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Activision Blizzard Selects Mediaedge:cia as Media Buying and Planning Agency of Record

Posted on: Monday, 15 June 2009, 04:00 CDT

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and NEW YORK, June 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) and Mediaedge:cia ("MEC") today jointly announced that MEC has been selected as Activision Blizzard's media planning and buying agency of record. MEC will lead the global media planning and buying activities for Activision Publishing, Inc. and Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.'s North American and European television media planning and buying.

The decision was made following a comprehensive agency assessment conducted by Activision Blizzard after the close of the Activision and Vivendi Games merger on July 9, 2008, to consolidate media and planning activities for the company's product portfolio, and achieve cost-saving synergies. The review process was managed by the Los Angeles office of Ark Advisors. Starcom MediaVest Group was Activision Publishing's incumbent media buying and planning agency, while Horizon Media had been Blizzard Entertainment's agency.

"Our decision to consolidate with MEC is not a reflection of the performance or quality of service and talent at Starcom MediaVest Group or Horizon Media. They have all been valued partners and have demonstrated extraordinary passion and understanding of our business," said Brad Jakeman, Chief Creative Officer of Activision Publishing. "Until now several media agencies around the world were assigned to Activision Blizzard and the goal of the review was to identify one global agency that would better allow the company to benefit from its combined scale in the marketplace. We believe MEC's approach to media planning and buying coupled with their experience and capabilities make them a strong strategic partner as we look for new and innovative ways to reach our customers and improve effectiveness across our business."

Charles Courtier, CEO Mediaedge:cia said, "We are delighted that Activision Blizzard has selected MEC. This success, first of all, is due to our fantastic team effort across the network. It also reflects our ability to drive business internationally but ultimately deliver at a local level. And to be given an opportunity to do this for Activision Blizzard globally - a client with such exciting brands at the forefront of entertainment and culture - is extremely satisfying."

About Mediaedge:cia

Mediaedge:cia (MEC) gets consumers actively engaged with our clients' brands, leading to relevant awareness, deeper relationships and stronger sales.

Our services include brand and consumer insight and ROI, communications planning, media planning and buying, interaction (digital, direct, search), sport, entertainment and cause partnerships, retail consultancy, Hispanic marketing and content creation. Our 4,500 highly talented and motivated people work with local, regional and global clients from our 250 offices in 84 countries. We are a founding partner of GroupM, WPP's media investment management group. To find out more go to www.mecglobal.com

About Activision Blizzard

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Blizzard, Inc. is a worldwide online, PC and console game publisher with leading market positions across every major category of the rapidly growing interactive entertainment software industry.

Activision Blizzard maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, India, China, South Korea and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision Blizzard and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activisionblizzard.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Blizzard's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements under the heading "Company Outlook," are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Activision Blizzard generally uses words such as "outlook," "will," "remains," "to be," "plans," "believes," "may," "expects," "intends," and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause Activision Blizzard's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include, but are not limited to, sales levels of Activision Blizzard's titles, shifts in consumer spending trends, the impact of the current macroeconomic environment, the seasonal and cyclical nature of the interactive game market, Activision Blizzard's ability to predict consumer preferences among competing hardware platforms (including next-generation hardware), declines in software pricing, product returns and price protection, product delays, retail acceptance of Activision Blizzard's products, adoption rate and availability of new hardware and related software, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, litigation against Activision Blizzard, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, customers, vendors and third-party developers, counterparty risks relating to customers, licensees, licensors and manufacturers, domestic and international economic, financial and political conditions and policies, foreign exchange rates, integration of recent acquisitions and the identification of suitable future acquisition opportunities, Activision Blizzard's success in integrating the operations of Activision and Vivendi Games in a timely manner, or at all, and the combined Company's ability to realize the anticipated benefits and synergies of the transaction to the extent, or in the timeframe, anticipated, and the other factors identified in the risk factors section of Activision Blizzard's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q for the June 30 and September 30, 2008 quarters. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and Activision Blizzard assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

SOURCE Activision Blizzard, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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