Bite Communications wins task to support Atari brand

Atari achieved cult status in the 1970s through the production of early video games such as Pong and Asteroids.

The rights to the name have changed hands frequently since, and were purchased by French software company Infogrames Entertainment from toymaker Hasbro in 2001, leading to the revival of Atari as a consumer-facing brand in May this year.

The Bite team is tasked with supporting Atari’s branding campaign in addition to corporate and trade PR efforts.

Bite’s corporate practice director Chris Cartwright heads the agency’s work on the account, leading a team of four. He reports to Atari senior vice president of marketing for Europe Martin Speiss.

The agency was chosen following a competitive pitch. It is understood that there was no incumbent agency working on the account. Details of fees were undisclosed.

A spokesman for Bite said most of the agency’s work would involve nurturing relations with trade media in the computer-gaming field, as well as links with the company’s 30,000-strong network of European distributors.

Nasdaq-listed Atari is one of the world’s largest publishers of video games. It recorded net sales of £233.9m for the financial year to March, down from £242.2m for the year to June 2002.