Fri, 29 Jun 2012 22:47:00 -0400

New positions at Frenzoo

Frenzoo is growing and we need talented developers and designers to join our award winning team:

Developer - mobile games

Designer - graphics / game UI

Click the links above for the job descriptions and application info.

Refer someone and get the new iPad with Retina display!

Have a friend in Hong Kong you think would be great for this position?

Refer them and if they join successfully we’ll give you the new iPad or cash equivalent as thanks!

Wardrobe full of press!

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:55:00 -0400

It’s been exciting to launch our first game get such a nice reaction from users and press alike. Pretty overwhelming for a small startup - a fun few weeks to say the least :)

Some highlights:

With Successful Pivot, Frenzoo Aims to Be Barbie of the iPad Age

Frenzoo’s Simon Newstead on successfully launching 3D fashion game

Frenzoo’s Style Me Girl, hits one million downloads in two weeks

Shopping up a virtual storm

Playing Dress-Up with Style Me Girl

3d Fashion Gaming is here!

Apps Rush - Style Me Girl

How a successful pivot scored a 1 million user growth in just 2 weeks

Fashion-Based Free To Play Gaming From Style Me Girl

Casual Connect Highlight: Simon Newstead of Frenzoo

Style Me Girl Launch (Japanese)

Big thanks to all who took the time to write about us!

Get Chic with Frenzoo’s Style Me Girl, the World's First 3D Fashion Game for Mobile

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 14:44:00 -0400

Surpasses 1 million downloads in two weeks; reaches #1 RPG game in iTunes, #1 overall game in Amazon Marketplace

Hong Kong and San Francisco, CA - June 19, 2012

Mobile gaming just got a whole lot more glamorous. Frenzoo (www.frenzoo.com), pioneers of a new class of 3D lifestyle games, today announced the release of Style Me Girl, the world’s first 3D fashion game for mobile devices. Available for free in the Apple App Store, Google Play Market and Amazon Marketplace, Style Me Girl has been downloaded more than 1 million times and reached #1 in the iTunes App Store for free Role Playing Games as well as #1 for all free games in the Amazon Marketplace.

Style Me Girl invites players to rise through the ranks of the glamorous and seductive New York fashion scene. Starting as an intern at the hottest style magazine in town, you can climb the industry ladder by helping models look their best and then stepping behind the camera to capture the perfect pose. Doing so will lead to high marks from the judges and career advancement as a celebrity stylist in the high-stakes fashion world.

Frenzoo’s innovative 3D avatar platform was used to give the models realistic body movements and engaging facial expressions, both of which add to the allure of the game and play pivotal roles in its “photoshoots.” Players around the world have already styled over 12 million different looks in the days since release.

“Style Me Girl is the first of its kind,” said Simon Newstead, co-founder and CEO of Frenzoo. “It’s a 3D Role Playing Game created for any woman who has dreamed of becoming a fashion and style icon. The game itself is lots of fun and features unique gameplay, intriguing storylines, and a cast of iconic characters, but it is our 3D technology that makes the whole experience so engaging.”

As you embark on your quest to become the stylist to the stars, there are several gameplay features to help you progress along the way, such as:

Photoshoots: After taking your models shopping and dressing them for the given theme, begin the photoshoot and start taking pictures; you’ll be judged based on the outfit and poses, then awarded coins and bonuses according to your score.
Models: Unlock an array of increasingly sophisticated and stunningly beautiful models, helping them pick out the perfect outfit and hairstyle, apply the perfect makeup, and accessorize and strike the perfect pose.
Over 30 Fashion Genres: From casual to couture, gothic to glam, pick and choose which style to dress your models in, but make sure to pick the right style for each occasion if you want to impress the judges.
Boutique: Enter the boutique to shop for clothes, accessories, hairstyles, makeup, jewelry and more, trying them on your model to see how they look before buying them.
“Style Catch” Game: Play this mini-game within the game and earn extra coins by tilting your phone to catch designated items in your shopping bag as they fall; just don’t catch the cash register before you’re ready to checkout!
“Look Book”: Take photos of various models striking a number of different poses in front of a variety of backgrounds and then post them to your “Look Book;” photos can then be shared with friends or saved to your device.

