Gaming Influencer Campaigns to inspire your strategy
Influencer Marketing is a key user acquisition and brand awareness channel for games that can serve a number of objectives- from game launches to new user acquisition or retention and reactivation. But successful influencer ads for games are built on a blend of data-led strategy and creative insights, and it’s essential that game marketers learn to master this balance.
We worked across a variety of influencer marketing campaigns for mobile games and PC/Console titles alike in 2024, from merge titles and hidden object games to AAA titles. So we’re breaking down some of our top gaming integrations from 2024 and exactly what makes them stand out.
1. Marvel Rivals (NetEase Games, Marvel) x SQUEEZIE GAMING and GotagaTV
This campaign for the global launch of Marvel and NetEase’s highly anticipated AAA PvP Shooter Game featured Twitch gaming influencers SQUEEZIE GAMING and GotagaTV promoting the game through dedicated streams in a thrilling facing off.
This influencer collaboration is a standout for several reasons.
- First, the best features of the game – the tactical gameplay, engaging and dynamic battles, high quality graphics and sound are on full display in the extended format.
- Second, the influencer vs. influencer concept displays the player experience, whilst also providing a unique and exciting experience for communities of both creators.
- Finally, the chosen creators and their audiences are perfectly aligned with the game’s brand and core target audience of 18+ males in France who are fans of First Person Shooter and Hero Shooter games.
This collaboration is a brilliant example of the strategic selection and impactful creatives needed for successful influencer marketing campaigns!
Check out the highlights from the dedicated Twitch stream here:
2. Top Troops (Socialpoint) x MrBeast
As a part of the RPG mobile game’s global launch, we worked with Socialpoint to make this Top Troops x MrBeast collaboration come to life.
A competitor analysis will easily show the list of other gaming titles and similar male-targeted RPGs that have previously collaborated with MrBeast. This is an important indicator not only of his effectiveness in influencing purchase decisions, but also of the alignment of his audience with this category’s core target customer.
And whilst MrBeast is one of the world’s biggest influencers with a loyal and engaged audience, this collaboration stands out for a few more reasons. In fact, we took specific tactical steps to ensure the sponsorship performed well and drove actual results.
First, strategic negotiations allowed us to ensure the sponsored segment was placed in a high performing video format to maximise reach.
We selected a format that has historically been a high performer, and surely enough, the video racked up 48 million views in under 24 hours and was #2 on the YouTube trending list.
Second, the use of custom assets helped us drive higher conversions. A customer character and challenge distinctively based on MrBeast was created and added to the mobile game by the Social Point’s product team and promoted for a limited time.
These custom assets are always more effective in driving conversion, with the potential to increase ROI by up to 237% and CVR by over 400%.
The reason these custom assets are such an effective influencer marketing strategy for games is that they provide an additional incentive for the influencer’s audiences to download and play the game.
Accessing the custom assets based on the influencer makes them feel closer to the creator and their community, while the ‘limited-time’ offer adds an element of scarcity and the fear of missing out, which drives quick conversation.
This collaboration between MrBeast and Top Troops ultimately was noteworthy not just because of the influencer’s high profile, but also because of the strategic inferences that extracted maximum performance impact from the collaboration.
Check out the campaign overview here or watch the integration below:
3. Raid Shadow Legends (Plarium) x Cosmic Wonder Simulcast
This collaboration for the popular RPG mobile game RAID shadow legends is unique and effective for several reasons –
First, it leverages a Multi platform approach.
Podcasts themselves are a platform with massive influencer marketing potential- and this platform saw further growth in 2024. This was also accompanied by a big push of this content format by YouTube, which became the preferred platform for consuming podcasts.
There’s a reason there was an 83% increase in podcasts with video content – increased reach and easier discovery, and that benefit extends to the brands partnering with these Podcast influencers leveraging the Simulcast format too.
Second, the script – The influencer mentions their initial skepticism, stating how they ‘never thought twice about the game and thought it was pretty generic initially’ before getting completely hooked. Narratives like these amplify the authenticity of the take and make it clear the creators are not following a brand provided script, but rather, conveying their true experience.
This gaming influencer collaboration is a demonstration not only of the opportunities to reach wider and more diverse audiences by catering to different consumption patterns and preferences, but doing so in an organic way.
4. June’s Journey (Wooga) x Crime Junkie
This collaboration by June’s Journey with the Crime Junkie Podcast is yet another demonstration of the power of the biggest influencers, irrespective of the platform, as it marks the 9th collaboration between the mobile game brand and the popular Podcast show.
