"Rebranded" themed metro stations and light shows: the initiatives for the launch of PlayStation 5 in London and Venice

More than a simple commercial, more than a simple out-of-home advertising installation: for the PlayStation 5 launch in London, Sony has organized a real "take over»Underground stations, so he defined it The Verge, temporarily transforming them into a sort of portals to the gamer universe.

HOW SONY “REBRANDED” THE OXFORD CIRCUS STATION FOR THE LAUNCH OF PLAYSTATION 5 IN LONDON

At the four exits of the Oxford Circus station, in fact, the sign of "The Tube" - the classic red circle cut from the word "Underground" - has been replaced, thanks to its similarity with the "circle" button on the console joypad, with as many illuminated signs from the shapes of the commands of the new controller Dual Sense.

Of course, the choice of the stop was not accidental: the railway station of Oxford Circus is the nearest, indeed, to the largest Microsoft store of the city and, despite repeated rumors of collaborative projects, Microsoft and Sony still remain the biggest competitors in the gaming console market. The timing is not accidental either: while Sony is releasing PlayStation 5 in its Standard and Digital Edition versions, in fact, Microsoft is also in the process of launch of the new Xbox X Series. Large, evident luminous signs, which a little act as a memento to anyone who is going to the store to buy the new Xbox of the existence of a of course rival and a little insinuate the doubt that their own may not really be the best choice, they may seem an attempt to appropriate not only an iconic place in the city as almost always, albeit temporarily, the ambient marketing ago, but also and above all of a slice of customers of the competitor . One cannot fail to consider in this sense that, like that of iOS or Android, also the choice of one or the other brand of consoles for the game has become over time a sign of belonging and very strong recognition among gamers.

In other words? It is undeniable that in the campaign for the launch of the PlayStation 5 in London, Sony has focused above all onsurprise effect. In addition to that of Oxford Circus, in fact, it still reports The Verge, other London Underground stations have also been branded, and this time for longer. Until December 16 it will be possible to go up, for example, to "Gran Turismo 7 Sister"And get off at"Horizon Forbidden West Ham": I some station names of the Tube Londoner - in this case Seven Siter and West Ham - have been replaced, indeed, with titles of great classics in the catalog of games and sagas Sony. It is not the first time that something similar has happened, it is not the first time that the companies that manage public transport do not simply sell advertising space in stations or at stops or dynamic advertising, but allow a brand of get hold momentarily of their structures, their premises and rebrand them or even give them the naming rights. Transport for London itself, the company that manages London public transport, had already closed in 2017 an agreement with Amazon for Westminster Station to be temporarily renamed "Webminster" on the occasion of the opening of the first city data center. Even earlier, in 2015, on the occasion of the London marathon, Canada Water station was renamed in "Buxton Water", from the name of the beverage company among the main sponsors of the sporting event. Something similar also happened in Italy when in Milan the terminus of the lilac line, as well as the stop closest to the Meazza stadium, was temporarily renamed "San Siro DAZN Stadium".

If anything, the doubt could legitimately concern the opportunity to invest in environmental marketing operations, and more generally in billboards and other forms of out-of-home advertising, while in many countries some anti-contagion measures are still in place and now that, at house in smart working or struggling with distance learning, people are moving much less. A message or even just a small symbol that recall their own love brand they can be rewarding easter egg for those forced to move for work or for necessity even during a pandemic? Possible. In all likelihood, however, the real driver of initiatives such as the one for the launch of the PlayStation 5 in London is the resonance of which the same and, with these the brand, enjoy on the media, in digital environments and so on. The images of the rebranding of the Playstation 5-themed Oxford Circus station went viral, in fact, and remained so for much more than the forty-eight hours of installation.

THE LIGHT SHOW IN PIAZZA SAN MARCO TO CELEBRATE A COMMUNITY THAT "HAS NO LIMITS"

The same happened with the videos of the light installation in Piazza San Marco in Venice. Sony has not only decided to celebrate the launch of PlayStation 5 in London, but has chosen twenty-four nations in which to do it - among these were Canada, Mexico, Japan, New Zealand and the city of New York - through one interactive light show in squares and symbolic places of the country. For Italy it was chosen, in fact, Venice: on the bell tower, on the loggia, on the clock tower, special cameras were installed which, combined, gave life in the churchyard of Piazza San Marco to a special floor projection of almost 2400 square meters, again depicting the controls of the new Dual Sense controller.

Regaining possession of squares, historic centers, symbolic places of the cities right now that they are emptied of the tourists who usually live there is a pretty clear message: the game has no limits or, better, "Play has no limits", As the title of the video-teaser published on the PlayStation Italia YouTube channel - containing the images of the light installation in Piazza San Marco - and the hashtag official linked worldwide to the launch of the PlayStation 5.

A not too veiled invitation, in short, to consider i video games as one of the few activities that at the moment did not need to stop and, thanks to which, not even the need and the need to connect with their communities they found limits. Sony and Playstation have proved to be quite active in recent months in initiatives and projects to support gamers from all over the world struggling with the pandemic.

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