Case Study #4: HALO 4

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Alexander Stevens
5 years ago
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1 Case Study #4: HALO 4

2 HALO 4

4 HALO 4 Developers: 343 Industries Publishers: Microsoft Studios Platform: Xbox 360 Release Date: 6 th. November 2012 Genre: First-person shooter game multi-player and online 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.

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.

7 HALO 4: Narrative The player is a cyberneticallyenhanced super-soldier called Spartan S117, the Master Chief. The story is set on an alien planet in the year The Master Chief encounters hostile alien races and ancient hi-tech foes. The Master Chief is accompanied by an artificial intelligence construct Cortana.

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.

13 Helmet design

14 Fan Art 1

15 Fan Art 2

16 Homepage Waypoint

17 Webpage Screen shots

18 Webpage - Shop

19 Gametypes

20 Forums page

21 Pro-Team Competition

22 Website Championship

23 Webpage Theater mode

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.

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

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)

27 Pepsico tie-in

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 talkshow plus interview with trailer Producer David Fincher. gameplay (BROADCAST / WEB)

29 HALO 4 Campaign timeline 3 November foot high sign floated down the Thames. sign is flown down the River Thames. (BROADCAST) NOVEMBER 6 th 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)

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)

31 Use of Special / Limited Editions

32 Play Controllers

35 Armaments

36 Merchandise

37 Clothing

38 Colouring pages for boys!

39 Representations maleness / heroic / conquering

40 Maleness armoury / macho

41 Representations of femininity sexuality

42 Femininity soft / vulnerable

43 END OF KL

44 PROMOTION and MARKETING

45 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.

46 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...

47 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.

48 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?

49 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.

50 Case Study 2: Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment perfected the art of guerilla advertising or stunt marketing in the 2000s. They do one or two fairly low budget stunts or events, hoping that the 'shock value' is enough for them to be reported on in the mainstream press, and for news of the stunts to go viral on the internet. This generates lots of free publicity for the company and the game it is marketing. The stunts are designed to appeal to the same demographic as the audience for the game, so the publicity is strongest among potential buyers.

51 Acclaim Entertainment Stunts (1) 1.For Turok Evolution: Acclaim offered $1000 to every person in the UK who would legally change their name to Turok, and $10,000 to new parents to name their baby Turok. Over 300 people tried to claim the prize. 2. For Shadow Man 2: Acclaim offered to pay people who had recently lost a relative to place adverts on their headstones. They said it might be of particular interest to poorer families. The campaign was withdrawn in the interests of good taste. But they already had the publicity.

52 Acclaim Entertainment Stunts (2) 3. For Gladiator: Sword of Vengeance: Acclaim said they would use 'bloodvertising' with bus stop posters that seeped a red blood-like substance, leading up to release day. The campaign was withdrawn in the interests of good taste. But they already had the publicity. 4. For Burnout 2: Acclaim offered to pay the speeding fines for all speeding tickets issued on launch day. They had to withdraw the offer after complaints by the police that it would encourage speeding. But they already had the publicity.

53 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 It became a huge hit. The marketing has moved from low-budget to higher budget as the game has become more successful and profitable.

54 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.

55 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).

56 Angry Birds (3) In 2011 they partnered with 20th Century Fox to release a version of the game called Angry Birds Rio, with characters from the film Rio in it. These tie-ins generate good publicity for both companies: an example of synergy. See the Angry Birds Rio trailer here. In 2012 the new game Angry Birds in Space was announced from the International Space Station by a NASA astronaut doing physics experiments: see here. Their Space game trailer also emphasises the physics content, making the case for Angry Birds to be seen as a worthwhile educational game.

57 Case Study 4: Introversion (1) Using websites / tracking the audience: See video 21 Communicating with the audience: See video 22 The print medium and reviews: See video 23 The budget and billboards: See video 24

58 Case Study 4: Introversion (2) An overview of the campaign: See video 25 The Defcon launch and low budget techniques: See video 26 The purpose of marketing: See video 27 Post-launch marketing: See video 28

59 Case Study 4: Introversion (3) The marketing mix, website and trailers: See video 29 The Prison Architect Trailer: See video 30 Brand loyalty: See video 31

60 Opinion leaders - two-step flow One important area for games marketing is internet games sites and print gaming magazines. Gaining positive reviews can is very important. See video 23 Games reviewers are seen as 'opinion leaders' in the games community. Their views are trusted. They pass their views and opinions on to readers. This is the twostep flow theory in action.

61 Opinion leaders - two-step flow Games Companies X-Box magazine Games Master magazine Game Spot.com IGN.com READERS READERS READERS

62 Explain these terms: campaign high budget viral marketing two-step flow merchandising opinion leaders low budget guerilla marketing opinion leaders tie-ins point-of-sale display two-step flow

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