The document outlines a marketing strategy for a hypothetical Grand Theft Auto game set in a zombie-infested London leading up to December 21, 2012. The strategy involves releasing teaser posters and trailers on specific dates throughout 2011 to generate hype. It will feature a main character named Carlos navigating the zombie apocalypse. The goal is to maintain interest until the game's release on December 21, 2011, close to Christmas for high sales. A guerilla marketing campaign using graffiti and flyers will supplement the trailers, website, and TV advertisements.

1. Strategy For GTA: Zombie Apocalypse
Game Setting:
London (London Underground, City Centre, Whitechapel, etc)
Set over a period of 3 months leading up to 21 December 2012
– The day the world is said to end
Main Character:
Carlos DiNozzo
White British, Male, Middleclass Businessman, Late 20‟s
Portrayed as an „average‟ man.
Challenges:
 Maintaining realism with the inclusion of zombies
 Set in the future
 Ensuring product matches/exceeds hype
 Not revealing too much information before release
 Avoiding controversy
Strategy:
 Magazine speculations about release of new GTA
episode.
 “The beginning of the end” teaser posters will begin
appearing around London with a spoof website link at the
bottom. – This will begin to create interest and hopefully
generate „word of mouth‟ advertising.
 Create a spoof teaser website from the teaser poster – A
chance to release some information. The page will include
a countdown titled “They‟re coming” which will be set to
the release of the first trailer. – After release of first trailer
this site will become a portal to the official site.
 Official website will be where the trailers are initially
released. Other downloadable extras will also be available
from the site such as ringtones and wallpapers.
 Tv, Press and Billboard advertising

2.  “Leak” new information online to coincide with release of
new trailers/billboards.
 Contact fan sites and the „GTA Community‟
 The game will be released on 21 December 2011 – A year
before the world will allegedly end. This date is also really
close to Christmas which means if enough hype can be
generated it will be in high demand.
Advertising:
 The first teaser poster will be released 21st
December
2010. Putting these up in shopping centres would attract a
lot of attention from people doing Christmas shopping.
This poster will remain for about a month.
 The first trailer will be released on 21st
January 2011 with
an exclusive „First look‟ article appearing soon after in the
specialist press – An example of synergy.
 Trailer 2 will be released on 21st
April 2011 – this trailer
will reveal a little bit more information which will hopefully
intensify hype created from the first trailer.
 A new billboard design will appear towards the end of
June, making way for the release of the third trailer on 21st
July 2011 – This will keep the game „relevant‟ and
conscious in the target audience‟s mind.
 During September, writers from both specialist press and
mainstream press will be given demos of the game to try.
The writers will be put up in a hotel to reduce the chance
of piracy and so the environment can be controlled to give
them the best possible experience.
 The reviews will be released a month later, along with the
4th
and final trailer on the 21st
.
 Small works of graffiti will also be commissioned during
October, as well as flyers beginning to circulate London
titled „How to survive a Zombie Apocalyspe‟ – This will
also hopefully generate „word of mouth‟ advertising as it is
a form of guerrilla advertising.
 A TV advert will run from the beginning of November until
the game‟s release. These adverts reveal a similar

3. amount of information as the final trailer but will be shown
in a different way.
 During November, social networks sites will also be used
to promote the game; creating groups and placing adverts
on facebook and putting a video on the main page of
youtube. – This is viral advertising and should attract a lot
of attention from the online community.
 The game will be released on 21st
December 2011 and
will be available as a physical copy or digital download.
Trailers
Trailer 1 – The Beginning of the End – Focus on main
character, Carlos, leaving for work. We see him walking
through the streets, with lots of cutaways to shots of famous
London landmarks. As he‟s about to walk into his workplace he
sees a homeless man slumped by the side of the door with a
sign saying “The beginning of the end”, the man then say‟s
“They‟re coming” in a hoarse voice. The trailer cuts to black,
only showing the „IV‟ that was used in the previous ad
campaign.
Trailer 2 – Nothing‟s changed. – This trailer uses crosscutting
to show a normal version of the City and a version run by
chaos. The cuts to „chaos‟ are very fast so as not to give too
much away – don‟t show any zombies.
Trailer 3 –The Takeover – The camera pans across streets of
London to show people running from zombies. The people and
zombies slowly begin to fade to empty streets. Then a sudden
cut to a montage of Carlos driving cars and killing zombies –
don‟t include too much action.
Trailer 4 – This is it – This trailer will include the most action
and show off some of the key locations such as the BBC
studios, locations that had not previously been mentioned.

4. Release dates are set out like this in an attempt to maintain
hype throughout the whole campaign. Intervals between the
trailers are also long enough to make people excited about
what exclusive content will be featured next.