TITANFALL - MARKETING - PRODUCT

Titanfall  is  a  unique  product  and  will  sa3sfy  many  different  people  with  different  interests.  It’s  complimentary  merchandise  and  its  status  are  crucial  to  providing  it  with  a  significant  sense  of  individuality.  

Titanfall  will   sa+sfy  gaming  fans  of  mul+ple  genres:  both  the  followers  of  regular  first  person  shooters  in  a   fast  paced,  war  torn  atmospheres,  as  well  as  Sci  Fi  enthusiasts,  fascinated  with  futuris+c  

innova+on  and  ques+onable  plot  lines  and  logis+cs.As  well  as  the  fact  that  it’s  only  available  on  MicrosoC’s  gaming  plaDorms,  the  idea  of  the  game  being  purely  a  mul+player  experience  gives  the  game  an  exclusive  

and  rare  image  that  en+ces  gamers  to  come  and  get  it  rather  than  wait  for  it  to  come  and  get  them,  as  the  game  holds  specific  requirements  that  certain  gamers  may  need  to  adjust  to.  Overall,  it  puts  the  product,  

somewhat  ‘in  control’.  A  chic  limited  collector’s  edi+on  of  Titanfall  is  available  and  comes  packaged  in  a  unique  design  of  slide  up  box,  contains  such  treasures  as  a    book  of  the  art  of  the  game  and  an  18C  tall  figurine  of  a  Titan.  This  all  adds  to  the  exclusive  atmosphere  that  this  game  holds  around  itself  and  despite  the  heavy  pricetag,  this  edi+on  is  bound  to  get  some  aLen+on  from  the  most  engaged  and  somewhat  compe++ve,  hardcore  fans  within  the  their  target  audience.  

Smaller  figurines  of  the  game’s  characters  are  available,  as  well   as  a  customised  Titanfall  xbox  controller.  These  forms  of  merchandise  help  define  Titanfall  as  a  unique  and  detailed  and  ar+s+c  product  that  can  be  enjoyed  in  many  ways,  technologically  and  manually.  If  the  consumer  should  want  to  buy  the  game  bundled  with  the  Xbox  One  console,  their  purchases  shall  greet  them  in  a  both  decorated  with  artwork  the  game’s  scenery  and  themes  adding  to  that  sense  of  iden+ty  that  the  game  wishes  to  possess.The  robots  or  “Titans”  are  a  unique  design,  featuring  many  connected  mechanisms  and  war  gadgets  as  well  as  being  equipped  with  large  guns  and  having  a  special  led  light  that  conveys  simple  emo+on.  

Despite the lack of any main individuals or personalities, the pilots and the titans alone act as the face of Titanfall. Their collaboration within gameplay and their detailed backstories add a sense of depth to the game and make it more than just a shallow shooter, yet donʼt take a way the casual aspect of the multiplayer only gameplay.

Titanfall combines many of the different aspects that gamers love about first person shooters, past and present. It appears to incorporate the physics and gun power of Call of Duty along with adapting in the sci fi themes and innovative robotics of many late 20th century to 21st century games, such as Gears of War and then also, adds in an aspect of parkour, that weʼve only really witnessed in another EA title, Mirrors Edge.The game presents attractive, war torn, borderline apocalyptic landscapes that merge nature with crumbling urban infrastructure and modern machinery. Pilots can be seen sprinting through these large maps with titans stomping above them, throughout these large maps. The small servers should provide a atmosphere that enables the map to be quiet enough to be able to move around for a while without being instantly wiped out by another player or bot but active enough that the environment doesnʼt become boring or un-playable (perhaps DaysZ could take a page from Titanfallʼs book).

TITANFALL - MARKETING - PRICE

A  game  of  21st  century  top  quality,  the  game  deserves  a  high  price.  However,  it  needs  to  s3ll  be  accessible  to  its  en3re  target  audience  and  certain  tac3cs  have  to  be  used  to  make  the  purchase  convenient  as  well  as  comfortable  for  the  consumer.  

Respawn  really  do  like  to  use  their  connec+ons  with  MicrosoC  amongst  other  big  companies  to  their  advantage  when  it  comes  to  pitching  a  good  deal  on  prices.  They  use  a  method  that  acts  to  support  the  sales  of  the  new  Xbox  One,  even  if  only  on  a  minor  scale,  whilst  also  pushing  the  game  into  the  overall  audience  for  this  console,  sold  at  a  cheaper  deal  than  if  both  items  were  bought  alone.  By  purchasing  Titanfall  with  Xbox’s  newest  console,  customers  save  at  least  £40  from  if  they  had  decided  to  purchase  both  separately.  It’s  all  part  of  the  exclusive  MicrosoC  only  gaming  package  that  has  driven  Titanfall’s  en+re  campaign.    So,  by  collabora+ng  with  the  ‘big  boys’  with  the  big  sales,  Respawn  are  forcing  their  game  out  into  the  hands  of  poten+al  console  buyers  and  are  glamorising  it  with  a  neat  price  deal  and  a  sense  of  convenience.  However,  Respawn  perhaps  do  need  this  sales  tac+c  more  so  that  MicrosoC,  who  are  selling  a  more  crucial  product,  therefore  the  inclusion  of  Titanfall  within  their  sales  is  a  win-­‐win  situa+on:  The  consumer  buys  the  package,  loves  Titanfall.  Alterna+vely,  the  consumer  could  hate  Titanfall  and  want  to  return  it  yet  they  would’ve  s+ll  bought  the  console  and  would  have  less  reason  to  return  it  and  more  reason  to  purchase  even  more  games  for  it  to  fulfil  the  sa+sfac+on  that  they  expected  upon  purchase.  They  also  partnered  up  with  MSI  laptops,  who  offered  consumers  free  purchase  of  the  game  if  they  bought  one  of  their  newest  gaming  laptops  (which  cover  the  cost  anyway,  yet  just  create  the  illusion  to  the  consumer  that  they’re  geZng  two  for  the  price  of  one  due  to  the  inclusion  of  the  engaging  ‘free’  aspect).

