The new MAZDASPEED3 will be featured in the upcoming Electronic Arts video game Need for Speed Carbon, which will be in stores across North America on November 1. Leading nontraditional marketing company Channel M worked with Mazda and EA, as well as retailers GameStop and EB Games, to create a campaign around the car and the game. Not only will the MAZDASPEED3 be integrated into the game, but Channel M is going to have the car featured at the game’s debut in GameStop and EB Games stores nationwide.Â
Channel M CEO David Teichner explained today that besides heavy in-game exposure, Mazda will be a big part of an in-store pre-order campaign in GameStop and EB Games stores, that will give customers a chance to win a real MAZDASPEED3 car for themselves. During the month of November, mall events will be held in 16 cities. Besides the obligatory car displays, an organized tournament will take place with the winners getting an invite to compete in the finals in Las Vegas, where the winner will drive off in a new MAZDASPEED3 .
“The 263-hp, 155-mph MAZDASPEED3 kicks asphalt and takes names, and Need for Speed Carbon is the perfect way for us to bring this exciting new vehicle to market in an all-new way,” said Jim Jordan, Alternative Marketing Manager for Mazda North American Operations. The all-new MAZDASPEED3 is one of our favorite new offerings. With a six-speed manual transmission and the turbocharged 2.3-liter direct-injected four making 263-horsepower and 280 lb/ft of torque, it can do 0-60 mph in under six-seconds and is electronically limited to a 155 mph top speed. [Mazda]