Microsoft Tech.Ed 2009

There are few technology events that match the scale and prestige of Microsoft Australia’s ‘Tech.Ed’. Howorth/ Microsoft public relations team continued its proud collaboration in co-ordinating this event in 2009. It was a huge year with several key announcements coming from the software leader including:

• The largest Windows 7 test environment with 2,500 netbooks given out to conference attendees
• The Windows 7 commercial launch
• Microsoft Office 2010 technical preview

Key challenges in the public relations program included:

• Managing through a year of economic uncertainty and communicating the educational value of Tech.Ed to businesses during a time when justifying the release indispensable IT staff for three business days can be especially challenging.
• Complex logistical requirements :

1. The travel and accommodation arrangements for 21 attending media
2. Ensuring that media had access to the spokespeople they required to tell the best stories

The Howorth/ Microsoft public relations team spent many long hours ensuring the event went off without a hitch. Aside from standard media relations Howorth assisted in a number of key areas:

• Analyst relations
• Blogger outreach
• Social media monitoring

Despite the challenges, the joint team delivered a successful event that exceeded expectations of internal and external stakeholders and media.

F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin

Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment’s  F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin  launched as one of the most highly anticipated  and successful games of the year. Howorth developed an extensive public relations program with a key focus on media relations work included:

• Scheduling media interviews with the game’s developer
• Managing reviews program
• Scheduling promotional giveaways and
• Planning the media event.

The media event was the focus of the media relations campaign by providing pre-release access to the title. We approached specialist gaming media with the offer to meet with Dave Matthews, a leading producer of the project, as well as an opportunity for exclusive game play and a behind-the-scenes look into the game weeks before the scheduled release. Journalists were able to experience the intensity of the F.E.A.R 2:Project Origin and gain a deeper understanding into the game development process.

Howorth worked to secure over 150 pieces of coverage were secured, including:

• A review and interview on Good Game, ABC
• Video reviews and interviews on CNET, My360, MyPS3 and Games.on.net
• Daily coverage on Nova 96.9 radio and online as part of a promotional giveaway.
• Two articles, including a double page spread in Zoo Weekly
• Alpha
• The Sydney Morning Herald
• News.com.au
• Herald Sun
• MX
• iTWire
• Official Playstation Magazine
• Official Xbox Magazine
• Sea FM and syndications across the Macquarie Radio network
• PC Powerplay
• A number of online gaming websites

Insights

F.E.A.R 2: Project Origin was predicted not live up to its predecessor. Although there was much hype around the game’s release, much of this was plagued with issues ranging for naming rights and classification issues to competition from other first-person-shooter releases at the time.  Howorth was able to overcome this and generate media interest in the title through extensive outreach

Summary

Howorth helped to successfully launched F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin by generating enough media interest to secure over 150 pieces of coverage. The fact that coverage continues to surface 3 months after the game’s release is testament to the success of the media outreach plan.