In the Game

Collaboration with major game producer brings new understanding of the real world

From left, Jay Wang, Shannon Hardesty, Courtney Gillen, Mona Hamilton (VP for Marketing at Midway), Leia Vincent, Erin Nelson, Kyle Hjelmeseth, Tony Roth.

By Katie Morris
PR senior

Purdue Communication students dove into the real world of presentations, research and marketing when they took on the challenge of concept testing a proposed video game for Midway Games.

Midway Games, headquartered in Chicago, Ill., is a leading developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software for all major video game systems. The company's most noted titles include "Mortal Kombat" and "NBA Ballers."

Department Assistant Professor Jay Wang attended a presentation of Midway's on Purdue's campus and approached representatives afterward about setting up a collaborative experience for students in his Integrated Marketing Communication class.

For six weeks during the semester, 16 students participated in all aspects of concept testing a game Midway hopes to launch in late fall 2005. Students first had to research the video game industry, find out about possible competition, and study gamers' habits and attitudes. Then they formed four focus groups to test the company's concept for the proposed game.

The focus groups were designed to elicit reaction to the game from a college demographic of video game consumers of various levels, from hard-core gamers to occasional players.

Wang said he felt that giving the students the chance to work with a major brand would be more interesting to them than "mock" cases usually used in a classroom setting. He said that working with Midway gave students a "real" sense of accountability.

"I kept reminding them this is a real case with real clients," Wang said. "It gives the class a full range of real-life experiences."

After completion of their concept testing, six students accompanied Wang to Midway's headquarters in December to present their findings to Midway executives. Wang said Midway was very pleased with the students' work.

Erin Nelson, one of the students in the course, got her first real-world encounter with a marketing department through this experience. She said she has renewed enthusiasm for her career choice after the experience.

"An experience like this will show you if you want to do this or not," she said.

Wang wants future students in the course to be able to have similar experiences. He is planning on attending a nationwide gaming convention to try and line up clients for future class projects.

Wang served as a research consultant for Ketchum Public Relations in New York City and Hong Kong, and was a senior communications specialist at McKinsey & Company before joining the Purdue faculty.