Nintendo drops celebrities for Wii U launch campaign

The UK launch campaign for  the product will match the brand’s investment in the unveiling of its first Wii console seven years ago.

Nintendo will also run a multimillion-pound campaign for its handheld 3DS XL device, as the business looks to return to profitability.

In April, it reported its first annual loss, as it struggled to cope with the rising popularity of gaming on mobile devices, and a long period without a home video-game console launch.

Nintendo’s UK marketing and PR director Shelly Pearce told Marketing that the brand will launch a standalone Wii U brand channel on YouTube, to act as a ‘central hub’, allowing consumers to upload their own videos.

Pre-Christmas activity will focus on hardcore gamers, before the focus switches to target a wider family audience in the New Year.

Experiential will comprise 20% of media spend, in an attempt to get Nintendo products ‘into people’s hands’.

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk