XMAS GAMES MARKETING
always occurs towards Christmas, although Brenner believes this has not had as much impact on publishers as it has in the past.
“It is a time of year when media is at its most expensive, so being targeted with what sort of space you buy is very important,” she says. “But games companies are now prepared to spend more on their Christmas campaigns, with involvement from celebrities and reality show contestants.
“This has become a standard part of any PR campaign and an effective way of getting onto those prized Christmas wish lists.” A glance at this year’s ad plans shows this, with David Beckham, Helen Mirren, and Mel B family all pushing games this Christmas.
RETAIL RELATIONS
It is also vital to work closely with retail during this crucial selling period. Ultimately, the likes of GAME and HMV control whether customers will even have access to a game – a lesson THQ learned from its previous Christmas campaign.
With this plan refined to form the Great Games, Great Value range, THQ’s marketing director Jon Rooke says: “You can spend £2 million on promotions, but if consumers can’t find your products because it’s not stocked at retail, you’re going to miss out.” Activision’s senior brand manager Scott Wood concurs: “Retail is always the one piece of the marketing puzzle that gets affected the most. With the sheer number of titles vying for space, there’s never enough space for everyone.” Most importantly, publishers need to adapt to the changes that have occurred in our consumer culture
over the last five to ten years. Awareness about products has increased, and a flood of connected devices such as smartphones has made the end user less susceptible to an instant sale than was possible five years ago.
“The interaction with the consumer was very different back then,” Rooke explains. “They were very used to being told what to buy, but now they often have smartphones or laptops with them. They actively search to find out what a product is. Consumers want to validate the purchase themselves before they commit.”
AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR It has also become important to market products as early as possible, and maintain much longer ad campaigns, ideally running all the way up to Christmas and beyond. “The sales period starts earlier
“
www.mcvuk.com
You can spend £2m on promotions, but if your product isn’t stocked, you’re going to miss out Jon Rooke, THQ
every year, so shoppers are waiting longer and sometimes after Christmas to take advantage of savings,” says Warner Bros’ sales and marketing director Spencer Crossley. As the market continues to change – both in terms of our own industry and retail in general – games firms need to adapt their marketing budgets accordingly. The nature of advertising is changing, as are publishers’ relationships with their consumers. Spending more has become a necessity but it’s more than that. As GAME’s Neil Ashurst observes, the key is to market in a smarter way, not just a louder one. Exposure is only half the battle, but the games industry is well experienced at fighting this particular war.
WE THREE KINGS PRINT
The medium that has taken the biggest hit over the last few years is print. With more ads moving online and into new areas like social media, is print still an effective use of publishers’ marketing budget? “Print hasn’t become any less important, but has become a little more multi-faceted,” says THQ marketing boss Jon Rooke. “There’s some very exciting stuff you can do with print – prompting engagement elsewhere, for example – particularly now that magazines can be enjoyed through iPad and iPhone. Nothing is static anymore.”
TV
Perhaps the most common form of marketing, particularly towards Christmas. The most notable benefit is that it reaches a broad audience, and ads around key shows can target the relevant consumers. It’s a medium publishers aren’t likely to give up on soon.
“TV is still king for the big launches and with the fragmented market, you’re also able to work with TV on the smaller budgets,” says Activision’s Scott Wood.
“But it’s all about generating the biggest buzz levels and TV alone can’t do that.”
HMV’s Al Hunter added: “Whilst still critical, TV is possibly slightly less vital than it used to be. But the rise of The X Factorhas significantly slowed what might otherwise have been a more pronounced trend. It
ONLINE
According to the Internet Advertising Bureau, online ad revenues accounted for 24 per cent of all ad spends in the UK for the first half of 2010. In fact, during this period online
marketing generated more than outdoor, cinema and radio combined. The advantages are numerous.
For one, it can be used to provide a direct link to retail, securing a sale as soon as consumers are engaged. As the industry becomes more connected with its community and user base, it can also be used to get
feedback and deliver publishers’ message more effectively. This attitude has become increasingly common with the rise of social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Another advantage is that it can be effortlessly adapted to suit each company’s needs.
GAME’s Neil Ashurst says: “Online allows us to be very targeted and create different executions for specific audiences. It’s also very reactive – if something isn’t working, we can change it very quickly.”
November 12th 2010 33
offers access to an family-based audience of 10m to 15m people, so brands are not going to turn their back on such a platform.” However, Namco Bandai’s Lee Kirton warns that TV advertising is not as easy it seems.
“TV can be the hardest form of media to judge whether or not your ads are successful or not,” he says. “Certain games work well on TV, but ultimately if your brand is not known then TV is a much harder sell now.”
Warner Bros’ Spencer Crossley agrees, adding that national press is particularly important, given that it provides the ideal way to deliver messages with delivery, whether it’s around launch or when special promotions are available in stores. However, GAME’s head of PR Neil Ashurst adds: “Compared to other forms of advertising such as online, print isn’t always as cost effective or targeted. Does that mean we’ve stepped away from magazines? No – we need to have some awareness in print, but it’s not the ‘be all and end all’ it was five years ago.”
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