Download Sony PlayStation > This is for the Players. This is PS4.

Sony PlayStation > This is for the Players. This is PS4.
In 2013, nearly a billion people worldwide carried a gaming device around with them in their
pockets everywhere they went – their smartphone. Over 250 million people, from grandpas,
to football mums, to procrastinating office workers were playing games against each other
each month – on Facebook. In six years the very definition of gaming and gamers had
radically changed, and it was precisely the proliferation of these smartphones and social
media gaming arenas that were causing many industry analysts to prophesy this 8th
generation of consoles to be the last generation of consoles. The biggest battle would come
from PlayStation’s arch-rival Xbox. It was set to be a modern-day David and Goliath, and
with the respective launches only one week apart, PlayStation figured that if they couldn’t
outspend them, they’d have to outsmart them.
COMMUNICATIONS OBJECTIVES
• Be the most talked about entertainment launch of the year
• Drive desirability and advocacy for PS4, both at launch and beyond
• Be seen as “Liberating play”
MARKETING OBJECTIVES
• Deliver Market Leadership of the Next Generation, in terms of market share and awareness
• In the UK specifically, close the gap between PlayStation and Xbox, the market share
leader
TARGET AUDIENCE
Hard-core gamers:
Typically in their mid to late twenties, single and predominantly male. Gaming is their primary
leisure activity (more than 10 hours per week).
Mainstream gamers:
Slightly older and less male-biased than fanatics. A third have children and are quite cautious
spenders. They game regularly, predominantly playing the blockbuster titles such as FIFA,
Call of Duty and Grand Theft Auto. Digitally savvy without being obsessed by the latest
technology, they use mobile and social channels extensively.
COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY
The communications’ objective was clear: become the most talked about entertainment
launch of the year and show core gamers why PS4 is the best place to play.
The campaign started many months before the actual launch using cost effective digitalcentric (paid & owned) channels at launch announcement (February) and the trade &
consumer show E3 (June) and Games.com (August). These focused primarily on fanatics,
whose level of receptivity was highest.
Paid media budgets were ramped up as launch came nearer (Nov) targeting both fanatics &
Top 10 gamers, fuelling the sense of anticipation through viral seeding driving consumers to
digital content, high profile audio-visual placements on TV & Cinema. TV weights at launch
were little more than the competition’s, but by concentrating on appointment to view
programming and key days, it worked far harder, driving buzz, branded search queries and
Facebook likes.
CREATIVE STRATEGY
The console gaming experience had become cumbersome for most users.
Long download times and constant system updates made console gaming a limiting
experience. People’s passion for gaming was stronger than ever, but the experience wasn’t
living up to what people truly wanted. Gaming just wasn’t as fluid and intuitive as the rest of
their tech and media.
The PS4 experience had to match people’s expectations of what “next gen” consoles should
deliver. The strategy for PS4 was to go back to the roots of the brand and declare that it was
for gamers, by putting them at the very heart of everything. The campaign could help PS4
distance itself from the entertainment one-stop-shop that Xbox One was becoming. The
campaign needed to prove that PS4 is the place where gamers could truly play – not just be
entertained. PS4 gamers were branded as “players”. The “This is for the Players” campaign
was born. It kicked off with two online teaser films to get fanatics buzzing and speculating
about what was coming. The second film was a celebration of how PS4 had liberated play for
everyone, but as a special reward for the fanatics, it was also crammed with 50 hidden
references for them to find – references and tributes to the past, present and future of
PlayStation Play. An interactive version ran online with a contest to find them all, leading to
game trailers, product tutorials and giveaways.
BUDGET
€ 20m and over
MARKETS
France | Spain | United Kingdom
EVIDENCE OF RESULTS
Despite being outspent in media by nearly 3 to 1, the campaign helped PS4 well overshoot
its European value sales objective, as well as the country specific value sales objectives,
within the first six months of the campaign launch. Over 20% more units were sold than
targeted. The campaign helped PS4 surpass its market share objective, leaving the
competition with significantly less market share across Europe. The UK saw a reversal of
market leadership between PlayStation and Xbox. The awareness objective was successfully
achieved and surpassed and PS4 became the most talked about console launch.
CASE MOVIE
You can watch the case movie here.