Leave it to me to find a way to talk about Call of Duty on it’s much anticipated day of release.
But this article isn’t about sleep deprived, Mountain Dew powered teenagers skipping school or the (also Mountain-Dew powered) middle-aged men calling in to work all for a few more hours of gaming bliss.
This is about a company (Activision) who understands their customers.
Their latest advertising spot (check it out below) features Sam Worthington as “The Vet” and Jonah Hill as “The n00b”. The point? Activision understands and embraces that their latest version of Call of Duty needs to reward the old-timers who have played the Call of Duty games for years, while making sure to leave the door open for new gamers who may be trying Call of Duty for the first time.
It’s something that every business, in every industry, should pay attention to.
We live in a “Culture of Sequels”. There were 8 Harry Potter movies. We already on the 4th Twilight. Saw 237 will be out this Halloween. Sequels work, but the one’s that work best follow a similar model as Call of Duty.
They focus on embracing the old while inviting the new. Giving the nod and rewarding their loyal veterans while making things accessible the newest n00bs.
If you sway too far in either direction, you end up missing a huge potential audience. The best marketers understand that both pools of consumers, fans, and followers are extremely valuable – and that attention must be paid to all of the above.
Young or old, veteren or noob, each represents one commonality to any business: Opportunity.
Are you tapping into your audience’s full potential?
(Can’t see the video? Click here)