Big Name Brands Partner For Video Game Tour
Games Media Properties has signed on three major sponsors for the 2005 GameRiot Tour, including Nestlé Nesquik, MTV2 and Microsoft’s Xbox video game system.
The addition of such strong brands further leverages GameRiot’s power as the leading video gaming festival and helps brands better reach their target audiences, said Matthew Ringel, GameRiot’s executive producer and CEO of Games Media Properties.
“Each year, it gets better and better,” Ringel said of the partnerships. “It’s our strongest line up of partners.”
In its first title sponsorship ever, Nestlé’s Nesquik will support the video games festival and competition tour with an on-pack promotion to be featured on 40 million bottles of Nesquik in June. The promotion, which targets consumers 13 to 24, will include a sweepstakes offering three winners a chance to host their own GameRiot party. Lesser prizes will include Xbox consoles, Xbox video games, ringtones and music downloads.
The sweepstakes will run through Oct. 10. Online materials will support on Nesquik-cooler.com. As part of the sponsorship, Nesquik will distribute samples of two new flavors—s’mores and vanilla caramel milkshake—during the tour.
Also in its first sponsorship, MTV2 will promote the tour with a series of 30-second TV spots that will air throughout the summer. In addition, the network will run radio spots on XM Satellite Radio promoting the tour dates on the MTV2 concert calendar.
“They have really come on strong to define themselves as the TV network for music and video games,” Ringel said of MTV2 executives.
Microsoft’s Xbox reenters the mix for its third year sponsoring GameRiot, supplying Xbox consoles for the tour. The company will also provide 20 popular Xbox games to support radio give-a-ways on top alternative rock and hip-hop stations in each market.
The latest effort marks GameRiot’s fourth national tour. The spring leg of the tour will hit eight cities now through May 21. The tour offers gamers a chance to play new and unreleased console and PC video game titles. In all, GameRiot will host 85 events in 30 markets during the 2005 tour and expects 300,000 gamers.
And so far, the buzz is going strong. In its first two days, 8,600 and 17,000 people, respectively, attended the Game Riot tour, Ringel said.
Internet materials support. Games Media Properties LLC handles the tour.
