Transcript mike-a - Applied

Burger King Xbox Games Integrated Campaign
Applied Technology - Assignment 2
By: Michael Aquan-Assee
In November 2006, Burger King made gaming history by partnering with Microsoft to develop three XBOX
games. The games allowed Burger King to create a connection with gamers, who were increasingly turning
away from traditional advertising such as television. The games successfully drew consumers into the
King's world by featuring characters and products seen in Burger King's advertising. The games were sold
in store, during the holiday season, for $3.99 each with the purchase of a BK Value Meal. 2.4 million games
were sold in only 5 weeks.
The BK King Games were deemed a huge success by client and consumer alike. The games were certified
platinum by Microsoft on December 20, 2006. Meaning, 2.4 million units were sold during the 5 week
promotional period. This ties with the current 3rd best selling XBOX game of all time. The estimated media
impressions generated by the King Games was the equivalent to thirteen Superbowls. The XBOX games
also helped Burger King draw record traffic and sales system wide. The advertising agency that created the
campaign was Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which is based in the U.S.A.
How the King Made The Games - Movie
BK XBOX Games Integrated
Burger King is not the first company to create promo games designed to entice customers into
buying their products. Back in 1983, Mattel Electronics, created Kool Aid Man for the Atari VCS
(2600) and the Intellivision. The game would later become available for traditional retail
purchase, but originally consumers had to send in Kool Aid UPC symbols along with a small
handling fee to get the game. Johnson & Johnson commissioned a similar title the same year,
Tooth Protectors, also for the Atari, which was only available by mail order from the company.
And also in 1983, Purina offered Chase the Chuckwagon, similarly available only by mail order in
exchange for UPC’s and a handling charge.
http://seriousgamessource.com
Advertisers see in-game advertising as a prime way to target young audiences who are increasingly
neglecting television in favor of computer and video games. However some gamers see this type of
advertising as invasive and annoying. Market researchers are now discovering that in-game advertising
is not as effective in capturing the attention of audiences as they hoped it would be. Bunnyfoot, a
behavioral research consultancy conducted an independent study that reveals a lack of engagement
between videogame players and in-game advertising. Burger King does not consider their King games
to be an adver-gaming initiative, according to Martha Tomas Flynn, senior director for national
promotions at Burger King.
"The plan for the game[s] and where we ended up was to make a legitimate entertainment experience
that uses the Burger King icons as licensed characters,"
This is why BK games do not suffer the same problems as in-game advertisements. The game is one
big advertisement for the brand, yet it is not pushed to the consumer in that way. They are
entertaining and offer customers a great experience at a value for money price.
www.mtv.com
http://pc.qj.net
The video game market is booming and this growth is predicted to continue.
PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that the global video game market will increase from
$31.6 billion in 2006 to $48.9 billion in 2011, growing in every region. This leaves
advertisers with a huge market to play with. Companies like Burger King have been and
will continue to look for new market opportunities within this area and others in order to
engage consumers with their brands.
www.businessweek.com
Marketers are developing new creative ways to engage consumers, in order to keep their interest and
brand awareness. Burger King is making a feature length film that will star the “King” character from it’s
ad campaign. Anheuser-Busch plans to start a seven-channel TV network online, called BudTV. and
Mountain Dew, a PepsiCo brand, produced a movie about snowboarding that ran in theaters nationwide.
Companies are turning to methods like these because, in the world we live in today, it is becoming
increasingly harder to capture people’s attention. Products such as the digital video recorders TiVo, which
allows consumers to bypass commercials, are adding to the challenge marketers face.
www.nytimes.com
The digital age has not totally killed television as a medium for advertising messages. It has however hindered
the traditional way those messages are delivered. Companies and agencies are now creating the television
content in order to gain a better understanding of the types of shows that will be hits as well as the bonus of
having first dibs on prime ad buys.
"The Digital Age requires advertisers not to interrupt content but to create it," says Peter Tortorici, a former
president of CBS Entertainment. "Programming only works if people really enjoy it and keep coming back."
I think this new strategy could cause concern for some audiences. Companies will have an even firmer grip on
audiences, allowing them to target and place their advertising more effectively. The viewer is no longer in
control of which ads they watch if they tune into the programs that were created by the advertisers. They will
be guided in directions the creators chose, and they will become easy targets because they are voluntarily
participating in it.
http://money.cnn.com
Marketers have discovered social network sites as an effective way to attract younger customers. Companies
such as Burger King, JP Morgan Chase, Apple and Wendy’s are creating campaigns for social networks such
as Facebook and MySpace.
Burger King has created a MySpace page for their King character who has already amassed more than
120,000 friends. The King buys his friends by offering free episodes of Fox shows such as 24 and American
Dad. "Consumers respect us more as a brand if we are giving them something they can use," says Gillian
Smith, senior director of media and interactive at Burger King.
Burger King also has a MySpace page for their Whopper Jr. character, that was part of their advertising
campaign.
In addition to creating the BK games, Burger King organized 2-day and 1-day tournaments with various
prizes over Xbox Live. This engaged people from all over the world to compete against each other from their
living rooms. Companies are finding ways to become more relevant to consumers and marketing to
audiences in their own environment using social networking, is proving to be very effective.
www.businessweek.com
New Technologies are changing the way we live, do business and interact with each other. Advertising is moving
along with these changes, and embracing them in order to communicate and interact with consumers. Consumers
are smarter and more aware of the traditional methods advertisers use to persuade them to buy products. We are
becoming overloaded with information, therefore we have become more adept at filtering out unwanted ads that are
thrown at us. Advertisers are aware of this and are changing to fit in with consumers hectic lifestyles. They are
creating much of the content that entertains audiences and interacting with them on a personal level. With the rise in
technology, video games will become more widespread, appealing to larger demographics. Companies like Burger
King are on the right track by developing games that instill the companies brand into the consumers subconscious at
a level that is only possible with full interaction. Advertising that is placed randomly in games will never be as
effective as branded content. Consumers tune them out just as they do television commercials. By entertaining
consumers and engaging them with original creative content that benefits the consumer is the way forward and
companies that utilize these opportunities will see the benefits.
Thank you, please come again!