So I just beat Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots for the Playstation 3 system and let me say….WOW…An absolutely incredible game!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this game. I thought it was well made with a top notch, in depth story that had me glued to the screen sometimes watching some of the excellent cut scenes. Not mentioning the incredibly smooth gameplay though…Konami has taken a definite step in the right direction for the series here! The Marketing of Metal Gear Solid 4 was something that I did not think was done very well however, but you will learn more of this in just a bit.

One excellent innovative little feature that caught my attention throughout the game was that during special parts of the cut scenes you could actually hit the L1 button and change the camera view and hit the R1 button and view a flashback from the story of past Metal Gear Solid games. Just this little addon gives more depth to the game because it is just like you are remembering the flashbacks yourself. This is in the story mode I am talking about here.

Now even though I enjoyed playing this game a lot, as a marketer I was disappointed in their marketing efforts. I thought A LOT more could have been done with their marketing campaign to not just bring back other loyal gamers to the series, but to catch the attention of the ever growing gaming market. They seemed to have a mediocre campaign going in total which could have been dramatically increased.

I don’t know the specific sales numbers, but do know that they could have been much better. For a game that was released solely for the Playstation 3 system, a much better marketing campaign could and should have been completed. For example: I took a look for quality clips to show you here, you know through viral advertising, and there were insane amounts of trailers being more than 2 minutes in length and very few quick ads designed to build interest quickly. This was a big mistake in my personal opinion. But here is one ad that is decent:

If the quality of this game was any indication, the marketing easily could have been to the scale of its fellow Gaming release Grand Theft Auto 4. Both games are new additions for their series, but the hype built for GTA4 far surpassed that of Metal Gear Solid 4 otherwise known as MGS4. Did you even know Metal Gear Solid 4 was being released? Personally I didn’t until I went to the store and saw it on the shelf.

MGS4 has some advertisements placed throughout the game. This theory has been a very controvercial topic as many gamers do not know if they like the commercialization of marketing within games. Within this game specifically though, I feel that the advertising actually adds a bit to the game. For example: In one of the many cut scenes an apple laptop was being used. It clearly showed this distinction and it actually gave more of a realistic feel to the game. Apple had major product placement in the game which really did not bother me whatsoever. There are other ways of this product placement throughout the game too though…one of which I never used. Snake can listen to an ipod during his missions if you choose to do so. This is not a necessity by any means and is only at your choice.

Now to show the power associated with online viral marketing, a YouTube user created a tv spot ad for the game which in my opinion is better than most of the other ads available promoting the game:

I’m sure that ad caught your attention now didn’t it…you possibly even
now want to try out this amazing game!

Now I am a supporter of the Playstation 3…not that I don’t enjoy playing the Xbox 360 too though. I have been a Playstation since it originally came out. The fact that the Playstation 3 has a built in blue ray player is a huge advantage over the other systems and is possibly one of the main selling points for the system itself as it is up against a monster in Microsoft with the Xbox 360 and the highly innovative Nintendo Wii.

Here’s an example of one of the gameplay trailers I mentioned above:

For now, Metal Gear Solid 4 is not available for anything but the Playstation system. There has been much hype built however claiming that it will be released for the Xbox 360 about a year after the PS3…but I seriously doubt that. Because of the depth of the game, the size will not fit on a normal dvd…even a few of them. This is why it is so well fit for the PS3 since it reads (in my opinion, the way of the future) blue ray discs. The entire game fits on a single disc and as you already know I am very satisfied with it!

If I was an Xbox 360 user, I would actually consider purchasing a PS3 just to be able to play this game…along with watch blue ray movies! Yes, there are amazing games for the 360 that aren’t for the PS3…this one may just be the same…except as a PS3 exclusive. But with all the hype out, I don’t know this for a fact.

Overall, I highly recommend Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots. I would probably personally rate it around 9.5 out out 10, so in other words, truly incredible!

To Your Success!
Mark Garland

Before you watch this clip, I do want to warn you that even though there is children in the ad, it is not an appropriate advertisement for children to watch. I recommend that you wait until there is no children around until you view this.

It will be best if you watch the clip now, before I talk about it (you’ll see why!):

Did you enjoy that? It was really well thought out because it is completely relevant to the “language training” that was being advertised. It definately caught your interest too as soon as the music began to play.

They chose an appropriate age group to show in the ad because they used an older and younger age range. These are the two age groups who don’t typically listen to the type of music that is played.

I wanted to show you this ad because I believe it would have been very effective in it’s time for the language company being advertised. It would definately stick in the viewers mind and be referred to others!

One pitfall I do see with it is this: I do not believe it would be able to be played on regular tv stations during non-adult hours. This itself is a big blow to the advertisers as it would seriously restrict their audience and thus effectiveness. If they had of used a different song that could get across the same meaning and was appropriate for all age groups then it could have become incredibly successful. I am sure it was still successful in its time, but not to it’s full ability. I do understand that the language company being advertised would have an older target audience, but if it could be aired during regular television hours, more viewers would see it that were in their target market.

So what should you learn from this?

Well humorous commercial advertising can be very effective at building interest in a product or service. However, you must be careful when creating them not to go “over board” and make it funny in an offensive way. You also need to make it appropriate for the time and location you wish it to be viewed. Just think out your ads and do the proper research and you should create a very effective ad!

If you are interested in learning how you can improve the marketing for your business or website than you should get a copy of my “Total Marketers Handbook”. In it, you will learn the fundamentals of marketing that you should implement to help you become successful with your business! Learn more about it by clicking on it’s image in the top right of this page! It will help you considerably!

Mark Garland

Do you remember this Michael Jordan Gatorade commercial when he faces himself? Yes I do realize this is an ad that ran many years ago…but it is a great example of effective use of a celebrity endorser in a commercial. This is why I am making this post today.

I sure do remember this ad, mainly because Michael Jordan himself has been such a role model in society over the years…whenever he appears in anything I tend to perk up and pay more attention then I would normally.

From a marketing standpoint I enjoy this ad thoroughly. Who better to promote a product like Gatorade than a proven symbol in the world of Basketball like Michael Jordan. His history speaks for itself and associating a product like Gatorade with an athlete like Michael Jordan is a great display of marketing genius!

This commercial is obviously promoting Gatorade. They are probably one of my more favorite companies when it comes to running effective advertising campaigns. I usually enjoy their ads, I remember them, they tie their product into the commercial quite well and I like Gatorade itself! I think one of the reasons they can manage to have such great celebrity endorsers for their product is that Gatorade is used by athletes in many of the most tiresome and athletic sporting activities. The facts that athletes are looked up to greatly in our day and age and that there is no shortage of athletes looking for more exposure just aids in Gatorade’s quest to be the best!

As far as marketing goes, it is important to tie your product into your advertisements wherever possible. In Gatorade’s case here, their product can quench thirst like no other and is effectively used by some of the best athletes in the world. This alone sends a crystal clear message don’t you think!

This commercial displays Michael Jordan in his prime practicing against himself after his prime. My personal thoughts are that in his prime he would be able to destroy his post prime performance (even in baseball, lol!).

Let me know what you think of this commercial…I am always interested in hearing new opinions!

Mark Garland

P.S. If you are interested in learning to effectively market your business or website online then I highly suggest you check out my online business training site. You will be able to learn what it takes to be successful online and full support will be available to help you when you need assistance! Check it out by advancing to my Business Training Website