Generating Buzz with Market and PR Intelligence Research
"Conducting research is a valuable
way of creating news when you don't
have a lot of hard news or customer
success stories.
ISG is dedicated to creating research
results that grab journalists’ attention
and gain their respect for its credibility
and reliability."
Garth Choteau,
Vice President PR, PopCap
Challenge: Generate media attention
and become established as a leader in
the casual/social/mobile gaming
marketplace.
Creating surveys and sharing the results though a press release
or various social media outlets like websites, LinkedIn, blogs, and
white papers has proven to be a cost effective and valuable way
for our client PopCap Games to increase awareness and
recognition of its products.
One of the world's leading creators of computer games including
Bejeweled®, Zuma®, and Plants vs. Zombies®, PopCap Games, a
division of Electronic Arts, has established a clear, deliberate and
effective PR strategy that builds on gaming industry survey
results.
Solution: Conduct an annual, themed
gaming industry trend survey and
develop a well-executed PR strategy
around it.
The Surveys
PopCap and ISG have partnered for seven years to conduct and
publicize a variety of research projects designed to establish the
company as a leader in the casual/social/mobile gaming
marketplace. The first study focused on the fast-growing casual
games space, examining a variety of critical industry-specific
consumer attitudes, usage, behavioral and demographic metrics
and highlighted the many benefits of playing casual games.
Results: Annual survey results are
featured in heavy hitting media outlets
like the Wall Street Journal, USA Today,
CNN and ABC News, and on a variety of
game-related websites, publications
and social and mobile platforms.
PopCap continues to be an established
leader in the gaming industry.
Other studies have focused on gameplay among white collar
workers, examined gaming in disabled individuals, and
investigated emerging industry trends like social and mobile
gaming. Each PopCap survey investigates a unique theme that
ties into a specific message, industry trend or PopCap product
release, and is specifically designed to attract media and
industry attention.
The Results
PopCap has found it critical to rely on ISG’s market research expertise and best practices to ensure
uptake from top-tier media outlets, which favor research managed by an unbiased and reputable
independent research company. Results from these studies made a big impact for PopCap.
Through the combination of solid, well-planned research and a savvy PR strategy, PopCap’s survey
findings have been featured in prominent outlets like the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, VentureBeat,
CNN and ABC News, and on a variety of television networks and game-related websites, publications
and social and mobile platforms.
Planning Ahead
PopCap has just released the results from its 2013 Mobile Games Research, and plans to continue to
partner with ISG for its custom research each year to gather valuable market data that tells a compelling
story, creates media talking points and delivers the punch needed to generate buzz in the marketplace.