Lore

Best of the (past) Year

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With due respect paid to “Head On: Apply Directly To The Forehead”….Nintendo’s Wii launch may be win the world championship marketing crown last year. It all started with the product, as it should. They blew up the old argument that all gamers are exercise needy couch rats by introducing physical activity (through motion sensors) to the mix. By making it easy and friendly they allowed for a more social experience. And experience always beats technology….well, at least technology without experience.

Then to get things rolling they seeded the game with three sets of “ambassadors” – core gamers/loyalists, large multigenerational families and…Alpha Moms. One Alpha Mom invited 35 of her dearest friends to play with the Wii in a hotel suite in LA. About that same time the PR starting to hit thanks to the innovative nature of the product and lead up to holiday gaming sales.

In the end….Wii took down the new Playstation..and almost equaled Xbox 360. All while spending a fraction of their marketing budgets.

While Head On took a different approach….the “so bad it’s good” model of Mentos….they do get a runner’s up ribbon.