HONG KONG: Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong has tasked
Upstream Asia with the Christmas launch of the PlayStation 2 (PS2) games
console in Hong Kong.
Upstream won the work after a four-way competitive pitch.
Sony Computer Entertainment assistant manager of promotion and marketing
James Hong said this is the first time the division has outsourced its
PR in Hong Kong. He added that all PR in Hong Kong is run from a
'limited' budget.
Central to Upstream's remit is the launch of the console this month and
a large-scale PS2 Expo at Hong Kong's Convention and Exhibition Centre
over Christmas.
The event draws on a Sony gaming exhibition in Tokyo in September, and
is expected to draw 50,000 PS2 aficionados from around the region.
Upstream's brief includes advising Sony on intellectual property issues,
a brand recognition-led multimedia campaign and a press launch in
conjunction with the Expo.
Hong said Upstream's speedy crisis response - drawn up after an article
in the South China Morning Post wrongly claimed PS2 was not launching in
Hong Kong - clinched its appointment.
PS2 went on sale in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand on 13 December,
with the Taiwan launch delayed until January.
In the US, Sony transferred the bulk of its PR for PS2 from
Fleishman-Hillard to Hill & Knowlton in April (PRWeek, 20 April).
F-H handled Sony Computer Entertainment of America's PR for six years
and oversaw PR for the PS2's launch event in Los Angeles, alongside
agency Bragman Nyman Cafarelli.
H&K's work is headquartered out of San Francisco with support from Los
Angeles.
