AT&T casts sponsorship spell over new 'Harry Potter: Wizards Unite' game

AT&T is now part of Harry Potter lore as the first brand to ink a sponsorship deal with the new augmented reality game about the wizarding world. AT&T stores are incorporated into the landscape of the game, called “Harry Potter: Wizards Unite,” which is by Niantic, the creator of “Pokémon Go." AT&T acquired Time Warner last year, in a deal that included Warner Bros., the studio that owns rights to Harry Potter. AT&T and Cricket Wireless, which it owns, appear to be the only sponsors in the game so far, which debuted Friday after a soft launch on Thursday. An AT&T spokeswoman confirmed its involvement in the game but declined to reveal financial terms of the integration. The game includes "inns" and "fortresses" that can be accessed when playing from inside more than 10,000 AT&T and Cricket Wireless retail stores. The Inns and fortresses allow players to recharge their energy, find challenges or encounter other virtual wizards and magical creatures. The promotion started today for AT&T and will kick off on July 15 for Cricket. The game is positioned to tap into the raging fandom of the Harry Potter books and movie franchise while replicating the success of “Pokémon Go,” which showed the possibilities of augmented reality in mobile games. Starbucks and Sprint became the first U.S. sponsors in “Pokémon Go” six months after it was released in July 2016. Their logos appeared in the game map, in a move to lure players to visit their physical... Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2019-06-21 21:00:51 UTC ]
News tagged with: #virtual space #in-app purchases #$2 million #senior vp #digital marketing #nielsen #time warner #harry potter

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PFD continues Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize sponsorship until 2020

Peters Fraser & Dunlop will continue its sponsorship of the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize until 2020. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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How platforms get publishers to play the access game

By dangling rewards in front of publishers that go all-in with them, platforms, inadvertently or not, worm their way into publishers’ organizations and dictate their strategy. Some publishers including The Washington Post and Mic say the rewards and potential influence with the platforms are... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2017-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PRH Employees Unite for Company Week

In what may have been the industry's biggest-ever team-building program, more than 1,400 Penguin Random House employees took part in PRH’s first Company Week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-02-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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New Game of Thrones story coming this autumn

A new Game of Thrones story focusing on the family history of the Targaryens is to be published this autumn in the US. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Robert Harris’ Cicero comes to the stage

Mike Poulton is adapting Robert Harris’ bestselling Cicero trilogy (Cornerstone) in a new stage production to be directed by Royal Shakespeare Company artistic director Gregory Doran. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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A year in review: Potter power defied by Paula

J K Rowling’s original Harry Potter septet, vocalised by Stephen Fry, dominated the audio download chart in 2016, but their magic fell short of displacing Paula Hawkins’ pre-eminent psychological thriller. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Windows 10 Build 15019 may be about games, but its many bugs could spoil the fun

The gaming-focused Windows 10 Insider build that Microsoft promised earlier this week, with Game Mode, Beam livestreaming and other features, is rolling out—but with some game-breaking bugs, unfortunately. What’s officially known as Build 15019 for the Insider Fast Ring also includes a number of... Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2017-01-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Windmill acquires Swedish suspense novel The Dying Game

Windmill Books has acquired a suspenseful Swedish debut, The Dying Game, by Asa Avdic. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Weekly Scorecard: Tracking Unit Print Sales for Week Ending January 8, 2017

Unit sales of print books declined 5% in the week ended Jan. 8, 2017, compared to the similar week in 2016, at outlets that report to Nielsen BookScan. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-01-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apprenticeships offered to write for Zombies, Run! game

Novelist and games designer Naomi Alderman is offering early-career writers traineeships to write for Zombies, Run!, a smartphone fitness game. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The Bookseller unites trade and book awards

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[ The Bookseller | 2017-01-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Potter Lifts Scholastic Results

Trade sales in the quarter ended November 30, 2016 jumped 60% at Scholastic over the comparable period a year ago, led by the market strength of several Harry Potter titles. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-12-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Bloomsbury to release Spy Games app

Bloomsbury Children’s is launching a new app to accompany the release of the Spy Toys series, written by Mark Powers and illustrated by Tim Wesson. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors United warns of attacks on 'author livelihoods' under Trump administration

The new US administration under Donald Trump could make things "very, very much worse" for authors, according to campaign group Authors United. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors United Absorbed by Authors Guild

In a letter, Authors United founder Douglas Preston urged AU writers “to throw their support behind the Authors Guild either by joining or making a contribution.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

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Publishing in the Pacific Northwest: A Comics and Gaming Hot Spot

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New Oliver Harris thriller series to Little, Brown

Little, Brown has acquired two books in a new thriller series from Oliver Harris at auction.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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J K Rowling and Beatrix Potter shortlisted for 2016 Waterstones Book of the Year

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[ The Bookseller | 2016-11-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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