Have an account? login. Don't have an account? Create an account for free for unrestricted access.
FMBX News
Posted: Nov 28, 2010
TRO makes Kinect connection
TRO is managing a series of retail-focused activities around the UK to support the launch of Microsoft’s controller-free gaming system, Kinect for Xbox 360.
Appointed by Microsoft in July 2010, TRO is managing Kinect retail experiential activity pre, during and post Kinect’s headline-grabbing November 10 launch.
Retail entertainment activity for Kinect to date has included live demonstrations in Selfridge’s on London’s Oxford Street, and a midnight launch at retailer GAME in both London and Leeds - where customers had been queuing for hours to get their first glimpse of the new system.
Stephen McGill, Microsoft's director of Xbox for the UK and Ireland said: “Kinect for Xbox 360 is set to revolutionise the way people consume entertainment - not just games but movies, music, sports and TV programmes as well as keeping in touch with friends and family. ”
Tamar Klaus, TRO project director says: “Key to the launch activity’s success would be delivering immediate understanding of the breadth of Kinect’s offering, so under Microsoft’s direction, our first priority was to launch a dedicated recruitment process to find brand champions spanning a variety of social groups - including parents, fitness instructors, teachers, dancers and, of course, core gamers. To achieve our target number of demonstrations we interviewed, recruited and trained over 200 Kinect Champions to take Kinect to the public.”
During September, the agency introduced Kinect to Microsoft’s key retail partners via a six-week roadshow covering England, Scotland and Wales. Having received intensive training from the Xbox 360 retail team, developers and marketing teams, the TRO-recruited Kinect brand ambassadors went on to induct over 1,000 retail staff with training that included a pre- and post- knowledge test to evaluate learning success.
Microsoft launched its large-scale experiential retail demonstration activity programme within key partner stores during October, kicking-off with 43 exclusive pre-launch invite-only nights at GAME. Customers who had pre-ordered Kinect were invited to come along to play and learn about Kinect with TRO teams.
A further 300 pre-launch demonstrations were then rolled-out within grocery, toy stores, MVG (Movie,Video and Games), electrical retailers and department stores.
Post-launch, Kinect activity now scales-up during the frenetic pre-Christmas sales period, with TRO delivering a further 1,219 demonstrations plus 2,438 in-store assisted sales activations, supported by PR activity, leading into 2011.
Adds Tamar Klaus: “Key partner stores have responded very positively - with the ultimate uplift in sales through the partnership activity taking them into a very busy Christmas period. It is rare to find a client who is so passionate about their own products and Microsoft has truly been inspirational to work with, right through from their Senior Management team to the on the ground field force.”
Having sourced staff to execute the launch activity, TRO is also managing and maintaining all experiential activity kits through TRO’s Logistics Division.
