[release]Famed studio goes it alone for Portal 2 marketing with in-house TV creative
Tired of ‘copycat’ campaigns, Valve has built the Portal 2 TV ads itself.
Because, it says, no one knows how to market a game better than the people that made it.
The studio said unoriginal ideas and late meetings make the value of creative agencies ‘pretty close to worthless’.
“No one knows the product better than the folks who made it,” Valve’s marketing VP Doug Lombardi told MCV.
“We’ve had many creative kick-off meetings with agencies over the years, and you’d be shocked by the treatments that have come back. Copycat treatments. Cliché treatments. Treatments that reveal the agency wasn’t listening in the initial meeting.
“With the Portal 2 ad, we playtested it and were able to make changes during production. With an agency, those types of tests are too often left to a post-mortem – at which point, the value of those realisations is pretty close to worthless.”
Valve spent eight weeks making its TV ad following a series of successful Valentine’s Day-themed online videos for Portal 2.
In the UK, an outdoor marketing push on bus sides and at train stations will complement the TV ads.
Portal 2 is distributed by EA and is due April 21st on Xbox 360, PC and PS3.[/release][url]http://www.mcvuk.com/news/43536/Valve-Ad-agencies-almost-worthless[/url]
Makes sense, if you want it done right, you do it yourself.
Valve certainly knows how to create entertaining media. Just look at the Meet The Team videos for TF2.
[QUOTE=Itachi_Crow;28659276]Valve certainly knows how to create entertaining media. Just look at the Meet The Team videos for TF2.[/QUOTE]
Which they never finished! :argh:
It's not even that big of a deal but I want my Source Film-maker dammit!
I haven't seen a TV ad for Portal 2 yet.
Another example of why Valve is awesome.
Valve being Valve.
[QUOTE=Itachi_Crow;28659276]Valve certainly knows how to create entertaining media. Just look at the Meet The Team videos for TF2.[/QUOTE]
Seriously, this. Can't wait for the Meet the Medic and Pyro.
[QUOTE=Alvaldi;28659534]I haven't seen a TV ad for Portal 2 yet.[/QUOTE]
Probably because the game is still a full month away. Expect to start seeing them at least a week before the actual release.
[QUOTE=Penguin-Man;28659578]Seriously, this. Can't wait for the Meet the Medic and Pyro.[/QUOTE]
Meet the Pyro is apparently finished, but Meet the Medic is still being worked on. A couple of people have seen MtM when visiting Valve. They want to do MtP last for some reason.
Word of mouth is the strongest form of communication, and nothing like a user base of a bunch of 12 year olds with no social lives to talk about vidya gaems all day to spread your companies name
Who needs an ad agency when when you can just have Valve put your product on a hat?
[QUOTE=yourich;28659944][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njPa6RZfYqQ[/media][/QUOTE]
I giggled like a school girl watching this.
Remember the Fallout 3 advertisements, they actually made me buy the game.
p.s. they were not made by Bethesda
Guerrilla marketing is the best kind of marketing.
Doesn't even require a big budget, just a good idea and a little bit of initial effort.
See District 9 for a example.
In-house advertising is very effective, if you actually have the kind of cash to back it up. Which valve does, since they're kind of a behemoth of gaming.
As I've said before: Valve, the big company with indie sensibilities.
[QUOTE=Randdalf;28659748]Meet the Pyro is apparently finished, but Meet the Medic is still being worked on. A couple of people have seen MtM when visiting Valve. They want to do MtP last for some reason.[/QUOTE]
Logical Hype? The Pyro is the most enigmatic character in the series. They have no known gender, nationality, appearance, or even language. They are also the character people want to see the most, and the one people have been discussing and debating about. You build hype by releasing something like that last.
[QUOTE=Hybrid 4F;28660166]Remember the Fallout 3 advertisements, they actually made me buy the game.
p.s. they were not made by Bethesda[/QUOTE]
then take a look at the teaser for prey 2 which [b]was[/b] made by a company part of Bethesda ( who are publishing it ) and tell me it doesn't make you want to buy it.
[QUOTE=yourich;28659944][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njPa6RZfYqQ[/media][/QUOTE]
Pretty straight forward ad, it manages to tell what the game is all about in a few seconds and in a funny awesome way.
[QUOTE=usaokay;28659845]It has been 1 year and a couple months since Meet the Spy was released.
I want my Meet the Medic ffs.[/QUOTE]
well I never said they were frequent
just that they were good
[QUOTE=yourich;28659944][media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njPa6RZfYqQ[/media][/QUOTE]
well, it certainly beats [b]"THIS ISN'T YOUR MOM'S GAME, SHE'S GOING TO HATE THIS"[/b]
Can't believe I'm saying this, but I wanna see those commercials!
[QUOTE=Diet Kane;28660734]well, it certainly beats [b]"THIS ISN'T YOUR MOM'S GAME, SHE'S GOING TO HATE THIS"[/b][/QUOTE]
Funnily enough that was also done in-house by the company; it just so happens that EA's marketing devision are terrible fucking people and deserve scrutiny.
[QUOTE=Diet Kane;28660734]well, it certainly beats [b]"THIS ISN'T YOUR MOM'S GAME, SHE'S GOING TO HATE THIS"[/b][/QUOTE]
are you talking about dead space 2's ads?
those were great what are you talking about?
[QUOTE=Source;28660678]then take a look at the teaser for prey 2 which [b]was[/b] made by a company part of Bethesda ( who are publishing it ) and tell me it doesn't make you want to buy it.[/QUOTE]
Nope, it was some boring live action shit that had nothing to do with prey.
[QUOTE=Itachi_Crow;28660848]are you talking about dead space 2's ads?
those were great what are you talking about?[/QUOTE]
They way they did it- "This game has everything you love: guns, gore, tons of violence, and your mom HATES IT!" was pretty blatantly them advertising directly to children. Coming from the same people that did the "Sin to Win" competition (which was a contest to objectify their booth babes on camera) and the fake anti-video games protesters.
I like it but wish it could be longer.
Also I'm suprised it's E+10. That's a first for Valve.
Yea that's weird that it's rated everyone, guess there won't be any blood when you get shot.
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