Online+Ad+Campaign

//As a preface I would like to state that the design concept for this advertising campaign is based around a fictional product and company. The product is the “GameStation Portable” and the company is “GameStation”. These are loosely based on the PlayStation®Vita and PlayStation brands. For conceptual purposes only images of the PlayStation®Vita were used in the campaign to demonstrate how a similar gaming device could be highlighted within the online advertising world. All trademarks associated are property of their respective owners.//

GameStation is a fictional company who has an already large following of fans in the online space, but with the launch of their new product, the GameStation Portable, would like to increase brand awareness through the use of social media while also promoting the release of their new product. As a solution to these requirements the “#I’veGotGame” campaign was created. “#I’veGotGame” aims to create a buzz on twitter using that specific hash tag by associating #I’veGotGame with everything GameStation. The hash tag would be attached to all creative associated with the campaign so that whether the audience sees a television ad, web banner, or outdoor creative they will all see the #I’veGotGame hash tag. If/when they want to tweet about their anticipation of the new product, or the fact that they just got it and are loving it they will tweet what they want and attach the hash tag to it.

The use of the hash tag allows GameStation to actively track the participation of their fan base with the campaign. Hash tags are easily searched on Twitter to see how often it is being used, so the more people who are tweeting it the better traction the campaign has. It also gets people to spread the word about the brand and the product without much incentive or investment so that entire networks of people will be exposed to tweets about the product.



The GameStation twitter account will play an important role in this campaign as it will not only kick start the use of the hash tag, but will also actively retweet users who post relevant comments about the product and use the tag. Shortly after the product launch a contest will be held that will encourage people to retweet the #I’veGotGame hash tag and follow the GameStation twitter in order to win a prize. This will not only increase the use of the hash tag but will also get more followers for the twitter account and achieve the goal of increasing brand awareness.

In order to gain exposure for the product outside of Twitter a leaderboard ad was created that can be integrated into an ad server for rotation on all of the major gaming related websites (see: Appendix 1). The ad server will be able to target key markets for the ad and get the leaderboard placed on websites where there is a higher chance of not only visibility for the hash tag, but also click-through for the ad itself. Due to the nature of the campaign and the goal of increasing impressions rather than click-throughs, the CPM model of payment that ad servers use is also beneficial for the campaign. The leaderboard ad will lead to an internal micro-site designed around the GameStation Portable where users can find out information on the product, see more creative with the #I’veGotGame messaging and then ultimately the site will link to participating retailers to allow users to purchase the GSP.



Along with the leaderboard a wide skyscraper (right) was created to allow for use on websites that accommodate that size of banner. It can also be used in conjunction with the leaderboard (above), and/or the rich media rectangle (below) to create a more impactful message (see: Appendix 3). This particular piece explains that if the user follows GameStation on Twitter that they can enter to win a prize. That call to action helps to increase brand awareness through Twitter and also gets the GameStation fan community involved with the brand.

A rich media large rectangle advert was also created for the campaign and can be integrated alongside the leaderboard to create a more substantial message on one page (see: Appendix 2). It could also easily be implemented into a floating advert on major gaming sites. The use of rich media is a way to attract more eyes towards the ad – keeping in mind that the primary goal of this campaign is not to generate click-through (though that’s definitely a bonus) but to increase brand awareness and fan participation through Twitter. By rotating interesting close up shots of the GSP and then flashing the #I’veGotGame hash tag on screen it entices people to look at the ad and then participate on Twitter. If you look at the campaign as a whole, it is designed with the online advertising principle of “ACE” in mind. The colours of the banners, along with the moving imagery of the rich media are meant to attract attention; the tagline of “Anywhere. Anytime.” conveys the key message behind the portable device; and the call of out “#I’veGotGame” and the prizing entices action in the user.
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One of the main challenges of designing this campaign was coming up with the hash tag. After numerous searches of similar tags, the “#I’veGotGame” tag was decided on because it had no active tweets existing already, and it tied in very nicely with the name of the company and brand. Were a hash tag that was already being used extensively (for example, #GameOn) to be used then the trackability of the campaign would be significantly reduced because people would be using the tag for things other than GameStation. By going with a tag that hasn't been used at all it is much easier to track the success of the campaign through the results of a hash tag search.