High Road Montreal recently had the pleasure of working with Xbox to put together an event to promote the latest features of Xbox LIVE, the online entertainment experience that lets you play Kinect and controller games with friends, as well as instantly watch HD movies, TV shows and sports.

While High Road has teamed up with Xbox before to unveil some of those awesome new features in to Canadian media, this was the first chance we had to present Xbox LIVE’s latest features to the Quebec market.

To make the event more relevant to local media, we partnered up with Radio-Canada to showcase their TOU.TV app. Launched online in 2010, TOU.TV is a go-to portal for all Radio Canada content.

Available for the first time on a gaming console—the Xbox 360— TOU.TV is also the first-ever app to deliver French Canadian content to Xbox users, showing the gaming giant’s commitment to the Quebec market.

Xbox was also unveiling the much anticipated app, Karaoke, which was developed in partnership with Stingray Digital, a Montreal-based company. While the app’s name alone sells itself, Karaoke gives users access to over 8,000 songs in its music library, almost guaranteeing a good time.

In the end, Montreal’s top entertainment, lifestyle and gaming media attended the event.  The attendees loved singing along with the Karaoke app and couldn’t get enough of Xbox Live and the new TOU.TV app.

Working with the Xbox Live team was nothing short of exciting.

The only question the HRC team were left wondering was this: Can this really be considered work when everything’s just fun and games?

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High Road Montréal’s log – 01.03.2012

Mission: BioWare Montréal is launching 2012’s most eagerly awaited game, Mass Effect 3, in less than five days and wants to give Montréal fans the opportunity to meet with the crew who made one of most anticipated action-RPG games this year.

Risk factor: High. In less than three business days, Montréal’s special forces squad needs to secure a location, confirm the developers expected to attend and generate buzz.

Hearts are pumping at a dangerously high rate. Mass Effect 3′s Commander Shepard has a mission to save the universe (small feat!) and with no fear of danger, the Montréal squad jumps in the middle of the action, led by the sole objective of giving Commander Shepard the epic launch event he deserves.

Challenge completion status – In progress [20%]

High Road Montréal’s log – 02.03.2012

MEDICAL NOTE: Bio analysis confirms a high level of adrenaline rushing through the crew.

As the sun rises, the squad completes a number of sub-missions, one after the other:

– Location secured // Future Shop Centre-Ville, Montréal

– Support from devs confirmed // More than 20 additional support troops expected

– Vital gear retrieved // Team secured exclusive swag, promotional items and posters

– Communications network operational // Key comms networks alerted of the upcoming event – generating a pre-event buzz of an impressive magnitude within the targeted community

 Challenge completion status – In progress [85%]

 

High Road Montréal’s log – 06.03.2012

The big day is upon us. Working closely together, High Road’s special forces and Future Shop’s elite troops prepared the necessary equipment to welcome the arrival of BioWare Montréal’s talented troops.

10.00 – An impressive line-up of fans assaulted the location. Troops readied their weapons (aka pens) and started to sign game copies, limited editions and posters for fans.

10.30 – Relentless waves of fans keep rushing through the doors and BioWare’s crew stands their position to face them.

12.00 – Estimated time of completion of the operation, but fans can’t seem to get enough. Extension requested until 13.00 to respond to the demand.

13.00 – BioWare troops leave the area satisfied of a job well done.

 

The operation is evaluated as a tremendous success. Fans had the chance to leave with SteelBooks, pictures and copies of the game signed by BioWare’s team. Gamers also took the time to share their love of the game with the developers, who discussed their involvement in the process.

The day brought a range of different people: long-time fans, newcomers to the series, girlfriends (who will be henceforth known as the BEST GIRLFRIENDS EVER) and even mothers who weren’t aware of the game, but bought a copy anyway as they learned that it was a true story-driven piece of art.

Mass Effect 3 is officially launched. Booting Xbox 360 system in progress. Time to take Earth back, baby!

Challenge completion status – Over-completed [150%]

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Canada is known for its video game development, but if one Canadian city really shines it is Montreal.

On November 1 and 2, the city welcomed the eighth annual Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS), an industry event for professionals to learn, exchange and network with the best of the best from across the globe.

High Road has been a proud partner of MIGS since its very first event, working closely with Alliance Numérique to help promote the event internationally and grow its profile year after year.

High Road’s challenge eight years ago was to build the event’s image from the ground up, attract the attention of the industry and compete with some very high profile, large-scale and well-established events such as the Game Developers Conference. This year’s challenge was to renew our approach to generating interest, help drive more attendance, and fully integrate social media into MIGS’s communications arsenal.

One of our tactics over the years has been to bring the success of the industry to life for Montreal media. For example, the creation of 7,000 jobs in Quebec alone has a way of painting a compelling portrait for the business press! Social media activity on Facebook and Twitter before, during and after the event also got people buzzing about MIGS and helped the team engage with the developer community and grow its overall online following.

MIGS also attracts high profile industry celebrities for conferences and keynotes, and while at other shows reporters have to chase speakers after their presentations, for MIGS High Road coordinated all interview requests to ensure everyone got what they needed. When media and speakers arrived at MIGS, they were handed coordinated interview schedules, with no conflicts and clear information on where to meet up.

Overall, this year MIGS was a huge success, attracting a record number of more than 1,700 participants – up from the steady 1,500 over the past couple of years.

With 85 registered media (also an increase) and impressive coverage, the HRC team is not only celebrating a job well done but looking forward with great anticipation to next year’s edition!