Gaming Case Study:

Client

Player X is a UK-based mobile media company specializing in games and mobile video. The company distributes mobile content worldwide, with a potential audience of 1.8 billion people via 150+ channels for its content partners.

Player X brings some of the biggest entertainment brands in the world to mobile as part of its fully managed partner program, and is a preferred distributor for top tier publishers and carriers such as Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone, and Telefonica, among others. Through these distributors, Player X has been able to deliver gaming and video content to a mass-market audience.

The management team has worked in mobile content distribution since the inception of mobile data services and has been instrumental in the launch of some of the world's largest mobile brands. And recently, Player X was ranked 6th in the top 50 UK media companies in the Media Momentum Awards and was distinguished as a Red Herring Top 100 Finalist for Europe.

Overview

Player X approached DA Search about managing new campaigns to drive targeted traffic for the launch of several of their mobile media products. These included their Hollywood Hospital and Guinness World Records mobile games in Brazil, as well as two co-branded products in their Hellboy Animated mobile video content and their America's Got Talent mobile game in the US. In the case of Hellboy Animated and America's Got Talent, the launch of the campaigns had to be timed precisely with the release of the movie and TV show. Player X wanted to drive as much quality, targeted traffic as possible to the sites, increase sales, and maintain a low CPA (cost per acquisition).

Challenges

As a worldwide distributor of mobile content, Player X had the unenviable task of managing advertising campaigns on a global scale through multiple language channels. Several of these campaigns were co-branded with other content, and their rollout had to be timed perfectly with the launch of the Hellboy movie as well as the premiere of the new season of America's Got Talent. Driving sales through search to these co-branded products was a problem, since the brand-name of the movie and television series often overshadowed the Player X product. Therefore, conversion rates on clicks had been expected to be quite low.

Strategy

DA Search has studied the relationship between offline-media activity, and online activity. Any activity in the offline arenas, such as television shows and movie releases, creates a flurry of buzz, and this buzz often drives people to seek out more information online with the search engines. In order to connect with an already engaged audience, DA Search used the following tactics in a targeted online search strategy to help maximize Player X's gains.

Branded Keywords

DA Search used several branded keywords and variations in the campaigns. Fans of the television show and the movie tend to flock to the search engines for highly specific information and related products. By bidding on branded keywords, DA Search was able to connect these consumers with the mobile media content that Player X provided.

Dynamic Insertion

We've proven time and again that the highest quality traffic is captured when the ad copy is targeted directly towards the search request. In addition to creating effective and compelling ad copy, DA Search used dynamic keyword insertion in each ad so the optimal messaging was delivered for each keyword search.

Increased Quality & Bids

One of the issues with many of the branded keywords as well as the simple descriptive keywords in the campaigns was that individuals searching for these keywords were not specifically looking for Player X's product. In order to increase the promotional capacity of the campaign, we increased the max bids to ensure top position for all the relevant and high converting keywords. However, doing this increases Player X's costs dramatically.

To optimize the campaign on a cost level, we used several techniques, from optimizing ad copy, to landing page modification to ensure the highest quality recognition, and therefore, decreased Costs-Per-Click. We also leveraged the clear correlation between the buzz generated by offline media, and the number of people that were directed to Player X's pages through search.

Day-Parting

Traffic levels and quality for our co-branded campaign, America's Got Talent, increased on the days following a new episode of the show. To fully benefit from this effect, DA Search used a day-parting strategy to time the increase of keyword bids with the days a new episode was slated for release.

Proprietary Translation & Language Immersion

Since there were two campaigns set to launch internationally, DA Search relied on our expertise as a global agency. We immersed the team in the traditions and language of Brazil, and utilized the services of cultural experts as well as team members who were native speakers of Portuguese. In the end, DA Search was able to craft an immensely successful campaign in an emerging international market.

Results

Due to the integrated nature of DA Search's media strategy, Player X's products (Hollywood Hospital - Brazil, Guinness World Records - Brazil, Hellboy Animated, and America's Got Talent) all experienced very successful launches around the world. In Brazil, Hollywood Hospital and Guinness World Records are among the two most popular mobile games. Throughout the theatrical run of the Hellboy II movie, Player X experienced tremendous increases in subscriptions to the Hellboy Animated mobile videos. Similarly, America's Got Talent, the co-branded mobile game experienced extraordinary numbers of new registrants, during the show's run.