Access Communications

2K Sports Rucker Park

As part of 2K Sports’ ongoing strategy to raise awareness for its NBA 2K video game franchise and position the title as the premier basketball video game on the market, Access Communications focused on establishing 2K Sports as an authority on innovation in basketball video games.

The market for basketball video games continues to be extremely competitive with EA Sports, 2K Sports, and Sony leading the list of industry heavy-hitters. It was important in 2007 for 2K Sports to establish NBA 2K8 as the premier basketball video game, while also positioning itself as an innovator in the market. To do this, 2K Sports turned a typical plan element – a motion capture session with the cover athlete that is typically done for every sports title by both 2K Sports and its competitors – into a marquee event for the entire company that accomplished both of those goals.

On Wednesday, July 25, 2007, 2K Sports turned the usual motion capture session into a public event that was a first for the entire industry – an outdoor, open to the public, nighttime motion capture experience that drew more than 300 fans, 60 media outlets and four NBA stars. The event targeted sports, consumer and men’s long lead and short lead media, as well as broadcast press. The timing of the event was everything as the game wasn’t launching until October but it was crucial to create standout coverage opportunities for both long lead and short lead media. For short lead and broadcast media, the goal was to fuel consumer demand via the “making of the game” story.

The NBA 2K8 Rucker Park Motion Capture Event was an astounding success across the board. For NBA 2K8, the event boosted awareness of the new NBA Blacktop mode as well as Chris Paul as this year’s cover athlete. For 2K Sports, the event raised the company’s profile as the authority on basketball video games by staging an event that was an industry first and by providing an inside look at how a video game is made. Approximately 60 media, representing more than 30 predominantly top-tier print and broadcast outlets, attended the event to get a first look at NBA 2K8 and witness the historic motion capture shoot. Media in attendance included CBS Television Network, Dime, ESPN, Fox News, GameDaily, GameSpot, GameTrailers, Newsweek, Maxim, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Vice and more. Access Communications secured more than 20 placements across gaming, sports, consumer, men’s and broadcast media.

2K Games: Bioshock

2K Games turned to longtime PR partner Access to generate a media blitz leading up to the release of BioShock, a complex video game with a niche gaming feel. With the release of every new title, there’s a hope that consumers will grab the game off the shelves without hesitation. At Access, our goal was to ensure BioShock was accessible to every gamer.

The development team at Irrational Games was known for creating intricate and often obscure video games that did not make it off many store shelves. Given this and 2K Games’ strong belief in the title, the PR team spent nearly two years publicizing the release of BioShock in order to transform this complicated gamers’ game into a digestible experience with mass appeal. The PR team was also tasked with securing in-depth feature coverage of the game in national consumer outlets.

To position BioShock for mass consumer appeal, Access began with uncovering the rich history of BioShock’s development. The team leveraged BioShock’s rich back story to create compelling narratives that were used to deliver highly targeted pitches to various segments of consumer publications.

Access also capitalized on our great relationships with influential gaming media in the space to create intimate player parties where journalists could learn more about the unique features of the game and why it was worth their attention. Since we didn’t just want our executives to tell their own story, we arranged for a more powerful interaction. We invited top game developers and producers to the events to provide consumer media with an insider’s education on key aspects of BioShock. This key tactic was viewed by media as a primary resource in facilitating understanding of the complex elements of BioShock, ultimately resulting in positive media placements in highly coveted consumer outlets with a significant message pull-through rate.

To hit an important 2K market segment of gaming enthusiasts, Access established exclusive game days in six different cities to reach our most influential gaming reporters. The account team interested media in an opportunity to play through the early levels of BioShock uninterrupted – creating an intimate way for gamers to become enveloped the new game as well as producing an environment for our executives to build key relationships and seed compelling messages around the features of BioShock.

These strategies and tactics ultimately resulted in a hugely successful campaign that enabled us to transcend our goals. The PR team secured coverage in more than 220 consumer outlets, garnering at least 35 reviews with perfect scores and more than 12 awards by gaming organizations and publications. BioShock was awarded a Metacritic score of 96 for both the PC and Xbox 360 versions – the highest ever for an Xbox 360 game. Outlets including Associated Press, CNN, Entertainment Weekly, ForbesLife, Maxim, Newsweek, Playboy, The New York Times, TIME, USA Today, Variety, VH1, Washington Post and WIRED not only covered the launch of BioShock, but carried 2K Games’ key messages regarding BioShock’s originality and next-generation gaming experience.

Media Blitz Helps SEGA Sell 5 Million Games

SEGA and Nintendo are widely regarded as the founding fathers of the modern video game industry. So when Access learned they would co-publish a new game called Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games we knew this title, which pit the two legendary mascots against one another, would be a truly historic event. The partnership provided an opportunity to influence media perceptions about SEGA and reinforce the company’s leadership position as a top international game publisher.

The key to the launch would be to make the historic Mario and Sonic pairing a definitive pop culture event rather than another title launch. To this end, Access built a compelling narrative around the significance of the joint SEGA-Nintendo title and recommended a media strategy aimed at securing coverage in platinum print, online and wire service to hit in tandem with the announcement and a radio news release. Access handpicked influential business reporters at Newsweek, USA Today and Reuters to conduct interviews with top executives at each company.

On announcement day, Access launched an all-out media assault and secured coverage in USA Today, Reuters, WIRED, Wall Street Journal, Seattle Times, Boston Globe, Detroit Free Press, San Francisco Chronicle and The Associated Press along with every tier-one gaming publication, reaching a combined audience of 192 million consumers across print, online, TV and radio.

The PR launch was extremely successful for SEGA and helped drive the sales of more than five million copies of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games worldwide – a figure that represented a third of SEGA’s entire title sales the year before.