Activision may create some over the top and altogether silly TV commercials for the Call of Duty franchise but as vice president of global marketing Jonathan Anastas told [a]list Daily, “If you want to sell 10 million or more copies of a console game, TV is not going away yet.”
It’s more about catering to the widest demographic though. “At that point, you’re breaking into the ‘blockbuster’ game buyer, who may only buy one or two games a year and is not a deep follower of the genre or your brand. They may buy Halo in 2012 and GTA in 2013 and play Words With Friends in-between the two when not watching Netflix or playing Minecraft. I’m not going to convert that buyer on my Twitter feed.”
Social media is important though when it comes to reaching audiences beyond the casual gamer who only picks up a few titles a year. “Brands can build, aggregate and engage their own audiences, often with greater reach than the old media third parties.” Of course, targeting a specific niche is tough due to the fragmentation of the Internet as a whole.
Activision is currently gearing up to reveal a new Call of Duty title developed by Sledgehammer Games. Stay tuned for more details.