FROM MMO-RPG TO MMO-OMG

Marketing Campaign

MAPLESTORY 2 WAS COMING WEST. FIRST, IT HAD TO COME OUT OF ITS SHELL.

As the agency of record, our goal wasn't just to deliver a campaign befitting of MapleStory 2's long-anticipated launch. It was to bring the same level of absurdity, creativity, and downright adorableness to ad spots and social creative as what awaited fans in Maple World itself.

Just as no two characters in-game are the same, our approach was just as diverse and, well, downright weird. But within that silly creativity lay a foundation of hyper-targeting and creative iteration that served multiple audience subsets -- and ultimately led to a record-breaking launch for MapleStory 2.

After launching overseas years earlier, MapleStory 2’s western launch was highly anticipated. While having an existing fan base was a great foundation, it also created some challenges:

1) Creating content that would keep current fans engaged and excited.
2) Growing social media channels with new and current fans
3) Reaching new audiences that are fans of MMORPG and Sandbox games.

Recognizing that MapleStory 2 allows for boundless in-game customization, the campaign followed suit, leveraging customized digital banners and pre-roll videos hyper-targeted to different fanbase subsets — with a healthy dose of social stunts and timely meme posts uniting and engaging the mass.

Client

Nexon

Project

MapleStory 2 Marketing and Media Campaign

What We Did

Agency of Record Responsibilities, including:
Campaign Insights + Strategy
Launch Trailer
Live Shoot
In-Game Capture
Paid Video Ads
Paid Digital Ads
Social Media Strategy + Ideation
Social Media Production
Facebook Instant Experience
Facebook Carousels
Pre-Roll Ads
Copywriting
Social Stunts + Events

LAUNCH AD CREATIVE

Thanks to a few magical maple leaves and our super-talented production partners at Eskimo, our live-action launch trailer and pre-roll creative transported three frustrated protagonists from the real world into Maple World with a fresh, irreverent tone and healthy dose of gameplay.

BANNERS FOR ALL

Using keyart that captured the essence of MapleStory 2, we created online units that pulled people's attention without overloading them with too much information.

MONSTERS TAKEOVER SOCIAL

Throughout the campaign, we deployed socials stunts native to Instagram and Twitter. On Twitter, our Monsters of MapleStory 2 Twitter Takeover shattered engagement goals as villains from Maple World broke the fourth wall and live-tweeted directly at fans.

AN INSTAGRAM STORY

On Instagram, an intricate and "tappable choose-your-own adventure" experience gave fans a chance to to tap their way through unique, custom crafted stories built from the ground-up for Instagram to mimic the freedom in-game.

ODDLY SATISFYING

We created several "oddly-satisfying" videos using looping characters and curated locations to create a soothing visual that also intrigued viewers about in-game features.

KEEPING UP WITH THE INTERNET

Staying up to date with our window's internet trends, memes, and conversations (i.e. PSL, Friday 13th, Apple Keynote, Avengers' "Dissolve") was essential to maintaining engagement and earning credibility from our audience.

CELEBRATING SKILLZ

User-generated content was a major focus of MapleStory 2 during Beta testing. We ran competitions that challenged users to create cool stuff in-game to show off their skills and generate organic excitement.

SHOWCASING THE EXPERIENCE

Utilizing the Facebook Canvas feature, we leveraged fans' Newsfeeds to show off those elements of MapleStory 2 that would have users most excited and ready for the launch.

A LAUNCH WITH ALL THE DUCKS, MONSTERS AND NUMBERS TO BACK IT UP

MapleStory 2 shattered its own expectations with over 1MM players at launch, establishing the adorable MMORPG as the top-performing title for Nexon that year.

Results

#1 MMO on Steam
12.5 MILLION Organic Trailer Views
1+ MILLION New Players At Launch
TOP 10 Most Played Games on Steam
TOP OVERALL Free-to-Play Game on Steam
#6 Most Popular Game Streamed on Twitch