Sony Entices E3 Goers to "Play Beyond"

May 22, 2006 | By: David Radd

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During E3, the convention center and part of downtown L.A. were seemingly covered with an array of interesting Sony PlayStation ads. The general buzz surrounding these "Play Beyond" billboards and banners was mostly positive even if the reaction to the PS3 price was anything but. We chat with SCEA about this unique marketing effort.

Every E3, Sony buys the massive billboard above the L.A. Convention Center's West Hall, along with several other very prominent ads scattered about the area. In 2005, the campaign featured half concealed triangles, o's, x's and squares (the symbols on PlayStation controllers) and had "Welcome Chang3" written on them, an obvious allusion to the PlayStation 3. These simple yet enigmatic ads were among the most eye catching at the show.

In 2006, Sony has done it again. This year's mantra: "Play Beyond." Hanging above West Hall were two hands engaged in a rock/paper/scissors duel taken up a notch... one hand had two fingers turned into blades and the other had become stone. The other ads that were on display, including a woman swinging from hand-over hand rings above a lava bed and a biker placed precipitously on a sheer cliff face, share the theme of fair, regular play taken to the fantastic extreme.

We caught up with Jeff Reese, Senior Product Marketing Manager at SCEA, and discussed "Play Beyond." We talked about the campaign's nascence and how people have reacted to the unique campaign.

Long before E3 2006, Sony had to come up with a centralized theme for their ads. With the help of Chiat Day/TBWA LA, they thought of a campaign that would be striking, eye-catching and memorable. Something evocative of the PlayStation brand, but not limited to any one aspect or part of that brand.

Last year's Zelda stairs got a fresh "Play Beyond" coat of paint (Photo courtesy of Joystiq)

"The 'Play Beyond' E3 campaign idea was born from the PlayStation vision of pushing the boundaries of how people play by creating truly innovative experiences," said Reese. "The PlayStation brand has a long heritage of leading the industry in delivering highly creative products, and our message to the E3 audience was that we expect to continue down that path. 'Play Beyond' captured the essence of the PlayStation brand and effectively set the tone for our presence at E3."

The days before E3 places many enthusiast reporters in close proximity to the L.A. Convention Center, and since they can't actually make it inside yet, they report on what they can see. As such, "Play Beyond" received no lack of attention. GameSpot, Joystiq, Kotaku and countless other sites, blogs and message boards snapped digital pictures of the ads and put them on the web for the general populous to see. The teasing of the campaign added fuel to the fervor for the anticipated Sony press conference and the expected announcements regarding the PlayStation 3.

"The campaign went live a few days before the doors to E3 were opened, and we immediately saw the online forums and message boards light up with various interpretations of the campaign and overall excitement about what PlayStation was unveiling at the show," continued Reese. "During the show, we continued to receive tons of positive responses to the creative elements that covered the surrounding downtown area and West Hall. We successfully engaged the E3 audience and set the stage for our booth experience, which were our primary goals."

Should have picked paper, sucker... (Photo courtesy of GameSpot)

While it's a matter of serious debate how Sony actually fared overall at E3 2006, "Play Beyond" certainly did its job. Although all of the rumors building up the meaning of the words "Play Beyond" turned out to be mere speculation, the fact that it got people talking is certainly a plus in any marketer's book. The campaign, which was designed specifically for this E3, will for some critics perhaps fade as one of few positive memories for Sony's 2006 E3.

"The focus is on the PlayStation brand and our leadership role in the industry," Reese explained. "PlayStation is a belief brand and the campaign was designed to inspire our audience and get behind our vision as a company. With the imagery and 'Play Beyond' theme, we wanted to strike an emotional chord that sets the stage for the next ten years."

"The key message from this campaign, in speaking to the E3 audience, is that the PlayStation brand will continue to push the interactive entertainment boundaries. By positioning traditional activities in extreme scenarios, we metaphorically looked to position the PlayStation brand as being fearless in constantly redefining what it means to play. Our booth experience, with multiple hardware platforms and extensive software portfolio, was then the ultimate pay-off to this campaign idea," he concluded.