Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Quiet Promotion



One Emory University English Professor believes the sales total that Grand Theft Auto IV has achieved is one of the top eight indicators that the younger generation is in peril. Regardless if you believe this assertion or not, the sales that Take-Two Interactive Software and Rockstar Games were able to achieve should cause everyone to take notice of the marking techniques they put into action.

By forgoing the typical marking blitz and keeping tightlipped about the gameplay details, the publishers were able to build a tremendous amount of hype amongst gamers without raising too much attention from the non-gaming community. It also allowed the publisher to maintain a tight level of control of the message that they wanted to convey. Some of the advertising techniques used by the game’s publisher mentioned in this article were:

  • Building Murals
  • Wanted Posters
  • Viral Videos
  • Bus Wraps


Are there any other products that come to mind that have used subtle or quiet promotion to build hype?

The one that jumped into my head was for the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie, and that campaign did not work out nearly as well as GTA IV’s promotion…