New Game plan is a winner

"The new pay-off line is fresher, shorter and punchier and easier to use on billboards and signage," says Fanus Nothnagel, managing director of Game. "Overall, we believe the new campaign will enhance brand perceptions and reinforce the emotional bond between Game and our customers."

Spearheading the campaign at the beginning of November will be a fun new TV commercial showing winning scenes in a Game Store - big and elated moments as well as smaller and incidental ones - all designed to bring a smile of recognition to the viewer.

John Gale, managing director of Ogilvy Durban which created the campaign, said, "Research to establish an understanding of the core values of the brand was conducted before the campaign was conceived and the commercial was tested through pre-launch research. We are very excited because there was a strong correlation between the results of both research projects - in particular, customers say that Game is a fun environment in which to shop.

"Winning, too, is central to the Game brand and the new commercial features several exuberant winning moments such as a shopper sliding along the floor soccer-style as one would after having scored a goal which supports the winning sentiment," said Gale.
"The winning theme will be taken across all Game promotional media including printed leaflets, the TV Fact Show and future TV commercials."

Says Nothnagel, "People win in a multitude of ways at Game. You can get what you want at an affordable price, you are guaranteed satisfaction and service, and you win through great brands as we are the trusted supplier of numerous international brands. The new campaign communicates these messages."

The pre-launch research also revealed that a strong emotional message of fun, excitement and happiness was communicated in the ad. It also achieved a significantly above-average liking score, particularly amongst regular Game shoppers.

"This is extremely positive," said Gale. "However, the commercial has to work harder than this and the research also confirmed that brand recall amongst respondents was far higher than for the average commercial."

The brand reinvention follows hard on the heels of Game's entrance into the sponsorship arena with the memorable Game Challenge Relay in Durban at the end of August and the record-breaking Game Outeniqua Wheelchair Challenge in George earlier this month. The Johannesburg leg of the Game Challenge Relay will be on April 10, 2005.