Homework: final case study research

Complete the following questions and tasks on your blog to create your final independent case study on a game advertising campaign of your choosing.

Name of game:

Release date:

Institutions behind the game (game studio/publisher):

Gaming platforms it is available on (e.g. PS4, PC, Wii etc.):

Print

1. What print adverts were used to advertise the game? Find examples and post them on your blog.
2. What key conventions of print adverts can you find on the example you have chosen? Product name? Font? Slogan? Central image? Colour?
3. Find three reviews for your game that were originally published in videogame magazines. Are they positive or negative about the game? Copy and paste one quote from each review.
4. Did your game feature on any videogame magazine front covers? Find examples and explain why a front cover feature is so successful in promoting a game to its target audience.

Broadcast

1. Did your chosen game use a TV advert to promote the game? Embed it from YouTube if it did and explain how it fits the key conventions of a TV advert.
2. Is there a game trailer on YouTube? Embed it on your blog and explain why it is effective in promoting the game to its target audience.
3. Can you find any other broadcast features on the game - interviews, launch party events, video reviews, clips of the gameplay on YouTube etc. Write about how they effectively promote the game to its target audience.

E-media

1. Visit your chosen game's official website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of its target audience?
2. Are there any creative or interesting aspects to the game's official website?
3. Does the game have a YouTube channel?
4. Can you find any examples of user-generated content on YouTube that players have created and uploaded from the game? Embed any examples on your blog.
5. How does user-generated content such as gameplay videos help to promote the game?
6. How many 'likes' has your chosen game's Facebook wall had?
7. Choose five of the posts on the Facebook page's wall, screengrab them and explain how they appeal to the game's target audience.
8. What is your chosen game's Twitter hashtag?
9. How did the campaign use Twitter to promote the game?
10. Can you find any other creative uses of e-media to promote the game? This might include hashtags, competitions, Instagram, user-generated campaigns or anything else that is designed to draw attention to the game.

Pre- and post-release

1. What was the game's release date?
2. What is the earliest reference you can find to the game before the release date? Was it announced at a gaming conference (such as E3)? How did the publisher get a potential audience excited about the forthcoming game?
3. How did the institution promote the game after it was released? 
4. Does the game have any way of making the publisher additional income post-release (such as in-game purchases)?

Other

1. Who do you think is the target audience for this game? Make up a potential target audience demographic and explain why you think it fits the game. What psychographic groups would be attracted to this game?
2. What else can you find from the marketing and promotion of your chosen game? A launch event? Stories appearing in newspapers? Celebrity endorsement? Scandal or controversy?
3. How does the campaign make an emotional connection with the audience? What is the audience appeal of the advertising campaign?
4. Can you find any images of how the game was promoted in-store - displays, point-of-sale promotions, window displays etc.?
5. Write down anything else of interest at the end of your case study blogpost.

Due: Wednesday 14 May.