The music gaming category was down 46% in the U.S. last year, but that doesn't mean people weren't still enjoying games like The Beatles: Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5. On a global basis, The Beatles: Rock Band did manage to outsell Activision's Guitar Hero 5, 1.7 million units versus 996,000 units. That's unusual because typically the Guitar Hero brand has had the advantage in terms of mindshare. Marketing campaigns may have played a part in this battle, however.
Writing for Ad Age, Antony Young, CEO of Optimedia US, examined the media plans for both titles, and he came to the conclusion that MTV's plan was superior, but just slightly. He looked at teaser campaigns, television spots, social media, radio and game websites. Ultimately, The Beatles: Rock Band edged out Guitar Hero 5 because of two areas where the Guitar Hero brand didn't really participate: radio and experiential marketing. On the radio, starting Labor Day weekend through September 9th (dubbed "Beatles Day") 100 radio stations across the country devoted hours of airtime to a variety of special content, playback of the newly minted masters, contests and other Beatles fare. In terms of experiential marketing, MTV and Harmonix kicked off a localized program providing a toolkit for bar owners to host their own Rock Band Bar Nights. The ability to try out the game in front of a live crowd at a bar with friends really demonstrated the game's social nature.
"The one word that sums up The Beatles: Rock Band media strategy is leverage. It expertly leveraged the media properties of holding company Viacom; it leveraged the PR masterfully around events, and in the press, it leveraged its content into social platforms and it leveraged its relationships with marketing partners. Yes, Rock Band put more dollars behind its campaign, but it wins in my book because of the many, innovative ways it used media," concluded Young.
