CASE STUDY
DANIEL SECAREANU
Agenda
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Introduction
Market Context
Project Overview
Branding
Positioning
Impact
Introduction
• Ubisoft – more than 20 years of experience in
the entertainment industry
• Focused on strong brands, in-house
development and a global distribution network
• New creations = success & long term growth
• Assassin’s Creed – more than 2.5 mil units sold
worldwide in the first month
• What drove Assassin’s Creed success?
Market Context 2007
• 2007 – high growth year for gaming industry
• DFC identifies four high flyers: Activision,
GameStop, Nintendo and Ubisoft
• Console market split among Sony PlayStation3,
Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii;
• Games market proving successful for both epic,
as well as casual games
• Sequels or already established titles dominate
Project Overview
• Assassin’s Creed – next-get game redefining the
action/adventure genre
• Merges technology, game design, theme, and
emotions into a unique and innovative world
• Inspired by historical events and played having
social rules in mind
• Assassin’s Creed – the right ingredients to
create a top quality product
Branding
• Assassin’s Creed – a new intellectual property title
• AC brought gaming to the next level through its unprecedented
freedom of action and highly realistic environments
• AC made the promises of a compelling story and an innovative
gaming experience and delivered on them
• Storyline – framework for future sequels
• Assassin’s Creed – easily memorable brand name
• Experience the power of the Assassin…
• Nothing is true, everything is permitted…
Positioning
• Assassin’s Creed – new next-gen IP that
redefines the action/adventure genre through an
innovative gaming experience
• Experience the power of the Assassin –
emotional experience
• Nothing is true, everything is permitted – power
through freedom
• Next-gen game on next-gen platforms
Communication
• 4 years of continuous small reveals and well
kept secrets building expectations and hype
• Pre-launch and post-launch mechanics
• Not just telling or showing, but involving the
community (game play footage, community
generated content, hands on events)
• Pretty girls can sell anything
Impact
• Assassins’ Creed won more than five industry awards in
2006
• New IP actually worked
• Generating hype worked as well
• High quality graphics also worked
• Innovative environment , story and controls worked
• Company brand and marketing budget helped all these
work
• Assassin’s Creed sold 2.5 mil units in the first four weeks,
surpassing all expectations