• by Aaron Baar , June 6, 2011

Already one of the most popular video games available, Ubisoft's Just Dance 2 is looking to gain some more market share and awareness by sponsoring pop star Katy Perry's upcoming North American tour.

Ubisoft's promotion of the California Dreams 2011 tour includes a contest in which fans can record themselves dancing along to Perry's hit, "Firework," via its inclusion on Just Dance 2. Contest winners will receive VIP tickets and meet-and-greet passes to one of Perry's shows across the U.S. and Canada.

"The Just Dance brand is all about providing our players [with] new ways to experience the music they love with friends and family," Carrie Feigel, senior brand manager for Ubisoft, told Marketing Daily. "Katy Perry has been featured on both Just Dance with "Hot N Cold" and on Just Dance 2 with the free download ‘Firework,' and Ubisoft's sponsorship of her tour is another great way to continue our partnership with Katy Perry and bring new music experiences to our fans."

As part of its sponsorship, the Just Dance 2 title will be featured at each concert stop through branded signage. To further promote the contest, Perry will appear in a pre-concert video that encourages people to enter the contest via Just Dance 2's Facebook page. The promotion, which spans a broad demographic of players (Fiegel estimated the game boasts 30 million players worldwide), is a way to draw a deeper connection between the game players and music fans, she said.

"There are many Just Dance fans who enjoy Katy's music and many Katy Perry fans who enjoy playing our games," Feigel said. "If we continue to bring happiness to our fans, they'll spread the word to friends. In order to get more Just Dance fans, we just need to show the world how much fun the game is and our fans do a fantastic job of that."

Music sponsorship and promotion have become an increasingly lucrative marketing opportunity. According to IEG, which measures sponsorship spending, North American companies will spend $1.17 billion backing music venues, festivals and tours in 2011. That represents a 7.3% increase over the 1.09 billion spent in 2010, and outpaces a projected 5.9% increase in overall sponsorship (which also includes sports, causes and the arts).

"Music provides an opportunity to reach young adult audiences, and that's a demographic that's hard to reach," IEG Sponsorship Report Senior Editor William Chipps told Marketing Daily in April. "It's a way to gain one-on-one marketing opportunities with this audience."