TV and advertising are like peanut butter and chocolate - they just go well together, and consumers are used to it. But this tasty combination might not be so wonderful when it comes to marketing video games. At least, that's what THQ's Core Games VP Danny Bilson believes. While EA spent huge on Dante's Inferno to secure a coveted spot during the Super Bowl, Bilson isn't so sure paying for big TV spots is worth it anymore.
Speaking to the folks at the[a]listdaily, as part of a marketing feature that also included Microsoft's Albert Penello and Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime, Bilson commented, "But as far as bigger [marketing] cost against bigger game is, I think it’s about smarter. One of the bigger questions we have to ask ourselves is how important is television? How important is television to a core gamer on a non-television brand? So I think television has some relevance on WWE and UFC because I consider those TV brands. But our other stuff, I question it severely."
He added that those marketing dollars can be stretched far more efficiently with other methods: "It’s incredibly expensive, and what I can do with two million dollars, which will buy a few TV spots on a big sporting event, what I can do in outdoor, or on the web, or direct-to-consumer is way more exciting."
Bilson continued, "You know I’ve grown up with television; I stopped watching it years ago, except for sports. I used to make television. I made it for many years. Some people love it, but I know I’m playing games, I’m not watching TV. You know where I want to market? I want to market on Xbox Live. I want to market on PSN, because every night that’s the switch I turn on at my house. And that front end comes, and those windows come, and all that marketing’s getting right to me because I’m a core gamer. That’s where I want to invest. Television is a big question mark for me.
