To continue to build anticipation,
Bungie began seeding information about Destiny wherever
and whenever possible.
For many video game companies,
one of the primary places to cast their message wide, and get in
front of highly targeted audiences, is at tech-related conferences
such as E3. In June of 2013, Bungie headed to E3 to release the
Reveal Trailer for Destiny to gaming and tech
enthusiasts.
After E3, the developers
continued to drive their message out to as many people as
possible.
Here are just a few of the many
examples of marketing that Bungie employed when marketing
Destiny :
- Partnership with PlayStation - Bungie and Activision partnered
with Sony (PlayStation) and gave them exclusive rights to use
Destiny in promotions. They also began selling a special
white PlayStation 4 that was bundled with Destiny for $10
less than the two would cost separately.Microsoft, creator of the
Xbox, came out with a tongue-in-cheek advertisement to sell the
Destiny fragrance after it was prohibited from running
advertisements on the Xbox One.
- Live Action TV Advertisement - the company created a beautiful
live action trailer for Destiny and promoted it during
football and sitcoms, such as The Simpsons, for a cool $6.7
million. That investment paid for two different ads to air more
than 900 times across 21 networks. While most of the impressions
occurred during the FXX network's 12-day-long marathon of The
Simpsons, Activision spent the most on football. $2 million went
directly to placing ads during pro NFL games.
- Strong Visuals in Major Cities - Destiny appeared in
major cities around the world in the most unassuming of places.
They took over Oxford Circus in London and they took over
buses and subway stations and buildings in New York City. The Destiny brand
felt like it was everywhere.
While it would be impossible to
recount here every marketing activity that Bungie and Activision
partook in during the launch of Destiny, it is quite
evident that the goal was to create brand awareness across multiple
demographics.