When Eric Hirshberg stepped into the role of CEO of Activision Publishing last July, the company had just begun an ugly, public battle with the founders of Infinity Ward, having fired the creators of the company’s Call of Duty cash cow just four months prior. Frequently villanized in the press, the appointment of Hirshberg seemed to indicate that Activision was eager to turn its brand identity around. Hirshberg cut his teeth as CEO and chief creative officer of marketing firm Deutsch LA making ad campaigns for brands like PlayStation — you may not recognize that name, but if you’ve seen a Kevin Butler commercial, you know his work. And as Activision Publishing narrows its focus and energies into a few key brands, notably the aforementioned Call of Duty, tasking a marketing man with running a game publisher starts to make a lot of sense.
Last month I had the opportunity to speak with Hirshberg in his office at Activision headquarters in Santa Monica. It was less than a week after a massive leak upended the company’s carefully prepared marketing plan for the latest in the blockbuster Modern Warfare series and, for Hirshberg, it was a chance to connect with that audience. “We woke up with a marketing crisis,” Hirshberg told me, “and wanted to go to bed with a marketing win.” Throughout our conversation, Hirshberg mentioned the need to be transparent with consumers, so I challenged him to explain some of the company’s more controversial decisions since he’s been CEO: the cancellation of True Crime; the closure of Bizarre Studios; and the very public retreat from the Guitar Hero and DJ Hero games.
Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg on True Crime, Bizarre Creations, the ‘Hero’ franchise, and transparency originally appeared on Joystiq on Wed, 22 Jun 2011 13:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | Email this | Comments
