The advertising campaign for Halo: Reach is just kicking off and it will be impressive. One example will be a website through which users can manipulate a real-life robot in a San Francisco warehouse to build a laser monument for Noble Team.
Expect to see ads that involve less in-game action and more emotion, like the Believe piece for Halo 3 and We Are ODST for Halo 3: ODST. “You don’t have to know anything before going into it,” said Taylor Smith, director of global marketing communications for Xbox. “We’re trying to tell the story in broad strokes and universal themes that people know all around the world. And get our core fans even doubly excited.”
“We’re trying to get people to connect back to their lives, not computer graphics or something overly sci-fi,” he said. “Live action is a way to capture that.”
Other promotions include Pepsi brand integration, with 300 Mountain Dew Bottles and 30 million bags of Doritos getting Halo packaging and a sweepstakes. There will also be a marketing partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
“As a gaming franchise we have the luxury that people want to come to us,” Mr. Taylor said. “But we also need to be out there in pop culture: That’s how Pepsi fits in and broadcast fits in.
The mutliplayer beta was also launched to promote the game, attracting 2.7 million players. “We went out earlier in the cycle with the intention of driving volume to test the beta before the game even came out,” said Michael Stout, global product manager for Xbox.
And even as Bungie preares to launch a whole new franchise separate from Microsoft, don’t expect Halo to end with this. “I think it’s safe to say we’re not done with Halo,” added Stout.
Source: Ad Age {link no longer active}
