Using RightNow in Its Customer Service Operation, Ubisoft Prepares For Its Busiest Ever Christmas
December 22, 2005
[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Game Developer and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press]
Author: RightNow
SLOUGH, U.K. (22nd December, 2005) - French gaming giant Ubisoft is working with RightNow Technologies to ensure it can give fans of "Peter Jackson's King Kong: The Official Game of The Movie" a seamless gaming experience. Released on November 17th, the $30m King Kong video game is expected to become an international bestseller across all eight gaming formats. To counter any associated growth in customer enquiries to the call centre and the website over the extended Christmas period, Ubisoft has fortified its customer service operation to cope with the increased pressure.
The sheer popularity of "King Kong" is expected to significantly boost customer interactions, particularly as new games consoles have just been launched. Ubisoft must respond to these within 24 hours as part of its customer service commitment and is using customer relationship management software from RightNow Technologies to help manage inbound interactions via telephone and email.
It is also using RightNow to deliver a self-service solution that allows customers to resolve standard questions online. This is expected to have a significant impact in reducing the number of customer interactions that actually require communication with service agents. Ubisoft will use its self-service resource to answer simple questions like 'where can I buy this game'. Many of Ubisoft's customer interactions, such as questions about console specification, are often unrelated to the games it provides so it aims to have these answered online as well.
Customer interactions that cannot be resolved online are received, logged and prioritised within RightNow ServiceTM. Depending on the query, the customer will be dealt with by Viking, Ubisoft's outsourced customer support team, or escalated quickly to Ubisoft's technical support department. The advanced reporting tool will detect patterns in enquiries, which the product development team can assess for trends. If something is spotted, the team can proactively communicate it to gamers.
Ubisoft is investing heavily in customer service and provides 24/7 customer support. As most gamers play in the evenings and at weekends, this progressive approach to ensuring nothing spoils the gaming experience has helped Ubisoft become one of the leading game providers building it an army of fans of games such as Prince of Persia, Myst and Chessmaster.
"Thanks to King Kong we're expecting this season to be our busiest ever," Jacqui Lennon technical support manager at Ubisoft, commented. "By using RightNow I have a clear view of service levels and how we are coping with increased enquiry volumes. And, now that we have an added layer of information, we can be much more flexible with regards to scaling the customer service operation up or down depending on demand - helping to further control cost."
"This is an exciting time in Ubisoft's history as it experiences its biggest-ever games release," Wayne Foncette, UK vice president at RightNow Technologies, said. "The company has built a world-class customer service operation that combines RightNow's advanced on demand CRM software with an experienced team of game enthusiasts at Viking. We are sure that Ubisoft will continue to deliver the industry's best service as sales of King Kong build towards and beyond Christmas."
End
About King Kong
Triple Academy Award winner Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) directs the dramatic adventure King Kong, bringing his sweeping cinematic vision to the iconic story of the gigantic ape captured in the wild and brought to civilization where he meets his tragic fate. Jackson assumes directing, producing and co-screenwriting duties and surrounds himself with a list of superlative filmmaking and acting talents.
Jackson re-teams with longtime collaborators Fran Walsh and Philippa Boyens, co-writing the screenplay with three-time Oscar-winning partner Walsh and their The Lord of the Rings co-writer, Academy Award winner Boyens. Jan Blenkin, Carolynne Cunningham, Fran Walsh and Jackson produce the film under their WingNut Films banner.
Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts (21 Grams) portrays Ann Darrow, an actress from the world of vaudeville who finds herself out of a job in Depression-era New York. Her luck changes when she meets Carl Denham, played by Jack Black (School of Rock). Denham is an entrepreneur, raconteur, adventurer and filmmaker who is struggling to make a name for himself in the entertainment industry. Bold, ebullient and charismatic, Denham has a natural sense of showmanship and an appetite for greatness, which ultimately leads to catastrophe. Academy Award winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist) steps into the role of Jack Driscoll, a New York playwright, who becomes an unlikely hero in a romantic adventure story which will test his physical courage and his heart.
Andy Serkis (who performed the role of the CGI character Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy) provided both on-set performance reference and motion capture performance for the title character of King Kong. Serkis also appears onscreen playing Lumpy the cook, in service aboard the tramp steamer Venture, bound for Skull Island, under the command of Captain Englehorn, played by Thomas Kretschmann (U-571). Colin Hanks (Orange County) portrays a production assistant to filmmaker Carl Denham and Kyle Chandler (television's Early Edition), taking on the role of Bruce Baxter, a 1930's movie star cast opposite Ann Darrow in the film Denham is shooting.
Visual effects are again accomplished by New Zealand-based companies Weta Digital, under the direction of Oscar winner Joe Letteri and Weta Workshop, under the direction of Oscar winner Richard Taylor. Visual effects will supplement practical locations in creating the primordial jungles of Skull Island and the bustling metropolis of '30s-period Manhattan. James Newton Howard (Batman Begins) will compose the original score for the film.
About Universal Studios Consumer Products Group:
Universal Studios Consumer Products Group is responsible for global licensing and retail strategies as well as building brand recognition of the extensive catalogue of NBC Universal properties. Universal Studios Consumer
Products Group is a unit of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80%-owned by General Electric, with 20% controlled by Vivendi Universal.
About Ubisoft:
Ubisoft is a leading producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products worldwide and has grown considerably through its strong and diversified line-up of products and partnerships. Ubisoft has offices in 21 countries and sales in more than 50 countries around the globe. It is committed to delivering high-quality, cutting-edge videogame titles to consumers. Ubisoft generated revenue of 538 million for the 2004-2005 fiscal year, an increase of 8% over the previous fiscal year at constant exchange rates. To learn more, please visit www.ubisoftgroup.com.
About RightNow Technologies
RightNow (NASDAQ: RNOW) provides organizations with industry-leading on demand CRM solutions to build customer-focused businesses. RightNow's acclaimed technology, comprehensive services and commitment to customer success deliver high returns on investment for its customers. More than 1,400 organizations worldwide use RightNow solutions including British Airways, British Telecom, Cisco Systems, Continental Tire North America, John Deere, Nikon and the Social Security Administration. Founded in 1997, RightNow is headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, with additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For further information, please visit http://www.rightnow.com/.
RightNow is a registered trademark of RightNow Technologies, Inc. NASDAQ is a registered trademark of the NASDAQ Stock Market.
Krista Burnett
Corporate Communications Specialist
RightNow Technologies
DDI: 01753 894 993
Mobile: 07917 390 349
Main: 01753 894 900
URL: www.rightnow.com
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