Overview: Sony PlayStation made its first foray into motion controlled and augmented reality gaming on the PlayStation 3 system with PlayStation Move, a unique combination of a camera and a controller that together provide 1:1 precise controls.

The Challenge: Launching in the wake of the Nintendo Wii’s success, but before Microsoft Kinect had been released, Sony tasked Access to differentiate PlayStation Move from the competition, gain media mindshare, and generate buzz for Move in a highly competitive industry.

The Plan: Access targeted key media and influencers, pre-seeding them with the hardware and Move software that would resonate with their respective readerships. From there, Access hit the road, engaging with media from San Francisco to New York in person for one-on-one demonstrations of Move’s capabilities. Notable initiatives included:

• The Whole Package: Access identified and pursued platinum media with negative opinions of the PlayStation brand and, through honest and persistent media relations, created new evangelists for the PlayStation 3 system.
• The Traveling Expert: Access tapped Dr. Richard Marks, senior researcher responsible for the development of PlayStation Move, securing multiple in-person and on-air demonstrations of Move for key wire service reporters and national broadcast personalities.
• Deposition the Competition: Through an Access recommendation, a video was created with Dr. Richard Marks demonstrating the similarities between Microsoft’s Kinect and the PlayStation EyeToy camera, a technology that was released in 2002. Access then leveraged that video with platinum media prior to the launch of Kinect, resulting in widespread pickup among other online outlets.

Success Metrics: Media coverage results exceeded client and agency objectives with well over 200 stories hitting immediately before or on the day of launch. 75 percent of Metacritic reviews were “good to great,” zero percent were negative.

• Platinum hits included three Wall Street Journal pieces in the same week, two positive Associated Press stories in one day – including a 4 out of 4 star review – and stories from MSNBC, Forbes, Wired, VentureBeat, TIME and CNN to name a few.
• Notable national broadcast hits included two on-camera demos with Dr. Richard Marks on CNN and Al Roker playing Move on the Today Show.
• Access secured over twenty regional broadcast hits surrounding launch – fifteen of them were in the top twenty markets – reaching more than 6 million viewers.
• 385 radio hits reached more than 10 million listeners. XM Radio placement reached more than 18 million listeners.
• Access secured major award recognitions for Move’s innovation, including Popular Science’s Best of What’s New Award and a 2011 CES Innovations honor.
• The top 50 articles alone generated more than 500,678,338 impressions

The impact on business has been impressive. With media taking notice of Microsoft’s $500M marketing spend and noting PlayStation’s relatively quite marketing campaign prior to the launch, as of December, 2010, PlayStation Move has sold 4.1 million units worldwide in its first two months on the market.