The $75 million launch campaign focuses on what Nintendo does best -- create the world's greatest video games-- and will run simultaneously with dedicated campaigns for five exclusive first- and second-party games and more than 10 third- party games, for a total of nearly 20 exclusive titles and 1.1 million systems on store shelves by the end of year. The campaign targets all gamers with an emphasis on enthralling and fun game play, and world-class graphics.
"NINTENDO GAMECUBE is built from the ground up for one purpose only-- to play games," says Peter Main, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America, Inc. "Our extensive campaign has one central strategy-- to make it as easy as possible for players to quickly get their hands on our exclusive, groundbreaking Nintendo games."
Advertising
The heart of the multi-media campaign starts next month when seven different television commercials begin airing virtually everywhere--the media buy ranges from primetime television to MTV to Saturday morning cartoons.
Top production talent for the television creative includes the director of photography for the motion pictures "Seven" and "The Beach." The multi-national production involved shooting, editing and post production work in the United Kingdom, Italy, France and the U.S. One of the commercials features more than 500 cast members, adding to the epic scope of the television advertising campaign. Holiday moviegoers will see NINTENDO GAMECUBE commercials on the big screen in November and December, airing along with blockbusters such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings.
NINTENDO GAMECUBE advertising will permeate print media in the next months, as eight print ads will appear in magazines ranging from kids and tween publications such as Sports Illustrated for Kids, to men's magazines such as Maxim and Stuff. More than 95 full-page print ads will appear in more than 50 publications.
NINTENDO GAMECUBE out-of-home advertising will include in-school and mall dioramas, Channel One Broadcasting advertising, NINTENDO GAMECUBE banners in malls across the United States and more.
Consumer Sampling
Nintendo's exclusive Nintendo Cube Clubs kick off on September 28. Instead of the industry-standard truck tour, Nintendo will visit 12 cities nationwide and transform lofts, vacant office buildings and other offbeat venues into fully interactive, hip clubs, with DJs spinning music, special lighting and more than 32 game play stations, equipped with Panasonic HDTV monitors. The Nintendo Cube Club Tour kicks off this month in Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta and is sponsored by Stuff Magazine, Maxim, DC Comics, Yahoo! and GamePro, among others. For free tickets, club locations and a full tour schedule visit www.nintendogamecube.com.
Internet Outreach
The NINTENDO GAMECUBE Internet campaign is anchored by the launch of the official NINTENDO GAMECUBE Web site. The site provides the latest updates and information on the hardware and games, Nintendo Cube Club tour schedule and free tickets to the clubs.
Nintendo will use the Internet to ask die-hard Nintendo enthusiasts what wild and crazy things they would do to get their hands on a NINTENDO GAMECUBE before anyone else. The national "What Would YOU Do for a Nintendo GameCube?" contest appeals to fans that will eat a bucket of worms or shave their head in order to win an early NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Visit www.nintendogamecube.com for contest details. Other fun online activities supporting upcoming NINTENDO GAMECUBE software launches will be featured on dedicated sites such as luigis-mansion.com, pikmin.com and smashbros.com.
Nintendo will distribute more than 3 million sampling CDs featuring Nintendo game play footage, links to the official NINTENDO GAMECUBE Web site, downloadable items and more. These disks will be the same size as the proprietary GCN disk and will be available through retailers, magazine inserts and other promotional partnerships, with the goal being to provide consumers with the opportunity to witness Nintendo games firsthand.
Retail
At retail stores in the coming weeks, 10,000 cutting edge NINTENDO GAMECUBE interactives will give customers a chance to sample the system before launch. Nintendo's strong retail presence includes point-of-sale materials, banners and other merchandising indicative of the overall advertising campaign.
Promotional Partnerships
The marketing plans also include multi-million dollar promotional activities with national partners. Starz Encore Group, the largest provider of cable and satellite-delivered premium movie channels in the United States, is teaming up with Nintendo as part of its blockbuster Fall Free preview.
During the STARZ! and BLACK STARZ! Free Preview Weekend on October 5-7 viewers will have the chance to win one of 500 NINTENDO GAMECUBE systems along with other Nintendo prizes.
Dr Pepper and Nintendo are collaborating on a nationwide consumer promotion this holiday season giving consumers a chance to instantly win a NINTENDO GAMECUBE. Dr Pepper is supporting the promotion with television advertising, point-of-sale and special packaging for the 20-ounce and 2-liter bottles, as well as 12-packs of 12-ounce cans.
A dedicated game play system, NINTENDO GAMECUBE delivers new forms of interactive fun for players and offers the easiest development environment for game creators. The system's embedded memory, proprietary optical disc and innovative controller were designed to optimize the game play experience. Nintendo GameCube is available in two colors: Jet (black) and Indigo (violet) for a suggested retail price of $199.95.
As the worldwide leader and innovator in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co. Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular home video game systems. The systems include Game Boy, Nintendo(R) 64, Game Boy Advance and NINTENDO GAMECUBE(TM). Since the release of its first home video game system in 1985, Nintendo has sold more than 1.4 billion video games worldwide, creating enduring industry icons such as Mario(TM) and Donkey Kong(R) and launching such franchises as Zelda(TM) and Pokemon(R). As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere.