Battlefield 3,EA Show How To Properly Build a Hype Machine

You done? What feelings did that video evoke? This isn't some hokey focus group nonsense, I'm trying to wrap my head around how brilliant the "Fault Line" marketing campaign is. I mean wow. Talk about taking a page from the Hollywood playbook. Let me give you my version of how this works. Viral marketing is nothing new, but how it's executed determines its effectiveness. I'm going to give an example of how this might play out in film.

• You have a movie that is highly anticipated and very high budget. In order to build hype for it you initiate an aggressive marketing campaign. A year before release you decide to go with an enigmatic teaser that highlights the finer points of said movie. The audience is spellbound, but they are clueless as to what they are mesmerized by. They just know it was awesome. They want more.

• Three months later you extend the same trailer, reveal some more exciting elements, and tie it in with an exclusive song track from a popular music artist.  You release a single for free on iTunes and Zune. It's absurdly popular. The hype is now running rampant. They're frothing at the mouth. The rumor mill is spinning. Perfect.

• What happens next? You release some photo's of the actors on the set. One of these actor's happens to be very A-List. Fans begin examining the minute details within the photo. People are talking. The hype is beginning reach its precipice. 

• Five months prior to release a full trailer is made revealing what the movie is and people are loving it. Cover stories at major media outlets and interviews with actors begin.

• Three months prior to release the studio creates an episodic series. The web series involves a sub-plot that will see its conclusion in the film. The series is incredibly popular. Forums are teeming with story possibilities. The hype has climaxed in the form of an explosive opening weekend. Mission accomplished. 

This is a seriously oversimplified example of how a successful viral campaign may work in film. But the same principles are in effect with EA's brilliant "Fault Line" series. EA knows they have stiff competition and they have also made it perfectly clear that they plan on dethroning Call of Duty. What better way to get the hype machine going than to release an episodic web series that highlights the things we care about?

They had a major cover story on a widely-distributed magazine (Game Informer). GI announced their March Battlefield 3 cover exactly 29 days before the first episode of "Fault Line". So the word of mouth syndrome started early and then EA drops the haymaker with the viral video. Simply brilliant. This now creates more speculation, talk, and rumors. Whatever it is, all that matters is that people are talking about it. Hell, I'm writing a post about it for crying out loud. This is an excellent example of how to do marketing and hype properly.

Let's take a look at how effective the video is. It reveals just enough to leave us craving more. First thing that we notice is just how gorgeous the game is. The things I noticed were things like the stunning HDR lighting effects, the intricate details on the gun, and the frightening sense of realism the game was able to create. All of that in a two minute video. Then they wrap it up with a cliff hanger, which leaves me wanting more. Am I analyzing more than I should? Absolutely. It's just the way my brain works. Stuff like this impresses me. Battlefield 3 has effectively become my most anticipated game of the year. Hey EA, mission accomplished.

Image via EA