World of Warcraft producer holds media pitch

According to agency sources, Starcom Mediavest - which currently works with the brand outside of Asia - and OMG are involved in the pitch, which began with an RFI earlier this month from the US.

The sources add that the gaming company does not have an agency of record and will look to its chosen agency to manage its digital media.

Activision Blizzard is the joint venture between Activision, which developed Guitar Hero, and the French company Vivendi Games, holder of World of Warcraft producer Blizzard. The 2007 merger created one of the world’s largest gaming companies and was worth US$18.8 billion.

Activision and Vivendi both have offices in Asia-Pacific yet their presence in the region has been lacklustre in comparison to competitors such as Entertainment Arts.

According to sources close to the brand, Activision Blizzard is looking to make a concerted effort to bolster its profile in the region.

“Its focus this year is to drive Asia growth so it should be pretty significant,” one source said, adding that the gaming company will consider the implications of Asia-Pacific’s media when choosing an agency-of-record.

“When the companies did the merger one of Activision Blizzard’s goals was to gain a footprint in Asia - Asia is absolutely important given the profitability of the online games business,” said a spokeswoman for Activision Blizzard. “The company has general plans for the region without releasing any specific timing or details, but Asia is clearly in the long-term plan.”