Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has announced a $3.9 million advertising package with Rockstar Games. It covers promotion of Grand Theft Auto VI, which is set to launch Nov. 19.
The package includes an earlier $975,000 agreement. It covers a “Welcome to Vice City” sign on the roof of Kaseya Center in downtown Miami. Rockstar Games will also pay for the installation, maintenance and removal of all advertising materials.
The expanded agreement includes additional elements. At Miami International Airport, decorations and displays promoting the game will appear on the pedestrian crossings linking parking garages with the terminals. Lighting in the game’s colors will be installed in the Central Garden courtyard at Terminal E. Cranes at PortMiami will be lit in GTA colors. Traffic signal boxes across the county will be wrapped in pink-and-blue designs.
The county said it will put proceeds from the agreement toward a park behind Kaseya Center. According to WLRN, the project has been stalled for more than 30 years. Rockstar also bought ads through two companies that manage advertising space at the airport and on the county’s transit system.
The cities of Miami and Miami Beach have struck their own marketing agreements with Rockstar. The county’s partnership with the game’s publisher has been criticized by Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz and some county commissioners, among others. Defenders of the decision point out that the county gains a share of the company’s promotional budget.
Levine Cava said the county has a chance to benefit from the interest surrounding the launch, adding that the agreements will allow it to turn that interest into additional revenue for the local community.
Source: WLRN
KN
Source: Słoneczne Radio
