2009 [a]list summit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PASADENA, Calif., August 10, 2009 – Ayzenberg Group today announced the 2009 [a]list video game marketing and advertising summit bringing together experts and senior executives from more than 40 different companies. The annual invitational event tackles prevalent and emergent challenges in video game marketing by pairing a roster of trend makers and breakers with an audience of high-level game industry executives. Under the banner “EVOLVE,” this year’s agenda highlights the power of compelling, entertaining content in product messaging and advertising campaigns aimed at the media savvy game consumer. The 2009 [a]list summit is being held August 12-14 at the Westin Verasa Napa in Napa, California.

“The only thing better than being the first to spot the next great medium or method for marketing games is to discover it in time to reap its awards,” said Eric Ayzenberg, CEO and Executive Creative Director at Ayzenberg Group. “Over our many years of serving the industry, Ayzenberg’s philosophy has been that knowledge sharing to understand emergent trends, new tools and our ever-growing audience is as important to those selling games as it is to developers making games. With this year’s [a]list, we’re challenging the high-level thinkers who market games to pay attention to the content in their campaigns, to engage the consumer, to tell stories, to make them laugh or amaze them, and most of all to give them incentive to share that experience.”

The 2009 [a]list summit’s “EVOLVE” message comes from the challenge in impacting an audience who is among the sharpest in their ability to deconstruct media messaging. Matt Harding, the founder of the “Where The Hell Is Matt?” viral video phenomenon, will demonstrate in his opening remarks exactly how entertaining content can impact such an audience. The magnitude of reach garnered by Mr. Harding’s videos, which have more than 100 million views online and vast degrees of pass along, underscores the power of engaging content in the user-centered experience of Web 2.0. Putting the philosophy into practice, Ayzenberg Group has launched www.thealistdaily.com. While the site highlights Ayzenberg’s capabilities and its summit’s educational aims, it is designed to build its own audience with original content and aggregated news covering game marketing.

The summit’s overall “EVOLVE” agenda includes presentations and panels by experts in and outside of the game industry. A panel moderated by Scott Steinberg, publisher of consumer media site DigitalTrends.com and author of Video Game Marketing and PR, will discuss how communicating game messaging to consumers has evolved from push to pull to viral, and now through highly organized communities and social media. N’Gai Croal, founder of Hit Detection and veteran game industry writer-interviewer, has planned an intimate one-on-one with Sinjin Bain, EVP of Worldwide Business Development at EA Partners. Chris Di Cesare, head of marketing and programming at YouTube, is presenting his company’s newest tools for game marketers as well as recently successful ad campaigns run on the site. Geoff Keighley, executive producer of “Game Trailers” at SpikeTV, will moderate a panel on the rising bar for production value in video game trailers. A notable highlight is a break from the summit’s topical agenda by Ed Fries, with his retrospective “Growing Up Microsoft” recounting his role as Microsoft VP of Publishing in the days leading up to the launch of the Xbox. More information on the 2009 Ayzenberg [a]list summit is available at www.thealistsummit.com.

ABOUT Ayzenberg Group: Founded in 1993 by Eric Ayzenberg, Ayzenberg Group ( www.ayzenberg.com) is one of the 10 largest privately held interactive entertainment advertising agencies on the West Coast. The agency specializes in reaching the most advertising-averse demographic to date – the young men and women of “Generation Now.” Services included strategic leadership, creative, media, and production. Client experience includes: Activision-Blizzard, Atari Games, Atlus, Bethesda Softworks, Capcom, Disney, EA Games, Gravity, Konami, Lucas Arts, Microsoft, Majesco Entertainment, Mattel, Namco Bandai, Nestle, Nexon America, NHN, Nokia, Sonos, Sony, Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide Inc., THQ, Turbine, Ubisoft, Warner Bros., and VTech.

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ONTACT:

Meelad Sadat

+1 (310) 346-5325

meelad@ayzenberg.com