Marketing video games like movies can be a mistake. Here's why. http://www.supercoolcreative Supercool Creative Agency specializes in big ideas, video, social media and interactive production for brands and startups including Capcom, THQ, Atari, IBM, T-Mobile, Pizza Hut and Dickies

1. 3 Reasons Not to Market
Video Games Like Movies
…and some alternatives that might be better
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2. 1. Videogames have a higher barrier to entry in both
cost and perceived time commitment
▪ Advertising campaigns for movies are typically meant to entice and
intrigue
▪ Consumers are willing to spend $8 and 2 hours of their lives upon seeing a dude
with a gun in a poster
▪ Videogames cost $60 a pop and depending on the genre could
take 10 hours or more to complete
▪ Consumers seek more information than a typical movie-style advertisement
provides before making purchases

3. 2. Movie-style advertisements often rely on the iconic
value of their actors and directors to sell.
▪ Often consumers will see a movie based on the merits of
the cast rather than finding out if it’s actually good
▪ A videogame title doesn’t quite have an equivalent
▪ Mainstream gamers don’t particularly follow which publisher or development
team works on a project so it’s more difficult to leverage a team’s track record
when advertising a game

4. 3. The videogame industry lacks prominent publications
that the mainstream audience trusts.
▪ Big names like Roger Ebert and the New York Times
review movies, giving them mass-market exposure
▪ Videogame journalism hasn’t found an audience outside
hardcore gamers
▪ As a result, it is not nearly as massive, influential or reliable

5. ▪ Learn from Ubisoft’s “companion games” initiative
▪ Try an ARG (e.g. Halo 3’s I Love Bees)
▪ Release a making-of miniseries ahead of the game
launch (e.g. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves) Good
▪ Promote a developer run content blog (e.g. Super
Smash Bros. Brawl Dojo)
Alternatives
▪ Publish a flashy lore codex (e.g. Metal Gear Solid 4: Instead of trying to appeal to a big
Guns of the Patriots Database) demographic with one message
like movie-style advertisements,
▪ Partner with online publications to create long-form use a digital heavy approach that
video content (e.g. Building of Bastion) allows you to hit a variety of
smaller demographics through
numerous media channels.

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