Microsoft has made the single largest marketing investment in Xbox history for its largest global ad campaign, spending more money on a series of promotions that it did for the launch of the Xbox 360 or Halo 3.
The campaign theme is “Live your Moment” and is targeted at “the casual and social segments”, illustrating Microsoft’s desire to evolve the Xbox 360 from a gaming platform to a mainstream entertainment platform. According to the company, “It’s about real people having emotional and connected Xbox gaming and entertainment experiences with their friends and family.”
The pre-Christmas marketing blitz is set to include television, billboard and print ads, as well as retail displays and digital marketing around the world, supported by PR outreach, social networking and direct customer communication efforts.
The marketing kicked off on Friday in the US and will debut in Europe this Thursday, emphasizing the relatively cheap Xbox 360 entry price of $199 / £129.99, the “New Xbox Experience” launching this fall and the system’s lineup of upcoming titles.
Microsoft said in a press release that “the campaign will be particularly critical in EMEA, where we are focused on shifting brand perception and driving re-appraisal of the platform in a very competitive region with entrenched competition.”
As in the US, European ads will air during top-rated shows across TV networks in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
You can check out one of the TV spots:
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&VideoID=43320996