BLITZ

With the release of Guitar Hero 5, Activision needed a franchise destination that could speak to its eclectic range of players and facilitate digital interaction, global community integration, user personalization and product sales. It also had to elicit online play, scoring and competition, while emphasizing GH’s growing catalog of tunes & products.

In six weeks BLITZ transformed GuitarHero.com into a worldwide social hub and 24/7 one-stop-shop for everything GH. There was an instant 50% increase in site registration, 200% increase in site traffic and heightened fan involvement driven by the newly adopted "iLike button" for songs, games and applications. In the first two weeks, over 20 million songs played, there was a 500% increase in video engagement and the new two-click purchasing process assisted in a 300% rise in retail store sales of GH products. Lastly, with the GH Facebook fanbase exceeding 1 million, groupies could build relationships and talk rock with peers worldwide.

The new GuitarHero.com includes a rockin’ "iLike" rating system that lets users tag songs and games; this encourages participation and drives conversation. The "My Guitar Hero Experience" allows users to personalize dashboards with performance stats, tournaments and other profile information. A Streamlined Console Linking Process facilitates user communication and the purchasing of songs & products. "What’s New" highlights the vast music selection with user favorites, a detailed GH music catalog and downloadable charts.

Social networking APIs are integrated to encourage community participation: Digg delivers news, YouTube allows videos to be viewed & rated, Facebook & Twitter enable community conversation, and Agora pulls game stats. Site content throughout the 10 global regions is managed through the open source CMS, Silverstripe. Combined, these elements give Activision the flexibility to track video views and keep their Web-facing news within the confines of their hub.