2007 AWARD WINNER
BEST USE OF A SMALL BUDGET
(UP TO $250,000)
CAMPAIGN - Hitman: Blood Money
AGENCY - Ikon Communications
CLIENT - Atari Asia Pacific
SPONSORED BY
OBJECTIVES
Working with a budget of only
$80,000 Ikon had to launch the game Hitman: Blood Money in a category
already brimming with similar games.
With the imminent launch of Xbox
360 and Playstation3, the industry
was in limbo - consumers were
reluctant to spend their hard-earned
cash on games for consoles that were
soon to be superseded.
Category unit sales were down
14% year-on-year and value was down
27%. 36 distributors, acting on behalf
of 270 individual publishers, were
competing for this shrinking market.
The majority of the action was in
the under $50 price bracket, but Hitman: Blood Money was at a premium
price point of $99 to $109
during launch. Atari set a three-month
sales target of 10,800 units - the
game needed to be embraced by consumers
outside the usual “hard core”
gamer set to achieve this many sales.
Ikon needed to break the mould,
and did so in a campaign spanning
online, mobile, magazine, radio and
commuter press.
CAMPAIGN
Ikon found adrenalin sells games in
the stealth fighter category. The closer
Ikon could get to creating a real-life
experience of an assassin, the
greater the adrenalin rush and
interaction with the brand.
So, Ikon put consumers in the
shoes of Agent 47 to experience the
adrenalin rush of making a hit. The
idea had to go beyond a one-off
opportunity to trial the game, rather
create an ongoing opportunity for
gamers to become addicted to the
adrenalin rush of making a kill.
mcm Interactive created a
purpose-built flash media site,
allowing Ikon to leverage national
radio and online assets, such as The
Hot Hits
and Plant Rock Evolution.
The Hitman: Blood Money website
briefed consumers on weekly
missions and presented a number of
options to carry out the “kill”.
However, a lot of thought needed to go
into the choice of killing technique as
only the most discreet was the correct
method.
Participants would then leave
details, including mobile numbers,
thinking they had completed the
mission and were in the draw for the
$5,000 bounty, but they were wrong.
On the Friday, Ikon arranged for a
voice message from Agent 47 to be
left onto participants’ mobiles, inviting
participants to execute another hit,
directing them back to the website for
a full brief.
Every Friday, for four weeks, a new
mission was available. Consumers
could join at any stage, but needed to
complete all four missions to go into
the draw for the $5,000 prize money.
Zoo Weekly, which had just
launched, was print partner. The
weekly format of the title coincided
perfectly with each weekly mission.
Brand association was offered
to Zoo in return for extremely
competitive rates and integration to
promote the idea.
News Limited’s MX was also
leveraged to engage consumers in
“dead” commute time.
RESULTS
Actual sales of 18,790 units were
achieved in the first three months,
74% up on the aggressive objectives.
This was a significant result against a
category back 14% in total sales.
Also, Hitman: Blood Money outsold
key competitors of Metal Gear Solid
by five to one and Splinter Cell by two
to one, with significantly less funds
available.
Engagement metrics were significant,
with an average online user
session lasting 11 minutes and 13
seconds. 22,891 unique user
sessions were delivered, with a
staggering 12,609 (55%) completing
the four missions to enter for the
$5,000 prize.
The $80,000 budget was
stretched to $202,437 via a
partnership approach to execution.
The campaign delivered a true
profit return of $1.67 for every $1
invested in marketing. Given there
was no creative partnership, and the
content idea was purely media agency
driven, Ikon attributes this result
directly to the media strategy and
collaborative partnerships forged.
JUDGE’S COMMENTS
“The campaign was built off a solid
strategic insight that formed the
foundation for a very effective and
creative media partnership. The
execution tapped into the motivations
of the target audience in an innovative
way. An outstanding result!”
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