The "Kid" Within Me

By Chris Ong 


Yearly, June marks an important month for me, it's not just only the month that I was born in, but also the month where gaming’s most important expo would be held. Since 1995, the Electronic and Entertainment Expo (E3) would gather thousands of professional in this industry for major announcement and the giants will share their vision and plans for the year. Same for this year, some 48,000 people from 102 different countries attended the event held from 11th to 13th of June.

If you still think that gaming are for kids, then tell that to giants like Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo and Electronic Arts who are pumping crazy amount of money into this business.

Think twice if you think that gaming would not need any advertising. What can be better than seeing your favourite video game character which you see only on your digital screen, appearing on a big billboard, poising to strike. This not only sets my blood rushing but also brings me to another level of excitement and anticipation for the game. Evidence? We are already seeing more outdoor and indoor banners at this year’s expo.

Banners within the Expo Area, Beautiful aren't they?


Batman and Assassin's Creed, what more can I ask for!


All geared for next generation!

The highlight for this year’s event was the revelation of the next generation console from both Sony and Microsoft. All eyes are on Sony since they announced the new Playstation 4 console since February this year. Here’s the catch, they announced it without showing the world how does the physical console looks like, therefore, people from the industry and also the public wants to catch a glimpse of this beast in E3 this year.


Sony sure knows how to tease the people, just one day before the great event, a campaign was launched on the digital screens along the streets of London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds during the rush hours. With the display only showing the message “See You In The Morning”.  
Along the busy streets












See you In the Morning!



This teaser campaign helps to build anticipation and excitement for the event and the great revelation form Sony. Next morning, just a few hours after (Time zone difference) their official launch in Los Angeles, these screen immediately changed the message and along with the world, revealed the look of the new Playstation 4.


Revelation of the console along with the whole world!














We really saw them the next morning














This would be the very first reveal of the design and look of Sony’s black box console that goes on sale later this year. What I really love about this campaign is the simultaneous launch and announcement of the highly anticipated home entertainment system which captures and teased the thousands of traffics users along the streets since the previous day. As mentioned by the Associate Director of the site owners, Ocean Outdoor, “This is a genius use of premium digital outdoor to head one of the most anticipated launches in the home entertainment sector of the year”

Back in Singapore, our own team have helped Electronic Arts (EA) with their launch of the yearly and highly anticipated sports title, NBA2K12 back in 2011. Situated strategically on the LED screen in the only mall that has more sports equipment than the whole of Orchard 313, this display that was at Queensway Shopping Centre not only targets on the massive amount of sports enthusiast daily, but also the heavy traffic at every hour.

Keep the "Game" moving

Capturing the crowd that is waiting for the traffic





























Combine with a Die-cut display of the game’s logo, it manage to generate more buzz and attention to passer-by. With a mall totally dedicated for electronic device, Sim Lim Square would also be the top location that these companies can advertise in to reach out to their mass consumers. Gaming culture might not be that big in Singapore, but recently, I’ve seen more and more games doing their advertising outdoor to reach out to more people. I, for one, strongly feel that this trend will grow and believe that gaming companies will make use of this media to further create their awareness globally.

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