Xbox 360
Maximizing presence online in a competitive environment
We kept the Xbox 360 top of mind during high-budget launches by key competitors.
The challenge
Develop an online strategy to protect share against competitor launches
Microsoft's Xbox 360 was facing a huge challenge. The run-up to Christmas is the key US sales season for games consoles, and both of Microsoft's two main competitors were planning to launch new platforms - the Sony PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii. Microsoft tasked us with developing an online strategy that would position the Xbox not only as the console of choice for the Holidays, but also as an all-round entertainment solution.
Most Xbox campaigns center on a specific game/title launch, but this campaign focused on the console. The brief required us to maintain the Xbox 360's online presence amidst a blizzard of Holiday-related ad clutter with a limited budget.
Our insight
Appeal to hardcore and casual gamers/gift-givers for sales uplift
Our initial research focused on analyzing the consumer groups who inhabit the gaming marketplace. Hardcore gamers form a minority in terms of numbers but are the greatest influencers. Casual gamers are much more numerous and represent the greatest volume potential. Parents and gift-givers are active buyers of consoles in the Holiday season.
We needed to challenge the competitors directly on the hardcore gaming sites. And, in the non-gaming environment, we needed to increase the Xbox's appeal to casual gamers and gift-givers.
Our solution
Create the perception of dominance within online channels
In the hardcore gaming environment where our competitors would be looking to build presence, we created a perception of dominance by 'roadblocking' sites and creating 'skins' and wallpapers so that sites looked and felt like an Xbox environment.
For non-gaming sites, we partnered with Viacom and produced four four-minute vignettes that were syndicated across their online and mobile properties. The content largely focused on the broad range of peripherals available for the Xbox. The objective was to make parents and gift-givers aware of the additional products they could buy for the Xbox 360, and lure them away from the new rivals.
The results
- Reached 18% of all active online users
- More than 205 million impressions
- 6.7 million editorial impressions across Viacom sites
