Xbox Promotes Dance Central By Installing Kinect Pods At Concerts
Xbox 360 and its Kinect game, Dance Central, will be the headline sponsor of Kylie Minogue’s upcoming European Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour 2011. In activation of the controller-free, body-tracking dance video game's deal, Dance Central-ready Kinect pods will be featured at more than 35 shows in 15 countries, challenging concert goers to "out-dance Kylie" during the concert.
“Dance is a huge passion of mine and I’m very excited for my fans to see the routines and choreography that have been created for Aphrodite Les Folies," Kylie Minogue said. “I am delighted that Dance Central is sponsoring my European tour, it’s a perfect synergy. My fans will also have a chance to put their own dance moves to the test as ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ is one of the tracks on Dance Central – good luck!"
Dance Central will be weaved into each concert experience with Xbox installing Kinect pods featuring Dance Central at each venue and inviting fans to play the game and find out whether they “can out-dance Kylie” by performing the in-game routine to her track.
Negotiated internally by Xbox EMEA and EMI Music, the sponsorship will be supported by a multi-channel European marketing campaign asking fans the question, “Can you out dance Kylie” and will run across all Xbox social media, online and Xbox LIVE destinations and be featured on Kylie’s own channels. With a significant investment in paid online media, public relations and experiential activity, Xbox seeks to widen its appeal among broader consumers following the launch of Kinect for Xbox 360.
Xbox will create a series of backstage web-episodes that will include interviews with Kylie on different aspects of the show. The content will be released across Xbox’s European Facebook pages over the course of the tour and is part of a wider online content strategy to reach both Kylie and Kinect for Xbox 360 fans in promotion of the tour partnership. Through the social media campaign, fans will also be invited to submit videos of themselves performing dance routines to win prizes.
“Kylie is one of the most successful and much-loved artists in the world; a perfect fit for an entertainment brand like Xbox," Chris Lewis, Vice President Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft EMEA said. "We’re delighted to be involved in the Aphrodite: Les Folies Tour 2011 and introduce the controller-free fun of Kinect and Dance Central to thousands of Kylie’s European fans in a new, engaging and entertaining way.”
Dance Central, created by Harmonix, is the first controller-free, body-tracking dance video game and is exclusively playable on Kinect for Xbox 360. Over 8 million Kinect sensors have been sold since launch in November 2010. Check out this Dance Central demo from IGN.
