The video game industry is big-business, with revenue rivaling that of even the movie industry. Any thriving business looking to maximize exposure and thus sales, has to consider some type of marketing and advertising.
Video game marketing has certainly been creative, be it commercials, magazine spreads, viral marketing, even advertising on soda cans as seen with Mountain Dew’s Game Fuel.
Come February, Kratos will be joining games like Halo 3 and World of Warcraft by being featured on numerous products aimed at the 18-34 year old male gamer. The marketing push is just a preview of what’s to come in March, when God of War III will get a “very large marketing program”.
Starting February 1st, Sony will be teaming up with Mountain Dew and 7-Eleven to release God of War III products. 7-Eleven will be offering a “Kratos Fury” Mountain Dew Slurpee flavor, available in a total of 4 different God of War cups (pictured right) donning the “Ghost of Sparta” himself, Kratos. The cups will feature a code for downloadable content including behind-the-scenes video, a dynamic theme featuring Kratos’ face, in-game armor, or even wallpapers for your PC.
Mountain Dew 20 oz. and 2-liter bottles of the blackberry and lime flavored drink will also get the godly treatment with hanging neck tags that feature codes redeemable at Slurpee.com.
You can even pre-order the game for only $5 down at participating 7-Eleven stores (pictured left). Doing so nets you an exclusive God of War III poster.
Ginger Kraus, Senior Director of Marketing Alliances for SCEA talks proudly about the campaign:
“7-Eleven’s core target is the 18- to 34-year-old male who is right in the sweet spot for this game,”
“It’s a great alternative marketing opportunity to reach that gamer.”
The promotion will get an additional push with TV spots during the Mountain Dew Tour on NBC. Also expect to see Kratos’ ugly mug being advertised on Facebook and other sites.
As massive as this promotion sounds, it’s only the first “official promotional campaign” that kicks off an even larger marketing push coming in March, the month when the game will finally debut on the PlayStation 3.
God of War III was confirmed today to have a March 16, 2010 release date. The PS3 blockbuster will launch with a standard edition along side an “Ultimate Edition” that includes exclusive digital content and collectible art-book all inside a replica “Pandora’s Box”. To pre-order God of War III or God of War III: Ultimate Edition click here.
[Via]
