The best way to understand the power of an experiential marketing campaign is to take a look at some companies that have executed it effectively. As part of our experiential marketing series, we want to showcase a company that engaged with their audience by turning a digital and fantastical world into reality.
Ubisoft
If you own a WII, Xbox, or PlayStation console, you probably have heard of UbiSoft. UbiSoft is a French video game developer that produced several popular adult-oriented video games in the market today.
The Campaign
Last May, UbiSoft created an experiential marketing campaign called the “Amazing Street Hack” to help promote WatchDog, its new open-world action-adventure game. Because their video games carry a strong plot, UbiSoft usually promotes new games with a trailer/demo on TV or online. However, this time, UbiSoft added an incredible guerrilla marketing element.
The Experience
The stunt began in a set-up consumer electronics store with a big sign on the storefront that read, “Special Offers: Smartphone Repair in 15 minutes 24/7.” Anything overtly suspicious? Probably not.
Of course, the smartphone repair is only a cover. In addition to fixing their phones, the salesman installs a “special” mobile app — a magical tool to help you become a real street hacker.
The salesman walks outside and shows customers how it works. With this app, they can unlock cars, change traffic lights and pump money out of an ATM machine (all coordinated by UbiSoft, of course). Want to see exactly happened? Watch this “Amazing Street Hack” video here:
Why Ubisoft’s Experiential Marketing Campaign Worked
To date, the “Amazing Street Hack” video has more than 14 million Youtube views and a countless number of featured stories in media. The query of “Amazing Street Hack” also returns 75 million search results on Google.
Obviously, this “pranks-vertising” worked very well for UbiSoft and WatchDog. Why?
First, it has all the elements that make this experiential marketing campaign an experience. The street stunt was impeccably planned and executed. It caught people off guard and it gave them an experience that was “of another world,” suspenseful, and relevant. The great content provided the online audience great entertainment value. This quickly turned the experiential marketing campaign viral on social media. And most importantly, it gave people the motivation to buy the game. All these amazing hacks without taking real responsibilities — you can have it all with WatchDog from UbiSoft.
