Microsoft launched a campaign for Forza Horizon, with a an eight-episode online reality series as a centerpiece. Starring dance club DJ Steve Aoki, it will run biweekly for the next month.
Titled Chasing With Steve Aoki, it has three teams of characters competing in a series of real-life challenges. The teams will sometimes receive helpful clues by pulling up video messages from Aoki on their Xbox 360.
Forza Horizon will be receive placement throughout the episodes, including branded clothing and gear. The game, which is more focused on arcade racing rather than simulation driving like the Forza Motorsports series it spun-off from, will be the focus during the show’s fourth installment when the teams face off in the action-racing game.
The series will also air on Fuse’s cable TV channel along with Alloy Digital, 215 McCann and Starcom MediaVest. Alloy’s comedic duo Smosh will also appear in the videos while explaining rules to the Chasing With Steve Aoki participants.“We have a healthy mix of digital because we know the game-playing audience entails heavily digital consumers who are socially connected,” said Rob Matthews, Microsoft’s gm of global consumer marketing for the company’s interactive entertainment business.The show could get attention from the million Facebook fans and Twitter followers that Xbox, Fuse and Steve Aoki have. There will also be a Facebook hub for the video game, and TV spots and print ads for Forza Horizon.“We also have extensive reach through Xbox.com that we’ll utilize,” he explained. “We are deploying all of our channels to promote Forza Horizon and this [online video] series.”
Source: AdWeek.com
