Halo 3 Mania Is Almost Upon Us USA Edition
In just a couple of days a $10 million marketing blitz will work it’s magic. On September 24 2007, which from now on will
be known as All Halo’s Eve, Microsoft and Bungie unleashes it’s $10,000,000 publicity inferno.
We’ve already seen the first four steps of the five step campaign. It began with TV spots during Monday Night Football in USA last December, which was later seen on YouTube by 3 million people. The second step was the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta, cleverly bundled with Crackdown. 820,000 players helped the Master Chief and Bungie improve the game.
Now how many of you can guess what step three was? No it wasn’t the Halo 3 branded Mountain Dew and Doritos or 7-Eleven and Burger King in-store promotions or the Halo 3 NASCAR vehicle or Linkin Park’s Projekt Revolution tour or the Master Chief was figurine in Madame Tussaud’s Was Museum in Las Vegas. All those things were a part of step four. So what was step three? Take a guess and read on if you want to know the answer.
Step three of the Halo 3 hype offensive was Project Iris. Did you guess that? If you didn’t then don’t worry, not many
people took part in Project Iris. The project was an attempt to generate some viral buzz. Some of you might remember ilovebees.com. That was the URL at the end of the Halo 2 trailer. These marketing “schemes” are called ARG (Alternate-Reality Game). It’s a real website, but it isn’t. Like The Blair Witch Project or Steven Spielberg’s A.I.
The last step has already started. The largest retailer of consumer electronics in the US, Best Buy has teamed up with Pontiac and is giving away a Halo 3-themed Pontiac. We already know about the Halo 3-themed Xbox360, but did you know that Microsoft is also releasing a Halo 3-themed Zune?
The hype doesn’t stop here. Across the US more than 10,000 stores are hosting early-morning Halo 3 launch events. In New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Miami one store will offer Halo fans prelaunch playtime against celebrities, athletes and Bungie staff members. Of course you can expect a lot of merchandise to be given away at the regional events too.
So what will happen in Europe? Check back tomorrow and I’ll tell you.
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Comment by Joseph Plazo on 24 September 2007:
Hmmm… such compelling reason to finally invest in an Xbox360. Got a PS2. Yep I’m a dinosaur in the games department. But perhaps that changes when Halo hits the stores
Comment by Micah on 24 September 2007:
OK, you know a game is successful if the producers spend $10 million to advertise it. I’m going to bet that they will get their money back though. Back a few years ago when I was in college, that’s all my dorm room did, play Halo.
Comment by StealthedHunter on 13 February 2008:
lol they got there money back in like the first 2 hours after release and more!!!