Polyphony - Gran Turismo World Tour Series Launch

Campaign Date: 2019

Amplify + Polyphony Digital launch the world's
largest e-sports racing platform attended by a
1200 fans IRL and 4.9 million online…

Challenge

Amplify were challenged to launch the 2020 season of the Gran Turismo World Tour with an iconic Sydney experience that would cater to both a live and broadcast audience and cement Australia’s position as an influential market for the motorsport discipline.

Insight + Strategy

The gaming industry is seeing a cultural shift. Instead of playing or watching esports at home, or in small groups fans are seeking more opportunities to come together and be part of a new, and rapidly growing community. SIM racing is able to narrow the gap between the real and the virtual more than any other esport, but its legitimacy and credibility comes from the passion and professionalism of real motorsport.

Our strategy built on the title’s founding principle as a game that “addresses the primal instincts of car-loving people” to create a unique live property in automotive culture that mirrors the anticipation, competition, showmanship and production of live motorsports to continue to excite and attract a new generation of fans to SIM racing.

Solution

The FIA Gran Turismo World Tour Sydney.

Amplify transformed Sydney’s iconic Luna Park to create an experience that heightened the drama and emotional impact of the competition, bringing people closer to the action and drawing more parallels between real and virtual racing than ever before.

The launch featured 49 drivers from 19 countries worldwide, was broadcast in 7 languages and helped put Australian gaming on the map. Experienced by a 1200-strong in-person crowd and a live broadcast audience of over 2 million, the event raised the bar for live SIM racing.

96 pieces of press coverage resulted in 55 million opportunities to see and event highlights films racked up millions of views. IGN wrote that “GT Sport is making virtual racing the real deal” and evidence of the mainstream potential of the series was signalled by Forbes’ emotive coverage of the nail-biting finale, with one convert proclaiming the event was “more entertaining to watch than 95% of last year’s F1 season”.

Results

2m live broadcast views

385k coverage Views

140m online Readership

5.5k shares of event PR

45 pieces of coverage

49 drivers

19 countries