“It is about relationships with those content creators and understanding what they love,” Bell added.

Take-Two recently held a community-day event at the NBA’s New York office ahead of the launch of NBA 2K24. Adweek was there as creators and streamers from all over the world gathered to play the game, give initial reactions and offer firsthand feedback.

“When we do them, we want them to be fit for purpose and not just tick the box,” said Bell. “It is a tremendous effort to do it, not only on our part as a company, but the investment of time from a creator or person attending the event.”

Bell, who spent much of her marketing career in the automotive industry, said she’s learned one valuable marketing lesson through the mostly online, somewhat in-person platform: “The biggest advantage is really about relationships and spending time in real life with people.”

This story is part of The New Dynamics of Marketing Innovation special feature.