Independent Case Study: Call of Duty Ghosts

Name of game: Call of Duty: Ghosts
Release date: November 5, 2013
Institutions behind the game (game studio/publisher): Infinity Ward, Raven Software, Neversoft and Certain Affinity, and published by Activision

Print

1. Print adverts used to advertise the game

2. What key conventions of print adverts can you find on the example you have chosen? Product name? Font? Slogan? Central image? Colour?

• The product name and the main image interlink well with each other; 'Ghosts' from the title matches with the suspicious looking character on both adverts.
• The font used on both covers is the traditional font used for the 'Call of Duty' brand, so this makes it easier for people to become familiar with new products.

3. *

4. Did your game feature on any video game magazine front covers? Find examples and explain why a front cover feature is so successful in promoting a game to its target audience

.

^ The front cover is effective as it gets the fans excited and generates a buzz.

Broadcast

1.

2.

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3. Can you find any other broadcast features on the game - interviews, launch party events, video reviews, clips of the game play on YouTube etc. Write about how they effectively promote the game to its target audience.

• Launch Party - the launch party for the game had loads of celebrities there (football players and pop stars). The fan base for those celebrities will most likely be intrigued towards the game as well. 

• Interview with the exec producer of the game - this generates buzz and the fans are updated on new things involved in the game.

E- media

1. Visit your chosen game's official website. How does it attract and maintain the interest of its target audience?

• http://www.callofduty.com/ghosts - the website keeps the audience updated with new promotions and offers (e.g. new maps available).

2. Are there any creative or interesting aspects to the game's official website?

On the website, there are loads of characters from the game across the page. Also, there are images of new maps and weapons available; this generates buzz.

3. https://www.youtube.com/user/BestKodChannel/videos

4. Can you find any examples of user-generated content on YouTube that players have created and uploaded from the game? Embed any examples on your blog.

5. How does user-generated content such as game play videos help to promote the game?

Fans can develop new skills and techniques.

6. How many 'likes' has your chosen game's Facebook wall had?

104, 800 likes

7. Choose five of the posts on the Facebook page's wall, screen grab them and explain how they appeal to the game's target audience.

8. What is your chosen game's Twitter hash tag?

#CODGHOSTS

9. How did the campaign use Twitter to promote the game?

• Celebrities used the same hash tag "#CODGHOSTS"
• There are loads of COD Ghosts news pages to keep fans updated
• The official COD Ghosts page started discussions for fans and gave away free copies of the game to selected people

10. Can you find any other creative uses of e-media to promote the game? This might include hash tags, competitions, Instagram, user-generated campaigns or anything else that is designed to draw attention to the game.

• https://twitter.com/CallofDuty 
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