Types of promotions and marketing tactics Outdoor advertising – bus adverts, billboards, digital billboards, murals, car wraps. A very traditional way of advertising used for major game releases (triple A titles) at key stages in the marketing campaign, usually in the run up to the release date, encouraging pre-orders. Pros · It has immediate and unavoidable reach as people are exposed to it, whether we want to be or not. · They are most effective in places where footfall is heavy or waiting is involved (train stations, bus stops, junctions) so they are hard to ignore. · Outdoor advertising usually position on routes used often. The idea is that the message is seen repeatedly and so ‘seeps in’. · Certain locations can help target certain demographics – commuters, students, etc. Cons · Works best for only very simple messages as those who notice it tend to be in transit and won’t be able to give it too much attention. · It is expensive – there are physical costs of producing the advertising as well as committing to a month or more contract for use of the billboard space. · There’s no immediate feedback on whether the promotion is reaching the desired target market. In-store promotion – window displays, cutouts, demos. Will obviously require the cooperation of the retailers and will occur around the time of launch. Larger franchises (GTA) also have an in store presence to promote pre-orders. Pros · It targets consumers actively looking for games and at a point of sale · Appealing for retailers as bold game branding attracts costumers and adds to the shopping experience. · Good for targeting the more casual gamer who may not be aware of particular release dates for certain games and only find out about availability through passing by. Cons · There is limited space within shops and in store promotion tends to kept for the larger games. · Hard to stand out against other gaming brands also promoted in store. · Only customers who shop in store are exposed to it so it’s reach is very localised.

Guerilla marketing – an advertising strategy using low-cost unconventional means (graffiti, sticker bombing, flash mobs), often utilised in a localised area. Gives the marketeer an opportunity to be creative – best used as small part of a larger, more traditional campaign. Pros · Cheap and therefore relatively risk free. · If it is particularly inventive the campaign could go viral. · Unconventional and creative promotion can grabs consumers attention. Cons · Often very localised so the reach is small · If too obscure the message could be misunderstood or, if positioned badly, could go unnoticed. Web Advertising – Banner adverts, Text Adverts, Pop-up adverts. Other common types include: Skin adverts – the area that surrounds the web page content. Interstitials – adverts that appear during the transition between two pages of a site Multi-media ads – use video and sound to draw attention HTML ads – allow for interactivity (drop down menus, yes/no questions). The web is where most of the advertising money is spent nowadays by media buyers for the games industry. Advertisers are charged by one or more of the following means: Pay per click – advertisers pay for every time a user clicks on the advert Cost per action – advertisers pay every time a user completes a certain action (buys an item, fills out a form, etc.) Cost per impression – advertisers pay for the number of times the pages on which their advert is displayed is viewed. Pros · There’s around 1.7 billion internet users · Easy to target a specific market due to the way the internet accommodates niche interests. · Services like GoogleAdSense enable analysis of the effectiveness of adverts giving companies information, for instance what type of user is seeing them and the percentage click through rate (CTR – the percentage of users who clicked on the advert once viewing a site). This is vital for making adjustments to the campaign to capitalise on what is effective. · Can be immediately linked to a selling point. · No physical costs.

· Designs and campaigns can be changed quickly

Cons · Users are very good at ignoring online promotion · Certain ad types – pop ups and interstitials – often annoy more than inform Digital marketing – Facebook pages, Twitter feeds Commonly known as ‘viral marketing’ - marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks and other technologies to promote products through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses. Pros · Very cheap to do. · Has the potential to reach a huge audience. Often requires some discovery by the audience or interaction, which gives the potential consumer some sense ownership of the information or content. Once they forward the message the audience are doing the promoters work for them. Viral marketing means the message is passed between friends and users are more likely to notice messages delivered by those that they should trust and respect. · Facebook pages offers immediate feedback from the user – likes or comments – so the campaign can be altered to capitalise on popular content. · Facebook gives companies a huge amount of detail about customers in terms of age, residence and other interests. This means it combines both promotion and market research. Cons Many other companies are using the same tactics. Viral marketing implies that things grow organically so it is hard to guarantee success Many consumers are savvy to certain tactics and so are cynical to certain tactics.