THE FINALISTS 2010 YOUR TEAM • YOUR GAMES • YOUR AWARDS AWARD CRITERIA: Product knowledge • Depth of advance information Telesales customer care • Field sales reliability • Sales performance
PEOPLE & INDUSTRY SALES TEAM
ACTIVISION
MICROSOFT
NINTENDO
SEGA
The Activision sales team took retail partnerships to a new level in 2009, using category management and a wide range of shopper and consumer insights to tailor programmes for specific audiences. The sales team’s efforts were instrumental in mirroring the publisher’s media programmes and driving breakthrough successes that included helping Modern Warfare 2 to become the biggest entertainment launch event of all time, helping Guitar Hero 5 combat Beatlemania, propelling Prototype to become the fourth best selling new IP of 2009 (volume) and making DJ Hero the highest grossing new IP of 2009.
It was another good year for Microsoft’s games team, but – with Nintendo’s strength in the family sector and Sony’s rise in the hardcore market – it hasn’t been an easy ride. And Microsoft’s sales team has been key to the format holder and publisher’s success over the past year. In particular, the team delivered impressive results around Halo 3: ODST, Forza 3 and, of course, Xbox 360 hardware.
Improved levels of stock availability, consistent dialogue and trade marketing support for distribution, coupled with more responsive and effective trade initiatives for retail, saw Nintendo’s commitment for change manifest itself throughout 2009. And the firm saw exceptional sell-through performances during the year, including 2.5m DS, over 1.8m Wii, over 1m Wii Fit Plus, over three million Wii Sports Resort, over 800,000 New Super Mario Bros Wii, and over 500,000 Professor Layton and Pandoraʼs Box.
It’s been another successful year for Sega as a multi-format publisher, with the company generating over £80m of retail games spend in 2009 and being ranked as the fifth biggest publisher of the year in the UK. Key successes for the company last year were Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games and Football Manager 2010. Business planning has been at the forefront of Sega’s retail drive and to this end the sales team has held regular presentations meetings with its key retail partners, whilst also holding a major retail conference.
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