TITANFALL – MARKETING – PLACE

Respawn  must  make  sure  that  they  know  their  target  audience’s  choice  of  media  and  leisure  in  order  to  effec3vely  pitch  their  product  to  them.  Like  most,  top  of  the  range,  video  games  before  it,  Titanfall  has  taken  advantage  of  an  successful  offer  for  a  30  second  Television  ‘spot’.  This,  obviously,  projects  the  product  to  a  vast  audience  but  not  necessarily  a  specific  one.  By  placing  an  advert  on  Youtube,  to  be  played  before  youtube  videos,  Respawn  are  immediately  projec+ng  their  product  to  more  specific  group  that  are  technologically  developed  enough  to  be  using  and  browsing  a  viral  video  site,    a  group  that  generally,  are  more  likely  to  play  video  games,  let  alone  first  person  shooters,  than  the  dominant  middle  aged  –  old  age  sec+on  of  the  na+onal  television  audience.  

In  the  corner  of  all  the  product’s  web  ads,  the  name  of  their  main  online  distributor,  Origin  is  present  in  the  corner.  This  makes  it  clear  that  the  ads  are  reliable  and  are  provided  by  a  well  known  brand.  

TITANFALL – MARKETING – PromotionRespawn  must  use  a  range  of  crea3ve  and  innova3ve  perspec3ves  that  some3mes  float  ‘outside  of  the  box’  to  gain  inspira3on  for  promo3onal  material  to  add  depth  and  individuality  to  both  their  adver3sing  campaign  and  their  product.

The  “Ogre  Titan  Reveal”  trailer  drills  a  hole  through  the  games  generic  first  person  shooter  shell  (if  it  at  all  has  one)  and  plants  a  seed  of  character  there  to  flourish  in  the  minds  of  scep+cal  consumers.  It  promotes  the  product  (the  focus  of  the  actual  product)  of  a  fic+onal  company  made  up  by  Respawn.  The  professional  aZtude  of  the  advert  almost  builds  promise  for  the  fic+onal  Hammond  Robo+cs,  let  alone  Titanfall,  which  is  bound  to  be  good.  The  trailer  uses  the  pitch  of  one  of  the  games  major  aspects,  from  a  perspec+ve  of  an  element  of  the  game  created  by  the  developers  to  present  itself  as  an  honest  depic+on  of  the  games  features  and  it’s  crea+ve  depths.  The  trailer  also  hints  at  many  aspects  of  the  gameplay,  most  notably,  the  idea  of  Oculus  RiC  support,  which  is  deliberately  unannounced  in  the  trailer  to  build  hype  and  keep  the  audience’s  mind  guessing.  Alongside  the  trailer,  there  is  also  an  alterna+ve  reality  service  number  of  Hammond  Robo+cs  -­‐  (1-­‐888-­‐88TITAN)  –  which  really  does  give  the  company  a  realis+c  image  and  tone.  

Another  trailer,  known  as  “Life  is  beLer  with  a  Titan”,  interprets  the  idea  of  the  Titans  actually  exis+ng  in  real  life,  crea+ng  a  different  perspec+ve  altogether.  This  trailer  aims  some  light  hearted  aZtudes  towards  the  game,  with  over  the  top  atmosphere,  enhanced  by  the  large  grin  on  the  man’s  face,  the  casual  reac+ons  to  the  presence  of  the  Titan  and  the  classic  soundtrack  –  “My  shadow  and  me”  played  over  the  concluding  explosions  and  gunfire  of  the  gameplay  sequences.  

Alongside  the  abundance  of  Titanfall  adver+sing  banners  popping  up  on  popular  viral  and  video  gaming  sites  and  the  men+on  of  the  game’s  bragging  rights  –  being  the  recepient  of  over  75  awards-­‐  other  adver+sing  and  promo+onal  techniques  have  been  explored  for  Titanfall,  such  as  the  produc+on  and  distribu+on  of  an  energy  drink  that  is  said  to  fule  the  body  for  5  hours.  On  the  packaging  it  states  that  “  your  going  to  need  it”.  A  consumer  establishes  a  connec+on  between  themselves,  the  drink  and  statement  on  its  packaging  and  the  game  in  two  different  ways:  The  drink  could  be  a  manual  fuel  that  could  actually  enhance  the  humans  reflexes  and  therefore  boost  their  ability  in  game  if  consumed  during  gaming  sessions…or…the  drink  is  meant  to  reference  the  energy  that  would  be  needed  for  the  the  in  game  characters  and  poses  rather  as  merchandise  for  the  product