To be fair, what you describe is the same here in the US market (but I don’t think it is innovation they fear, it is perceived riskiness.) Over the years, I’ve found a few techniques that can be helpful in making that case.

1. Lead with measurement. An ARG (or other innovation) shouldn’t be something that’s unmeasureable, or means buying into some alternate metrics schema. Find out what bell the client wants to ring (perception, awareness, sales, etc.) and show how you’ll show them you’re ringing that bell.

2. No ARG is an island. No one should be pitching to an agency doing an ARG instead of an advertising campaign: focus on how the ARG element of a campaign to help every other channel produce more results. After all, that media spend is where you’re going to build your audience.

3. Explain away the chaos. Help an agency understand that they’ll be able to manage you managing the chaos, show them the kinds of documents you’ll use to do that.

4. Evangelize the power of iteration. Help an agency understand that unlike traditional campaigns, those metrics and processes will allow you to improve the chances of success from direct audience feedback.

None of those things necessarily solve all the problems for every agency and client and market, but if I go in anticipating those kinds of concerns I find I can derail a lot of the more common fear-based objections. And, to be honest, that advice is more general than ARGs (as similar rules work for other places where you’re helping an agency innovate outside of their core practice.)

Aside from organizing information about an ongoing game, these websites also serve as archives when the games are finished.  The experience, the process of playing the game is often captured.  In fact, there are also sites dedicated to archiving information about ARGs past (although, curiously, none of them ever seemed to get past the planning stage).

Here are some sites organizing information about ongoing and, possibly, past games:

• Despoiler
• Wikibruce
• Unfiction Unforums (check the Archive section down at the end in particular)

A couple intended as “ARG archives”:

• ARGhive
• ARGdb

And, just for fun, check out one very detailed and specific website: The Metaurchins Book Project.  (Also available in a high-quality book form, buy it to support Unfiction today!)