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In early1999, Computec Media, a leading publisher of European video and PC gaming magazines, laid plans to expand its presence in the U.S. with the launch of two new consumer magazines. Its hypothesis: video games had moved beyond the hard-core geek segment and into the mainstream. To confirm this suspicion, Computec commissioned a hefty research study to surmise the market, then staged an exclusive powwow event to hinge industry support from potential advertisers and media buyers. The integrated marcom campaign that followed catapulted two new magazine titles - incite PC Gaming and incite Video Gaming - into pole position.
In preparation for the big launch, Computec chose several agile partners, including the respected research firm Roper Starch, and the hip San Francisco- based PR firm Red Whistle Communications, whose president, Lee Caraher, was a former director of PR for Sega. A heavyweight $100,000 investment in a Roper market survey confirmed that the consumer gaming industry had expanded well beyond pre- pubescent boys, with 80 percent of male gamers falling into the much- coveted 16-34 age demographic. Other findings proved the gaming market had extended to 34 million U.S. households and constituted a $7 billion market (generating more revenue than box office sales in 1998). "We also found that 86 percent of people who play games had never read any hard-core gaming magazines, because they didn't think they were written for them," says Torsten Opperman, CEO of Computec USA.