“The world of fashion is full of glitz and glamour, but there’s a lot of work behind the scenes most people don’t see,” said fashion stylist Jasmine Webster, founder of the popular DressMe blog and an advisor to Frenzoo. “Style Me Girl provides players with a behind-the-scenes look and lets them imagine what it’s like to work their way up to become a celebrity stylist. We are thrilled by the tremendous support the game has received so far.”

Initial user feedback to Style Me Girl has been extremely positive, with the app receiving a 4.5 star rating in all three markets. Said player Jasmine Chua: “The minute I started playing I knew it was different from the rest. Beautiful fashions, lifelike poses and engaging characters…I just love it!”

Style Me Girl is the first in a series of 3D lifestyle games under the Me Girl™ brand (megirl.com), and is free to play now at:

Apple App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id521514229?mt=8

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.megirl.stylemegirl

Amazon Marketplace: http://www.amazon.com/Frenzoo-Style-Me-Girl/dp/B00846GKTW

To view the Style Me Girl trailer, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjCLhfM98OQ. Follow Me Girl on Twitter at https://twitter.com/megirl and Like it on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MeGirlGames. For game logo, screenshots or more information see http://blog.frenzoo.com/post/23757934059/press-materials.

About Frenzoo

Frenzoo is a startup creating a new class of 3D lifestyle and fashion games for women. The company’s offerings, including the popular Me Girl series of mobile games, are based on its flexible and innovative avatar technology platform. Backed by Ambient Sound Investments, an early stage venture firm supported by the founding engineers of Skype, as well as Siemer Ventures, K5 Ventures, Metaverse Services, Fresco Capital Advisors and others, Frenzoo is based in Hong Kong, China, and San Francisco, California. For more information, visit http://www.frenzoo.com and http://www.megirl.com.

# # #

Media Contact
Matt McAllister
Fluid PR & Communications
(510) 229-9707
matt(at)fluidspeak.com
@FluidSpeak

Company Contact
Simon Newstead
Frenzoo
(415) 562-6889
simon(at)frenzoo.com
@simonhk

Here's to our crazy ones...

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 13:25:00 -0400

Welcome to the latest members of our extended Frenzoo family…

Game design advisor & cool hunter, in San Francisco, Jasmine Chua:

Advisor on all things fashion & lifestyle, the incredible Miss Jasmine Webster:

Jeremy our in-house “high priest of analytics”, working full time on our hockey stick curve:

Fashion-loving marketing intern extraordinaire, Tu:

“Gaming meets numbers” super-intern, Adriaan:

We’re fortunate to have your crazy ideas, energy & creativity - welcome!

CEO Simon's blog: IteratingFun.com

Sat, 23 Jun 2012 09:13:32 -0400

That’s right, I’ve taken up blogging again with a vengeance.

My regular thoughts, tips, rants can be found at:

http://IteratingFun.com

Some recent posts:

Raising $1M and 100 questions investors may ask
Really THQ?
Choosing iOS game categories, just roll the dice?
…

Hope you enjoy!
Simon, CEO Frenzoo

Side note - it’s amazing how much UX can have an impact. I used to dread having to blog on Typepad whereas I look forward to blog on Tumblr. Mental note to self…

Art of the Startup Pivot at Echelon 2012

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 23:23:00 -0400

It’s always fun to chart out the twists and turns in a startup journey.

I was invited to give a keynote at Echelon 2012 in Singapore, a leading pan-Asia startup conference.

Lately I have chatted with a lot of fellow startup founders sharing the challenge of trying to figure out when to double down and keep on a specific product path vs changing course.

So the topic I went through was Art of the Startup Pivot.

In my talk I went through about our experience with Frenzoo pivoting from Virtual Worlds to Mobile Games for Women, as well as going through some other case studies including OMGPOP, Fab.com, Red Octane and a friend’s startup: Nowbox, transitioning from video through to Delight.io, a Video capture platform for iOS developers.

Also went through the decision criteria for assessing whether you should change paths:

Users not excited?
Steep retention drop off?
Mismatch of CPA vs LTV
Market too small?
Running out of runway…

After running through some case studies I talked about 5 tips:

1/ Increase your runway (survive!)
2/ Learn from your mistakes and be honest about them
3/ Leverage the bright spots
4/ Rebrand
5/ Put a lid on ruminating about the past - focus on the future

It was a great session to share and afterward compare notes and chat with the attendees.