Remember the times when gaming was for people with powerful PC or gaming consoles? Well, we’re not saying these devices are going obsolete – not at all; we’re just saying that as of 2022, mobile gaming is fast outgrowing the gaming industry as a whole and is about to snag 61% of the entire market share. And if this number isn’t impressive enough, then how about a valuation of US$136billion out of a total size of US$222billion?
Given the enormous size and popularity of mobile gaming, it is only natural that companies have started pulling in loads of money to market their games. However, to be successful in this market, it isn’t only the game itself that matters – it is also how you deliver it to audiences.
And you know the best way to promote, right? With influencer marketing campaigns, especially those as good as the ones that we’ve gathered in our article. So keep on reading and learn how these companies used social media influencer collaborations to market their mobile games.
Coin Master
Okay, so Coin Master’s approach was, technically, a celebrity endorsement, but since it could be very well recreated with influencers (and it also went so staggeringly great), we’ve decided to add it to our list.
This is what they did – their idea was to collaborate with celebrities that have seemingly nothing to do with mobile gaming. Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B, Khloe Kardashian, and plenty more iconic names from the music and movie industry were put in Coin Master’s eye-catching ads, acting in various scenarios. The base idea of which was to show that these celebrities struggle to master the game, the same as a regular player would, and emphasize the fact that anyone can and should be playing the Coin Master game.
Now, this is where it gets interesting – Coin Master didn’t target their ads at gamers but rather at those who have heard or shown interest in any of their chosen celebrities. This has expanded their audiences vastly and proved to be a real power move in raising brand awareness.
Vainglory 5v5
Super Evil Megacorp (yup, that’s their real name if you’re not so familiar with mobile game developers) pulled out the big guns to promote their Vainglory 5v5 game some years ago. Namely, one of the most subscribed YouTube creators – PewDiePie.
However, the fun aspect of this collaboration was that the partnership was never explicitly stated in the video created for this endorsement. Instead, PewDiePie included his fans into the gameplay via YouTube’s Let’s Play video format that records multiple users playing a game while enabling voice-over commentary.
PewDiePie’s approach was to let the fans decide for themselves whether they liked what they saw without him explaining the gameplay or talking about features. The only mention of Super Evil Megacorp was in the video description, where the fans could also find download links.
Oh, and the video garnered over 2 million views, which one could definitely call a success.
Brawl Stars
Before the launch of Brawl Stars mobile game, its developer, Supercell, wanted to get the buzz going with an influencer campaign. That is, an influencer campaign even before the game was launched with the aim to get as many people to subscribe to it beforehand.
So, they hosted a series of pre-launch gameplay livestream videos with ten YouTube influencers and gamers. And it worked extremely well, probably even exceeding expectations with 5 million subscribers after the announcement of the release date and the first of their videos.
What’s the secret? We guess it was this – their choice of influencers. See, they did not choose any of the big-name influencers but rather based their campaign on creators who were already playing Supercell games and belonged to this exact niche. Some of the key influencers of their choice were MOLT, Orange Juice Gaming, and Powerbang Gaming, just to name a few.
BarBarQ
To promote their survival game called BarBarQ, its developer Electronic Soul paired up with popular YouTubers called FGTeeV (The Family Gaming Team). It’s an actual family of gamers who run a YouTube channel with over 10 million subscribers.
They could’ve chosen to promote the game with straightaway content, but instead, the FGTeeV team formed a story and naturally integrated the game into it. The team then played the game and showed their audience how it works and what are its main perks. Probably the only explicit detail noting that it was a promotion was the added download link in the video description. And with over 2 million views, we can definitely call this a successful example!
Tag With Ryan
WildWorks, a mobile game developer, is excellent proof that if you go big, you are very likely to win big. Their idea of going big was to develop a game around a popular YouTube influencer, Ryan, from Ryan ToysReview. The creator, in this case, is, in fact, a kid who runs a YouTube channel dedicated to toy reviews with an astounding 18 million subscribers.
So, WildWorks developed a game where Ryan is the main character and, of course, collaborated with him in promoting the game. Take a look at one of the videos dedicated to the occasion where Ryan plays the game together with his mom. And now, take a look at the bar displaying the views. Yup, it’s very near that 80 million mark, which, undoubtedly, promoted the game beyond the developer’s wildest dreams.
Infinity Ops
Azur Games is another excellent example showing that various pre-launch endorsements aren’t just great for creating a buzz surrounding a game but also for solidifying the number of possible customers.
That’s why Azur Games partnered up with multiple YouTube influencers who created introductory videos to the Infinity Ops game way before its actual launch date. Besides the videos, the game’s developers also offered special bonuses to those registering for the game before its launch, and this perk, together with the game’s features, was clearly communicated in the content created by influencers.
Take a look at one of the videos designed for the campaign from NoahsNoah, which garnered a respectable 1,8 million views.
Takeaway Note
You can’t deny the fact that mobile gaming is a huge billion-dollar industry and that mobile gaming influencers are all the rage right now. Millions of people are following them – both those who love gaming and love watching other people play. Naturally, mobile game developers should aim to collaborate with these influencers to expand their customer base and promote their games on this excellent marketing channel.
Leveraging these influencers and creators can get more registrations for your game, promote downloads, or raise awareness about the game or its new features and updates. In short – collaborating with gaming influencers is one of the surest ways to promote and sell your game!
And hopefully, the examples we’ve gathered in this article will serve you as a great source of inspiration.
