IGN.com recenty announced that George Patterson Y&R have developed the first Australian IGN.com creative campaign. Launching on November 21st, the campaign will initially run online before a roll-out of print executions nationally.

Developed by gamers within GP Y&R, the creative team on the campaign included:

• Creative director – Dave Rollins
• Copywriter – Bart Pawlak
• Art director – Robbie Kantor
• Photographer – Gary Sheppard

The campaign rationale was based on, With an ever increasing number of games titles hitting the shelves, there’s a real risk of choosing one that you’re not entirely happy with. With their in-depth previews and reviews, IGN.com helps you find the game that’s right for you.

As Narayan Pattison, editor in chief, IGN.com, Australia explains:

“The team at George Patterson Y&R are passionate and long time users of IGN.com. They live and breathe gaming and have an intimate knowledge of what’s important to our audience. The creative developed by the team is not only clever and engaging, but it quickly and clearly illustrates the point – an ideal quality for the online environment.”

A spokesperson from George Patterson Y&R said:

“The great thing about the game reviews and previews on IGN.com is that they stop you shelling out $100 on a game and then realising that it’s not what you really wanted. We decided to communicate this in a way gamers will understand – showing characters from the main gaming genres of RPG, Shooter and Sport, wishing they were somewhere else. A simple thought that let us have some fun with a category close to our hearts.”

IGN covers video games, movie and TV entertainment and has more than 34.6 million users worldwide, and around 508,000 Australians visiting the site every month. 79.5% of IGN readers are male and 159,000 of IGN’s audience are in the 18 – 34 years old bracket. According to the latest Roy Morgan Research from June 2008, the IGN audience in Australia, compared to other gaming sites, is more likely to be younger males under 35, working in professional/manager roles and more actively social with friends (seeing movies, attending concerts). They are also far more likely than other gaming sites to be very active online by accessing the web.