Marketing and Games: It's Everywhere

  Marketing is a key component to every firms ability to communicate with their target market. From billboards to commercials to ads in magazines, marketing can be seen in various media outlets. So, how do video game companies market?
   Video game companies market their product (the game itself) and they also market other products and organizations.
  Marketing the product is done via television, social media, store posters, labels and billboards. This is a good way for the company to market their next big hit, especially AAA titles and upgraded systems during the holidays. Here is the trailer for a AAA title:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Te5fcnrUA
  This is just as reputable as a movie trailer, and brings out the emotion of the game experience to fans of the franchise. This is something that will be seen online and maybe on television. If you are not watching television or browsing the web, it is still possible to be exposed to marketing of games. If you stop in your local gas station you may see this
:
  This is Pepsi marketing their "game fuel" series of Mountain Dew. Although this looks like regular Mountain Dew and Mountain Dew: Code Red, they actually have different flavors. They are even available for purchase at the Rhode Island College student union convenience store.
  I have been playing video games for many years, yet I have not really seen much marketing of other products. Maybe it is so subtle I have not noticed, or maybe I am not playing the titles that actually market other products. The closest thing that I have seen to marketing of products in my experience is playing the Forza Motorsport series where you drive replicas of actual licensed vehicles.
  After exploring the marketing of other products more, it is apparent that Microsoft (the only current generation console I have experience with) markets their own products within the inside cover of the case of the game. It may be an Xbox live sale, or a coupon for a Turtle Beach headset with the MW3 logo on it. It is hard to spot marketing of other products in actual gameplay but within the packaging of the game itself you can usually find some sort of other merchandise advertised.
  When thinking of organizations that are marketed when it comes to video games, the military really stands out the most. This is especially apparent with the America's Army franchise. This franchise has exciting FPS gameplay all while marketing everything the U.S. Army stands for. Here is a clip that shows you how realistic to the army they try to make it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxAHhXAw870
 
   This markets the army as an organization that reaches out to people who may be interested in the army and connects with potential candidates. I will take an educated guess that the target market for this game are young men ages 17-23, the prime age group for entering the military.
   Marketing video games is a way to reach out to fans and potential new players. It is a creative endeavor that involves movie preview like game trailers, labels on some of young peoples' favorite drinks, and positive organizational promotion. Marketing is an important part of the industry and I believe that video games as a product are marketed better than most products in the world.