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GCSE Media Studies – Summer exam 2014: The Promotion and Marketing of Video Games

GCSE Media Studies – Summer exam 2014: The Promotion and Marketing of Video Games. Case Study #4: HALO 4 and. HALO 4. HALO 4. Developers: 343 Industries Publishers: Microsoft Studios Platform: Xbox 360 Release Date: 6 th . November 2012

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GCSE Media Studies – Summer exam 2014: The Promotion and Marketing of Video Games

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  1. GCSE Media Studies – Summer exam 2014: The Promotion and Marketing of Video Games Case Study #4: HALO 4 and

  2. HALO 4 HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  3. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  4. HALO 4 • Developers:343 Industries • Publishers: Microsoft Studios • Platform: Xbox 360 • Release Date: 6th. November 2012 • Genre: First-person shooter game – multi-player and on-line modes. • Sales: Grossed $220 million on its first day of sales and $300 million over the first week. More than One million people played the game in the first 24 hours after its release. Has sold more than 4 million copies, to date. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  5. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  6. Player Interaction • HALO 4 creates a world which appears to demand the total involvement of the player. • This is a different environment to previous games that we have looked at – this interacts with the Target Audience on many different levels. • As you would expect from a Microsoft company, the Promotion and Marketing of HALO 4 uses every angle to reach a potential buyer – a variety of Marketing platforms are used / product tie-ins, huge build-up and ramped up expectations. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  7. HALO 4: Narrative • The player is a cybernetically-enhanced super-soldier called the Master Chief. • The story is set on an alien planet in the year 2557. The Master Chief encounters alien tribes and ancient warriors. • The Master Chief is accompanied by an “artificial intelligence construct” Cortana. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  8. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  9. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  10. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  11. Design Elements • The makers and publishers of HALO 4 appear to be obsessive about the design and “look” of their game. • There are several competitions to involve artistic game-players in the design of products: • Box-design • Poster design • Fan Art • How does this push the boundaries of player involvement and game interaction. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  12. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  13. Helmet design HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  14. Fan Art 1 HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  15. Fan Art 2 HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  16. Homepage – “Waypoint” HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  17. Webpage – Screen shots HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  18. Webpage - Shop HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  19. Gametypes HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  20. Forums page HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  21. Pro-Team Competition HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  22. Website Championship HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  23. Webpage – “Theater mode” HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  24. The Marketing Campaign • How long should a marketing and promotion campaign last? • How can Marketing Platforms be used to raise the profile of the product? • PRINT / BROADCAST / WEB • How can potential buyers be alerted to the forthcoming product before the launch date? • How to build the excitement and expectation. HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  25. HALO 4 – Promotion & Marketing • Launch date: 6th. November 2012 • Promotion Campaign starts: June 2011 = 18 months before Launch Date and continues over a year after – September 2013 HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  26. HALO 4 – Campaign timeline 1 • June 2011 – release of first game “teaser” trailer. (WEB) • January 2012 – news release: availability of merchandise. (PRINT) • February 2012 – header and background ads appear on popular gaming websites. (WEB) • April 2012 – launch of live action web-series based on the game – Five x 15 minute episodes. (WEB) • Launch of dedicated HALO 4 website. (WEB) HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  27. Pepsico tie-in HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  28. HALO 4 – Campaign timeline 2 • May 2012 – box art competition launch. (PRINT) • September 2012 – pre-order sales begins. • Point of Sale (PoS) displays placed in strategic shops plus “countdown” unit. (BROADCAST / PRINT) • September – October Tie-in promotion with Pepsi, Mountain Dew and Doritos / Pizza Hut in the UK – all Pepsico companies. (TIE-IN – ALL PLATFORMS?) • October – official launch trailer shown on US talk-show plus interview with trailer Producer David Fincher. gameplay(BROADCAST / WEB) HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  29. HALO 4 – Campaign timeline 3 • November 2012 – 50 foot high sign floated down the Thames. sign is flown down the River Thames. (BROADCAST) • NOVEMBER 6th– OFFICIAL WORLDWIDE LAUNCH DATE • 10,000 shops in 40 countries have midnight launch parties. launch parties. • November 2012 – television ads / Art book published. (BROADCAST / PRINT) HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  30. HALO 4 – Campaign timeline 4 • December 2012 – “Infinity” tournament opens. (BROADCAST / PRINT / WEB) • February 2013 – Second expansion pack released. (WEB?) • April 2013 – Third expansion pack released. (WEB?) • September 2013 – “Essential Guide Book” published. (PRINT) HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  31. Use of Special / Limited Editions HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  32. Play Controllers HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  33. Armaments HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  34. Merchandise HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  35. Clothing HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  36. Colouring pages – “for boys”! HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  37. Representations – maleness / heroic / conquering HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  38. Maleness – armoury / macho HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  39. Representations of “femininity” – sexuality HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  40. Feminity – soft / vulnerable HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  41. END OF KL HALO4 - LANGTON - APRIL 2014

  42. AQA 2014 Video Games: Promotion and Marketing PROMOTION and MARKETING

  43. A campaign is more than an advert! A campaign is a collection of advertising and marketing techniques used to market a game, or any other product or brand. Campaigns are usually delivered through several platforms (e.g. TV, web, print). Campaigns tend to be long-running, over weeks or months, and often use different techniques before, during and after the release of the game. Campaigns can be high budget or low budget.

  44. Ingredients of a campaign Internet: viral ads, dedicated website, homepage takeovers, banner ads on other sites, pre-released game content, beta testing, forums, fan sites, reviews on gaming sites, Facebook, Twitter… Print: billboards, posters, box art, game art books, point of sale displays, magazine adverts, advertorials, reviews, interviews... Moving image: trailers, tv ads, interviews on talk shows, reviews on gaming programmes... Events: pop-ups, launch parties, flash mobs, live-action events... Other: merchandising, tie-ins...

  45. A coherent brand image Games tend to have a coherent brand image: they have a distinct 'look.' This can be created through colour codes, through re-using a distinctive image or design, through a tagline, through fonts and graphics etc. This look helps to create the brand image of the product. The brand image is used to tie all the marketing together, so it is all recognised as part of the game's brand.

  46. Brand image - tag lines As well as design, the tagline can set the tone for the product. it is usually repeated across all aspects of the campaign. Do you recognise these taglines? 'There's a soldier in all of us' 'Finish the Fight' What impression does each one create?

  47. Low-budget campaigns Not all companies have the funds for big expensive marketing campaigns. See videos 24 and 26 Not all games are expected to make enough money to warrant big campaigns. Some producers deliberately choose low-key marketing to appeal to a niche group of cult fans.

  48. Case Study 3: Angry Birds In 2003, three college-leavers in Finland started a small company called Rovio. They released an app called Angry Birds in 2009. It became a huge hit. The marketing has moved from low-budget to higher budget as the game has become more successful and profitable.

  49. Angry Birds (1) Initial marketing was cheap and low-key. On release in each country, they promoted the game through Gaming forums on the internet, and through comments and reviews in Gaming magazines. They used a Twitter feed, set up a Facebook page and used other social marketing to communicate with fans and build a fan community. They set up a website with additional content.

  50. Angry Birds (2) Rovio moved into merchandising (there is a whole website just for T shirts; lunch-boxes, sweets, toys) very early, and this now makes up over 30% of their income. As the game became more widely known, Rovio used more conventional techniques such as game trailers. Rovio have also expanded the brand by licensing the game to a theme park and a TV series (see the trailer here).

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