Consoles are useful for way more than just gaming, and manufacturers are always dreaming up new features and ways of getting the most from their hardware. What kind of role could they play in the corporate world then? Surely, if Jack Tretton can make a boring old sales presentation fun with LittleBigPlanet then anything is possible, right?
When Australian brewer Foster’s were looking for new ways of promoting Stella Artois, a popular Belgian lager it brews under license in the country, they created a new sales team to promote the product to local bars and other stockists. Though the team was aware of the brand’s history they didn’t realize the deep heritage and association it has with cinema in Europe and the rest of the world. Foster’s wanted to get its new team excited about the brand. So rather than playing it safe and just producing a brochure or giving a boring old presentation, they instead had fifty custom PSPs made. They came in hand-stitched velvet cases with the Stella Artois logo on the reverse and a customized version of the XMB running with icons that reflected the brand. The PSP’s contained all the brand’s films and artwork, as well as a presentations on its history and heritage. The PSP wi-fi functionality also meant they could quickly update the PSPs with any additional information.
While on the surface this looks like a very expensive way to motivate your sales team, Foster’s review of the project showed that each team member who received one of these PSPs met all of their sales targets and were, without exception, delighted with the tool. Foster’s is considering rolling out the idea to other parts of its business.
I’m an advertising student from the United Kingdom and passionate about the potential of games to become one of (if not the) leading form of entertainment media.
