FORZA HORIZON 3 “JOHN COOPER WORKS”

TitleFORZA HORIZON 3 “JOHN COOPER WORKS”
BrandMICROSOFT JAPAN COMPANY
Product / ServiceFORZA HORIZON 3
CategoryE02. Sponsorship & Partnership
EntrantWUNDERMAN INTERNATIONAL Tokyo, JAPAN
Idea Creation WUNDERMAN INTERNATIONAL Tokyo, JAPAN

Credits

Name Company Position
Maki Hashizume Wunderman International Account Director
Kei Yashiro Wunderman International Associate Creative Director
Raymond Murphy Wunderman International Art Director
Anne Rihi Wunderman International Senior Copywriter
Hiroko Nakagawa Wunderman International Senior Account Executive

The Campaign

Ignore traditional game marketing convention, which highlights the key features of a game, and instead embrace the mantra of “Show Not Tell.” The campaign was created to show potential consumers the glory of the game through virtual test drive. To broaden the reach of the campaign, we partnered with BMW/MINI and their model John Cooper Works that is featured in the Forza Horizon 3 game. MINI John Cooper Works x Forza Horizon 3 = An unbelievable ride

Creative Execution

In partnership with BMW/MINI, we created a promotion video for John Cooper Works to be published on MINI social and web channels. However, instead of regular video footage, this video was created using only Forza Horizon 3 in-game graphics. The real nature of the film was revealed to viewers only after they experienced the thrill of a MINI John Cooper Works racing across the Australian outback at speeds of over 250km per hour. The online video led people to an actual game driving experience at both MINI dealerships and PC retail stores across Japan. The combination of digital video, in-store events and partnership across BMW/MINI and Microsoft not only reached traditional driving gamers, but also car enthusiast.

Describe the success of the promotion with both client and consumer including some quantifiable results

MINI dealers commented that the execution of Forza Horizon 3 gave potential customers a very special and realistic test drive experience of John Cooper Works MINI and Microsoft was excited to see how the graphic excellence of the game could be brought to life beyond the gaming environment. In just one week 115,000 impressions for both MINI and Forza Horizon 3 were reached. More importantly, 74% of participants who stated with no intention to purchase expressed a new willingness to buy.

Explain why the method of promotion was most relevant to the product or service

While the campaign is for Forza Horizon 3, the content primarily features Mini John Cooper Works cars and branding. Additionally, live events were hosted at Mini dealerships around Tokyo to let customers experience the car and the game in person. The campaign execution required significant collaboration between Mini Japan and Microsoft Japan to develop content that expanded the market and featured key attributes of both brands.

An integrated campaign that included a partnership with BMW/Mini, digital video and dealership events that leveraged the cache of the Mini John Cooper Works with the incredible in-game graphics to give consumers a virtual driving experience that let them experience the thrill and joy of both brands.

Links

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