Brand Storytelling and the PlayStation 4

Image courtesy of The Inspiration Room

I have been playing video games for as long as I can remember, and though I have owned and played systems and games from just about every gaming company, Sony's PlayStation systems have always been the ones I gravitate to. Turning on the original PlayStation as a kid, seeing the SCEA logo come up on screen, and hearing that iconic boot-up sound will always be engrained in my mind. I have always admired the marketing campaigns Sony uses to promote their PlayStation systems, as I felt like the majority of them perfectly captured what made the PlayStation the premier place to play games. PlayStation has had some highs and lows over the years, but in its over 15 years of existence, Sony's gaming machine has stayed true to its identity - a gaming system by gamers, for gamers.

In the marketing world, in order to really hit your point home, you need to develop a brand story. A brand story is not just a bunch of facts thrown out at consumers, it is the culmination of feelings, passion, and emotion. There is a narrative at play, with a beginning, middle, and end. A great brand story makes the consumer feel involved in the product's campaign; it talks directly to them, making them feel as if they are the most important person in the world, and that nothing else matters.

One of my personal favorite brand stories comes from the current PlayStation campaign. The release of the PlayStation 4 last November marked a huge shift in branding for the PlayStation. Sony had been going through a rather rough time, namely due to the struggles of the PlayStation 3, which was suffering from somewhat of an identity crisis. The marketing campaign for the PS3 was rather strange, and never managed to strike a chord with Sony's key demographic. Most gamers gravitated towards the Xbox 360, and the Wii owned (and basically created) the casual gaming market. With the upcoming release of the PlayStation 4, Sony knew that they had to turn things around. The PlayStation 4's success hinged on learning from past mistakes, and putting the focus back on the gamer.

Reminding gamers why PlayStation is a leader in the gaming market was key, but they also needed to show that their new, more powerful machine was the best place to play games. The slogan they used to promote the PS4 was one that I felt perfectly summed up what Sony wanted to accomplish, and gave gamers everywhere a clear picture of what their new system was all about:

Greatness Awaits

It is still being used in promotional material for the PS4 to this day (though in Europe, the slogan "This Is For The Players" is being used more prominently), and has been instrumental in making the PS4 the current leader in the current console race.

When I first saw the Greatness Awaits campaign in action (in one of my favorite commercials ever, period), I knew exactly what the PlayStation 4 was going to offer me. The gamer was the focus of that campaign. It works perfectly because it automatically produces incredible images of conquest, courage, and victory in your head. It was like a rallying cry, an invitation to a new incredible world. It shows you everything that is possible with a PlayStation 4.

The Greatness Awaits campaign was the perfect way to reinvigorate the PlayStation brand because it works on so many levels: it built excitement for the system before it launched, and it still being used now to help build excitement for prospective buyers and continuously remind current owners why they bought it in the first place.

When the PS4 launched, it became the first home video game console in the world to sell 1 million units in 24 hours. Needless to say, there was a considerable amount of excitement surrounding it (and still is). Its success is due in part to the excellent marketing effort Sony produced. Behind all of its grandeur and production budget was a simple message: all of the power and technical advancement of the PS4 took a backseat to the gamer. You were the star of the show with a DualShock 4 in your hands. It was your duty to answer the call.

Besides, who are you not to be great?