Company: SEGA of America, Burbank, CA
Nomination Submitted by: fortyseven communications
Company Description: SEGA of America, Inc. is the American arm of Tokyo, Japan-based SEGA CORPORATION, a worldwide leader in interactive entertainment both inside and outside the home. The company develops, publishes and distributes interactive entertainment software products for a variety of hardware platforms including PC, wireless devices, and those manufactured by Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony.
Nomination Category: Corporate Communications, Investor Relations, & Public Relations Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Gaming & Virtual Reality
 Nomination Title: Shadow the Hedgehog with SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS and Fearless: Year of Shadow Campaigns
- Optional: Reference any attachments of supporting materials throughout this nomination and how they provide evidence of the claims you have made in this nomination (up to 250 words):
Total 250 words used.
The attached presentation highlights the SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS and Fearless campaigns, which boosted excitement for Shadow the Hedgehog and the brand, optimizing fan sentiment, review scores and game sales. The campaign began successfully with SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS’ reveal during PlayStation’s State of Play (slides 18-19) and early press previews at Summer Game Fest (slides 24-25). PR events helped identify elements of the game that resonated with press, refining a review strategy prioritizing Sonic-friendly outlets and Shadow fans. The game saw positive stories highlighting the game’s launch and its milestone of 1 million units sold on day one (slides 22-23). The title received an average critic score of 80% on Metacritic and positive reviews from press since launch (slides 20-21). Post-launch efforts included leveraging Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 with movie-themed game tie-ins (slides 28-29) and promoting the game as a top holiday gift with outlets (slide 45-46). On the brand side, the team pursued various initiatives to support the Fearless: Year of Shadow campaign (slides 11-12) which celebrated what it means to be fearless and break barriers, investing further into Sonic Speed Cafe, Sonic Symphony, Sonic Central, meaningful brand partnerships and more, enhancing fan excitement for the team’s Shadow-related activities (slides 5-9). Various licensing programs also spotlighted Shadow with themed merchandise (slides 14-15) to get fans involved with SEGA’s efforts leading up to the release of the third Sonic movie. Highlights have been compiled into a presentation in the Dropbox folder here. https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/9anh2l0edd28hwahh5bw2/Sonic-2024-PR-Recap.pdf?rlkey=a5iarlzsbfbtqrr0ozav1r3r2&
- Which will you submit for this nomination, a video of up to five (5) minutes in length about the nominated PR campaign or program, or written answers to the questions? (Choose one):
Written answers to the questions
- If you are submitting a video of up to five (5) minutes in length, provide the URL of the nominated video here, OR attach it to your entry via the "Add Attachments, Videos, or Links to This Entry" link above, through which you may also upload a copy of your video.
N/A
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this first question: Specify the date on which this campaign or program was launched:
January 31, 2024
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this second question: Describe the genesis of the nominated campaign or program: the reasons it was initiated, the challenges it was created to address, the problems it was developed to solve, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 247 words used.
In 2024, SEGA set out to shine a spotlight on the beloved character Shadow the Hedgehog with an all-encompassing fan celebration campaign titled "Fearless: Year of Shadow," featuring multiple brand experiences starring the Sonic universe’s complex anti-hero character. The campaign was intended to generate excitement and awareness around the character in preparation for Paramount Pictures' Sonic the Hedgehog 3 film and educate audiences about Shadow’s history. The initiative culminated with the release of SEGA's new game SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS and the third Sonic movie, both featuring Shadow prominently. SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS spotlighted the beloved character to educate audiences about Shadow while bringing a new spin to the iconic 2011 Sonic platforming game, Sonic Generations, introducing a new story campaign focused on Shadow and a remastered version of Sonic Generations for modern gaming platforms. SEGA aimed to engage longtime fans of the franchise and attract newcomers who may be interested in the film, using a strategic media relations campaign to generate excitement for the overall brand and film, as well as drive pre-orders and sales for the game. To strategically navigate critics of the Sonic franchise, the PR team curated the ultimate Sonic fan press list to optimize review scores and ensure a positive reception of the game throughout its 10-month campaign and at launch. To complement the game’s campaign and the third Sonic film, the Fearless campaign served as a love letter to Shadow to generate awareness for his character and the overall brand.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this third question: Describe the development of the campaign or program: the planning process, the goal setting, the creative and media development, the scheduling, etc. (up to 250 words):
Total 200 words used.
The PR team developed the SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS campaign with the goal of educating audiences on Shadow’s history and spotlighting his brand-new story campaign while introducing players to a remastered Sonic Generations. To boost awareness and celebrate Shadow, SEGA created the Fearless: Year of Shadow campaign in April 2024, featuring mobile in-game events for Sonic Forces and Sonic Dash, the addition of Shadow scores to the Sonic Symphony World Tour, a Shadow-themed takeover at Sonic Speed Cafe locations, a custom Shadow-inspired motorcycle display tour at various racing and consumer events and more. With SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS, the team’s goal was to increase awareness around Shadow’s backstory, optimize review scores ahead of launch to generate positive sentiment for the game and increase pre-order and sales numbers. From August to October, SEGA released videos on SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS’ soundtrack, gameplay, a behind-the-scenes interview with Sonic Team Creative Officer Takashi Iizuka and Shadow's backstory with a prologue animated series, maintaining media interest with a steady cadence of content until the game’s launch. Global hands-on preview opportunities at events like Summer Game Fest and Gamescom helped build excitement and familiarity for the game, while gauging press sentiment before reviews and launch.
- If you are providing written answers for your submission, you must provide an answer to this fourth question: Outline the activities and concrete results of this campaign or program since the beginning of 2023. Even if your initiative started before 2023, limit your response to activities and results since the beginning of 2023 only (up to 250 words):
Total 235 words used.
SEGA launched the SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS campaign in January 2024 at PlayStation’s State of Play, gaining coverage from leading publications, including GameSpot, The Verge, Polygon, Sports Illustrated and more. Shortly thereafter, SEGA rolled out their Fearless: Year of Shadow campaign with a bold launch trailer. In June 2024, the team hosted a hands-on opportunity at Summer Game Fest, inviting media to try the first levels of SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS, garnering praise and approval from major games outlets, such as IGN, Game Rant, TheGamer and others. As hands-on coverage went live, the PR team carefully monitored media sentiment and prioritized outlets that were largely favorable to the Sonic brand to optimize positive coverage for launch and reviews. In September, SEGA revealed the three-part animated prequel, “Dark Beginnings” to celebrate Shadow and educate audiences who might not have been familiar with his backstory. SEGA’s brand and licensing divisions also played a crucial role in reaching a wider audience through a Shadow-inspired motorcycle display tour, collaborations with the Paralympics, Topgolf, DC Comics and partnerships for Shadow-themed merchandise with HJC Helmets and PDP REALMz. Furthermore, SEGA released in-game updates to mobile titles, including adding Shadow to Sonic Dream Team, Sonic Forces, Sonic Dash and Sonic Dash+. Altogether, the campaign resulted in over 3,358 articles and 12.3 billion impressions globally, a Metacritic score of 80% and over 2 million copies sold worldwide (as of January 2025).
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