“Going above and beyond the Call of Duty”

Activision Publishing, Inc. is a worldwide leader in video gaming entertainment, and Call of Duty is one of the most successful titles in its history.

But the game was being raised to another level. Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the 9th chapter of the series and now faced fierce competition. Italy had become one of the most important gaming markets in Europe, but its economy was reeling. Reaching enthusiasts was simple, but to build the brand, Activision needed to entice the broader public, and mainstream media who are typically unwilling to cover the gaming industry.

The agency’s Milan office saw a way in. Combining Italy’s historic love of film and growing appetite for video games, we crafted a storyline and sent it out across the country: “Video game looking for actors’ engagement.”

Italian movie star Giancarlo Giannini was enlisted as the voiceover for the game’s villain, an announcement we handled with Hollywood fanfare.

We gave the public a role in the action: a custom app that allowed them to collect and share images of themselves in the game’s popular “Zombie Mode.” And we treated the press to an exclusive hands-on engagement of its own.

By the time Call of Duty: Black Ops II launched, its midnight premiere in Milan had become a major event. Thrown by us.

When the smoke cleared, we had 980 media stories, 400m impressions, 20,000 users of our Zombie App, a ROI of 1,400% and a role in the fastest-selling Call of Duty sequel ever: $1bn in 15 days.

Play a big role.

We gave Italy a part in Black Ops II, and recruited celebrated actor Giancarlo Giannini to make the most of it, announcing his role as the game’s villain during a star-studded press conference at the historic Majestic Hotel in Rome.

Next we kept the gaming community in the loop, organizing a presentation day at Milan’s tech savvy Spazio Anniluce, where journalists could preview Call of Duty:Black Ops II in multiplayer mode between one-on-one interviews with the game developers.

As launch date neared, we unveiled a unique app allowing consumers to collect and share photos of themselves in the game’s popular “Zombie Mode.” The Call of Duty branded content, developed with a major game retailer, and distributed via Facebook, quickly went viral.

The launch night event, modeled on the midnight premiere of popular movie franchises, used a military theme, popular local DJs, and a Call of Duty: Black Ops II tournament to build excitement to a crescendo.

Blasting Black Ops II into pop culture

ROI: 1400% for a three-month campaign.

Advertising value equivalency of earned media coverage: 2.100.924.5 €.

980 articles (on/off line, Broadcast and Radio) and more than 400m impressions, reaching well beyond game/tech sector

More than 20,000 people visited the ZOMBIE APP and 15% of users created a brand-specific album on their Facebook page.

Black Ops II became the fastest-selling Call of Duty sequel ever, generating $1bn in worldwide sales in the first 15 days.