You might’ve seen the bright yellow box with the happy blue slime in stores by now, but that didn’t always exist! I recently interviewed my carpool buddy about the Rocket Slime packaging. Fortunately, he also happens to be the guy who sacrificed a good deal of surfing time to make sure it was completed on time, so he knows what he’s talking about.

Truman B. Fitzgerald (Me): I’m here today with Parker Sapp, one of our “creative” guys. Parker, could you please tell us your name and title?

Parker Sapp, Marketing Communications Associate: My name is Parker Sapp, and I’m a Marketing Communications Associate here at Square Enix.

Me: And what responsibilities typically fall under your watch as a marketing communications associate?

PS: My day is usually divided between reviewing and directing creative from our designers, communicating with our parent office in Japan, and pulling purchase order forms from the top shelf for you.

Me: Hm. Anyway, I know we used a few different designers while producing creative materials for Rocket Slime. How did we decide what types of materials we needed and who would make them?

PS: We know that every title needs a box to sit on the shelf. Inside that box, they all need a manual, and we have to have some sort of art on the disc or cartridge. Outside of that, it all depends on the game. Some of our more popular projects call for multiple page magazine ads, fold-outs, in-store banners, television spots, and so on. When we first sit down and talk about a title, we look at its strengths and how we want to convey these strengths to consumers. We also figure out how much money we have to promote it, and then how we can use that money to reach the right people. Our marketing department tells us who might be interested in the game, what magazines they read, what channels they watch, and where this money goes. From there, we try to utilize our designers to create the most attractive, effective ads while still sticking to the budget.

Me: How long did it take to do all of that for Rocket Slime, from start to finish?

PS: We kicked off back in April. The Product Marketing team gave us our initial direction, and we began working on package concepts. There is so much that goes into a complete campaign today that we are often working on different materials 6 months after that first kick-off.

Me: The package design for Rocket Slime was finalized several weeks ago. How do you like it?

PS: It’s cute. It really stands out on the shelves.

Me: Do you think it’s cuter than your white hatchback?

PS: Nothing is cuter than my white hatchback.

Me: That’s quite a bold statement. Thanks for your time. I’ll let you get back to work now so you don’t fall further behind schedule.

PS: Look who’s behind schedule, buddy.

And there you have it! When you pick up Rocket Slime next month, imagine the sound of waves that Parker didn’t hear while he was busy looking up Pantone 872-C, and feel free to send the poor sap a thank you letter.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 18th, 2006 at 1:41 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.