Agency: The Marketing Arm
Client: GameStop
Video and software retailer GameStop has a 23% market share, but is facing increasing competition from bigger stores. When Guitar Hero was about to release its fourth version, GameStop wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to strengthen their position and capture even more share of wallet.
They launched the “Be A Star” sweepstakes, in which GameStop gave customers an opportunity to have their face and likeness be digitally captured as a playable character in a future Guitar Hero game. In addition, an interactive microsite let people operate a rock name generator and custom guitar skin, while consumers who preordered the game received an access code that would unlock all 84 songs on the day of the release.
The promotion was marketed through email, the national sales meeting (attended by 5,000 managers) and online newsletters, banners and viral marketing. Midnight retail events were held at thousands of stores to give consumers a first taste of the game. In-store POS material was designed for the launch. A social media campaign was conducted across networks, bloggers and Guitar Hero advocates.
In three major markets — Los Angeles, Dallas and New York — consumers were able to show off their Guitar Hero skills, take advantage of photo ops with VIP guests and experience the Guitar Hero World Tour before the game went on sale at midnight.
GameStop’s promotion rocked. Consumers generated more than 36,700 unique rock names; tens of thousands of consumers took part in the midnight event; more than 70,000 people voted on the user-generated content; and a user-generated YouTube video of the event was viewed more than 60,000 times.
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