Crime Junkie is the fifth biggest podcast in the world, and as a niche podcast with a massive following, demonstrates the power of Podcast hosts as effective influencers and content creators. They’ve built loyal followers based on their content quality and depth, adding to their authority and the fondness followers have for them, making their influence on purchase decisions more effective.
What’s more, June’s Journey, as a detective themed hidden object mobile game, is perfectly aligned with the True Crime theme of the Crime Junkie show, and extremely relevant to the interests of the core listener group.
These factors, combined with Podcasts’ inherently older audiences ensure the brand is able to reach their prime target audience in an effective way. The effectiveness of the collaboration is clear as June’s Journey has partnered with the show nine times over the course of its Podcast campaigns.
Check out the audio ad here:
Crime Junkie Podcast Influencer ad for June’s Journey
Image via: Crime Junkie Podcast
5. Spades Plus (Zynga) x Retirement House
Spade’s Plus’ collaboration with Retirement house is a brilliant example of using Instagram influencers to promote brands in a memorable and effective way.
The video takes a brilliant creative route to promote Zynga’s mobile game Spades Plus, with an entertaining skit inspired by Alice in Wonderland and its prominent motifs of playing cards.
In today’s digital landscape where influencer x brand collaborations have become more common and easily identifiable, ‘authenticity’ isn’t enough- the integration has to actually entertain and add value to viewers so as to create a positive impression and impact.
The short-form style of reels and TikTok influencer content can make it harder to package sponsored content in this more entertaining and valuable format, but this integration is a brilliant demonstration of balancing the brand message and audience preferences.
Through a high-quality production and entertaining angle, it manages to keep viewers engaged, whilst conveying the core brand message and promoting an addictive game that stimulates fun competition.
Watch the integration here.
Image via Retirement House Instagram
As it’s clear from the different campaign examples above, here are many platforms, formats, and styles in which Influencers across various niches and content verticals can be leveraged to promote games.
When planned strategically with integration of key data and creative insights influencer marketing can be a powerful UA and marketing channel for games. With access to the right databases, tools, and models and critical insight on industrial trends, influencer marketing can become a profitable, scalable, and critical part of the marketing mix.
Looking to discuss tailored and effective influencer marketing campaigns for your game? Get in touch with our expert team today!
FAQ
How do I find the right influencers for my brand?
Determining the right influencers for your brand starts with defining factors like your target audience, campaign objectives & KPIs, an estimated budget, and your key competitors. This provides a good foundation to focus your influencer search in the right direction and find the creators who will be the best fit for your brand and your audience.
Do I need an influencer marketing platform?
Whether you need an influencer marketing platform depends on the scale of your influencer marketing campaigns! For smaller campaigns with fewer creators, an organic search using hashtags or ‘similar profiles’ on the social media platforms may be enough. For larger scale campaigns, you may need to invest in an influencer marketing platform or work with an agency!
How can I find influencers for free?
You can find influencers for free using search engines, or hashtags on social media platforms. This would require you to have some idea of the interests of your target audience or the content category within which you would like to find influencers. Another means to find influencers at no extra cost would be to use the social listening tools your PR department may have to find creators who have organically mentioned your brand, or alternatively your competitors. This may help you discover creators who have a genuine interest in your brand or general product or brand category.
How long does it take to find influencers?
This depends on your resources, scale, KPIs, and the audience niches you are trying to reach! If you have a large internal team, a common content vertical and accessible target audience, the top Influencer discovery tools and a modest budget, you may be able to find influencers in as little as a day or two! However, these factors are all rarely aligned with the ideal scenario, which can make finding influencers challenging for internal teams.
Working with an influencer marketing agency can help finding a list of influencers within a week for up to six figure budgets. Larger budgets with performance oriented KPIs may require a slightly longer timeline. However, this is always comparably smaller compared to the time smaller internal teams may require.
Can Media Bodies help find influencers for my brand?
Absolutely! As a full service Influencer Marketing agency with 11 years of experience, Media Bodies has access to multiple tools and platforms to find influencers for your brand. We also consult performance data from the hundreds of prior campaigns we have run and analyse competitor strategies to ensure we are finding the RIGHT influencers for your brand.
Further, Media Bodies’ global networks with managed and unmanaged creators across the world and frequent collaboration opportunities. This eliminates a lot of the risk involved in the outreach stages. Moreover, allows us to deliver campaigns with quick turnarounds, and to do so at preferential rates, helping lower CPMs and produce the best ROI for your influencer marketing campaign.