Social Vandalisms
LEGO® DC Super-Villains was to be promoted mainly via organic social channels. Dormant pages existed from previous LEGO® DC Batman games so the plan was hatched to takeover these channels with a visual language befitting a group of super-villains.
Warner Bros. handed over the keys to the social channels and all that remained was to un-leash the Joker and his crew with a fat marker, spray cans and a LEGO® bucket of paint.
Owned Channels
The Joker poking fun at Batman was an easy start to the takeover, which then spread to the many other Super-Villains anonymously airing their grudges to their respective counterparts.
The hype of who and what was behind the daubings rapidly built before a countdown was revealed and it became clear an announcement for a new game was imminent…
The Countdown Had Begun…
Played out on social and pushing through to the main landing page an ominous countdown played out on a TV set inside an eerie jail cell.
The Villains Are Coming!
The announcement is made! The villains are out! The CGI trailer was concepted, storyboarded, directed and delivered.
A Villainous Series Ahead
A series of social media executions were devised to deliver key characters and messaging throughout the 9 month social media campaign leading up to launch
Wanted Posters
Auto-playing video introducing the main protagonists on wanted posters each with their own unique expressions and animations
Guess the Villain
Interactive animations, inviting users to guess some of the more obscure villains from their weapons and accessories
Get to Know Comics
Interactive comic book which the user taps through to learn the back-stories of the main super-villains
Playing Cards
Quick reference cards to the accessories and stories of the main super-villains
Memes & Reactive Content
Quick memes and reactive content were regularly produced from trailer and gameplay footage throughout the campaign to remain current and in conversation with fans
New Experimental Formats
An eye was always kept on new upcoming formats and ways to use the current ones in new and experimental ways
3D Facebook Models
Using the models from the game developers, a series of 3D posts were made. Among the first in the industry.
3D Facebook Photos
An effective way to bring a static image to life, and make it jump from the screen as the user scrolls
Press & Hold
Adds a simple bit of user interaction to make them engage and feel part of the creative
Tap & Snap
One of many different ways to use interactive stories to add in a layer of engagement
Polls & Further Engagement
As the anticipation grew for launch, a series of polls were made to see which faction of Super-Villains people were most excited to play as, and what designs people most liked from the villains designed by the public on kiosks at gaming shows.
An Epic Approach to Launch
A final set of assets were produced with an epic theatrical feel and a strong call to action and recruitment, echoing the main premise of the game where your created character is central to the story and plays a pivotal role in saving the day.
DLCs and Post Launch Support
Post launch there was continued support and promotion, celebrating the achievements and creations of the gamers, and then to follow was a series of 5 DLC add-on packs available individually or as part of the Season Pass. The key-arts were created and then animated into cinemagraphs and further supported with assets and gameplay memes.
Results
MAY 2018
MAY 2019
612K
68K
38K
With mainly organic posts to the above follower numbers, and careful cross pollination of assets to partner channels (LEGO, DC Comics, Warner Bros. Games) the following results were achieved:
Over 90m impressions
Over 70m people reached
Over 1m actively engaged fans
Over 20m video views
The content drove engagement rates of 2% – 17% far above industry averages.
Average organic engagement rate benchmarks: Facebook 0.16% | Instagram 1.73% | Twitter 0.046%. Source: Rival IQ