Category Update
Xbox Sponsors To “Kinect” With Broader Gaming Audience
Properties reaching families, tweens and other non-traditional video game players should consider ties to new products from Microsoft and Sony.
7/23/10: As was the case with the
launch of Nintendo Co.’s Wii two years ago, new product introductions for Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox and Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.’s PlayStation are opening up new sponsorship possibilities.
This fall, Microsoft and Sony will each launch motion-control add-ons that will place their video game console systems in direct competition with Wii.
In time for the peak holiday selling season, Microsoft will roll out Kinect, a motion-detecting-camera-based system that lets consumers play video games without a controller, while Sony is gearing up for the fall release of PlayStation Move, a motion-sensing game controller.
Like Wii, the new products are targeted at a broader demographic beyond hardcore gamers. The upshot: More partnerships to reach older adults, women and girls, families and tweens are likely.
Case in point: Xbox 360 is presenting the current leg of teen music sensation Justin Bieber’s North American tour, which kicked-off in Hartford, Conn. on June 23 and runs through January.
Microsoft also is promoting Kinect through a new mobile marketing program that will visit a handful of state fairs, culinary festivals and other events this summer. Sponsored events include the Bite of Oregon presented by Reser’s Fine Foods and the State Fair of Texas.
IEG SR recently spoke with Bobbie Washatka, Microsoft group marketing manager/sponsorships, about how the company is aligning with properties to promote Kinect, as well as the product’s impact on existing deals. Below are edited excerpts from the conversation.
IEG SR: What is the strategy behind the sponsorship of Justin Bieber?
Washatka: We aligned with Justin to promote the launch of Kinect, which is a new way for people to interact with the gaming console. There is no controller, and it allows people to express themselves in new ways.
When you think about gaming consoles, you automatically think of hardcore gamers with shoot ‘em up games. Kinect is all about reaching a broader audience, the family audience.
Justin is a perfect fit. His fans are 7-to-15-year-olds, primarily female, as well as their parents. We are trying to reach that audience, provide exposure for Kinect and have them try it out so they will be ready to make a purchase.
We probably reviewed more than 100 properties when looking for sponsorship opportunities. We decided on Justin because we felt he was the right fit at the right time.
We are pairing a rising star with rising technology. He wasn’t as popular as he is now when we started the discussions; it wasn’t until after that he really took off. The timing was great.
IEG SR: How are you activating the sponsorship?
Washatka: By providing trial opportunities. In each venue we have a demonstration area where attendees can check out
Dance Central, which is a title co-published by Microsoft and MTV.
You can select the song you want by moving your arm up or down, and you can pick the clothes for the animated dancers in the game. The whole goal is to imitate the moves of the dancer.
The reaction has been amazing. Moms laugh as they watch their daughters play the game. You see the look on their faces, which says, “I know what I’m getting her for Christmas.” It’s easy to use and instant fun.
One of the most exciting elements of the sponsorship is the video we created that plays before every performance on the tour. It integrates Justin, his dancers, game play and Kinect.
It starts with Justin’s dancers playing
Dance Central, apparently backstage. Justin joins them and then he begins to play the
River Rush game.
As they realize it is time for the show to start, the dancers depart one by one, leaving Justin alone playing the game. He achieves the high score of the game and turns around, but everyone is gone.
That’s when he realizes he needs to be on stage. The theatrics start, the video graphics blend with Justin’s entrance, and the show begins.
Once you see the video, you get what Kinect is all about.
(Editor’s note: Concertgoers have posted multiple videos of the pre-roll online.
Here is one example.)
In addition, we are conducting VIP meet-and-greets in 30 markets. Radio stations promote the chance to win concert tickets and a chance to experience a sound check party and actually meet Justin and play Kinect with him.
IEG SR: Are you activating with trade partners?
Washatka: Per our contract, we have the ability to extend our partnership with a retail account like a Best Buy. We have approached a number of our partners, but we haven’t locked anyone in yet. Those discussions are happening.
IEG SR: Kinect won’t be launched until the fourth quarter. Has it been a challenge activating the tour with a product that is not yet on the market?
Washatka: It was complicated. No one internally knew what the name of the product was going to be. It was called a code name: Project Natal. We unveiled the formal name in June at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
That was tough for us. The tour was starting the following week and we wanted Kinect to be fully integrated. We were working 24/7 trying to get assets integrated into the tour. The tour is sponsored on behalf of Xbox 360, but it is all about exposing Kinect to a new audience.
IEG SR: In general, hardcore gamers are not Justin Bieber fans and some have taken to message boards and YouTube to express their displeasure over the sponsorship. How are you going to balance sponsorship and marketing activity on behalf of Kinect with maintaining relationships with longtime Xbox loyalists?
Washatka: We do not want to alienate our core audience. Kinect has opened up a broader audience of people than have typically been in our franchise. We are now offering something that appeals to the entire family.
We are still committed to our blockbuster titles such as
Halo and
Gears of War, which are incredible. We support those 100 percent. We are not taking our eye off that audience; we are just broadening it with Kinect.
IEG SR: Xbox has a number of existing partnerships, including Major League Soccer, Legoland California and the Monster Energy Dub Tour presented by Ford. Do you plan to leverage any of your existing sponsorships to promote Kinect?
Washatka: We will totally leverage existing sponsorships to promote Kinect. We sponsor MLS and the Seattle Sounders FC, as well as the NFL Seattle Seahawks, all of which are family friendly. We definitely plan to integrate Kinect into all of those properties.
We will be sure to match our games with appropriate sponsorships. For example, we will use our MLS relationship to showcase our Kinect Sports title. Kinect also will have a big presence at this week’s MLS All-Star Game.
The Dub Tour speaks more to our core audience. We tend to feature
Gears of War and
Halo through that type of sponsorship.
IEG SR: Do you plan to sign any more deals to promote Kinect?
Washatka: Our fiscal year starts in July, and our budgets have been locked. We are committed for this fiscal year. Our focus is on making sure the tour is flawlessly executed.
We will look for other opportunities to promote Kinect when we start our planning phase for the next fiscal year.
Sources
Microsoft Corp., Tel: 425/882-8080