Case History

Celebrating 25 Years of the Tetris Effect

 

Situation

As Tetris readied itself for its 25th anniversary, the people behind the gaming legend realized they would need significant help. The game was considered a relic of the 80’s by some members of the media. There were licensees all around the planet to coordinate. The company was waiting for a new study to show how Tetris positively affected the brain.

Blue Planet Software, the sole licensor of Tetris, turned to GCP to coordinate with its licensees to make Tetris’ 25th anniversary a worldwide party that would generate excitement and sales.

 

Objectives

  • Portray Tetris as a game that is both classic and current
  • Leverage the 25th Anniversary to define and validate the Tetris brand for licensee value add and greater intellectual property protection
  • Showcase licensees in coverage to improve sales
    • Make licensee network see the full value of the Tetris property
    • Reinvigorate them to promote Tetris more than ever before
  • Use brain research to prove Tetris is good for players as opposed to the general belief that games only provide entertainment

 

Special Connections

  • We worked with Blue Planet Software to create new level of coordination between Tetris Online, EA Mobile and Mattel during licensee conference in Hawaii
  • We produced a 3-minute VNR to be distributed online and over satellite feeds to TV stations around the world
  • We managed an international wire outreach program to secure coverage from the AP (USA, UK, Australia), AFP (France), ANSA (Italy), DPA (Germany), EFE (Spain, Mexico), Reuters (USA, UK, Australia), Xinhua (China)
  • We conducted media outreach during E3 gaming convention in Los Angeles

  • We persuaded Google to change its homepage worldwide to resemble the distinctive building blocks of Tetris to coincide with the 25th anniversary date of Tetris

  • Worked with neuroscientist Dr. Rich Haier to gain coverage in trusted health media and popular press for his team’s research on how Tetris positively affects the brain

 

Results

  • Over a billion media impressions – and that was before Google changed their home page!
  • Over 1,600 print and online original stories and over 120 TV reports in over 60 countries
  • Google says “hundreds of millions” saw special Web design
  • Online Traffic spikes for Tetris Licensees
    • “Our servers nearly shut down”
  • Coverage of Tetris’ brain research garnered front-page coverage by the BBC as well as ABC, CNet, Forbes, MSN, MSNBC, The Globe and Mail, Wired, and Yahoo!, among many other outlets
  • In January Blue Planet Software announced Tetris reached 100 million paid downloads onto mobile phones, more than any other game in history
    • Our distribution of that news update got one billion impressions again