Challenge

To successfully launch Capcom’s biggest production to date in EMEA!

Monster Hunter Wilds is Capcom’s biggest production to date, but with Monster Hunter World a seven year old title, we had our work cut out to find new and relevant audiences to make aware of this epic, new installment in the MH franchise.

Our Approach

Develop a tactical paid media strategy that reflected Capcom’s key marketing beats, utilising smaller investments to breadcrumb the way to a huge launch phase, using each opportunity to showcase the game’s amazing world and features.

The first stop on our journey was the pre-order beat. Following the release of their 3rd cinematic and gameplay trailer during Gamescom, we put together a tactical display campaign aimed at MH fans and players to drive awareness around the pre-order.

We followed this phase with the Open Betas, which gave both existing and potential players a chance to roam Monster Hunter Wilds’ immersive world for the first time via a limited access build. Here we began to expand our audience pool in order to drive wider awareness of this amazing opportunity to try the game and hook potential new fans.

In terms of creative strategy, we wanted our key message - REAWAKEN YOUR PRIMAL NATURE - to serve as an invitation to experience the thrill of the hunt, adjusting the language to be relevant to the audiences our media team were targeting in each beat.

And as we neared the release date, we shifted our key message and mood to UNLEASH YOUR WILDS, which would also be captured by our desire to showcase the rich and varying world of the game!

Our Execution

Craft exciting and informative video assets to complement and make the most of our media campaign strategy and investment.

PRE-ORDER

For pre-order we used existing trailer assets as our source material and crafted exciting and polished edits to showcase Wilds’ amazing features while respecting Sony’s (Capcom’s strategic partner) brand guidelines.

OPEN BETA

For the Open Betas, we took a slightly different approach. With access to the betas limited to weekends and requiring pre-load to play, we knew we had to be extremely informative to maximise player satisfaction, setting them up for a weekend of Wilds fun. Our solution was to provide players with all the details and incentives they needed without sacrificing the excitement of Wilds’ monsters, environments and gameplay features.

OPEN BETA 1

OPEN BETA 2

LAUNCH

Finally for launch, we orchestrated and delivered a monstrous media burst spanning the week-long pre-launch, launch weekend and accolade phases. To achieve this, we partnered with multiple media partners to deliver a 360° campaign covering the 6 biggest European markets across online display, social media, Connected TV and OOH. As Capcom Europe's media agency, we had to strategically align our planning alongside Sony PlayStation and their agency EssenceMediacom to ensure a harmonious and fully connected launch.

On Reddit, our approach was to cut through to notoriously anti-ad Reddit communities by blurring the line between organic and paid media, creating and sponsoring an organic tips and tricks guide that catered directly to newbie and veteran players. Redditors reacted positively to it in the comments, demonstrating that our informative, natively-coded article had the desired effect!

Discover the Free-form Ad on Reddit here!

For OOH and DOOH, we delivered a massive campaign in France, with our creative covering 430 OOH printed placements on the Pais Metro and 462 digital screens across France’s national train stations.

ACCOLADES

Following a critically acclaimed release, we quickly turned around an accolade campaign to capitalize on the fantastic quotes, reviews and scores from publications within each market and across the region, updating and delivering our assets in a span of four days.

CONCLUSION

Through our strategic and production efforts in EMEA, managing the media for 6 major European markets and creating bespoke and localised assets for 9 markets across the region, we were able to contribute significantly to the record breaking 8M+ copies sold within the game’s first 3 days.

This extensive campaign will continue well after the launch with additional paid media and creative content, reinforcing the game’s presence across all platforms and keeping fans engaged, immersed in the world of Monster Hunter Wilds for every incoming game update and marketing beat.

"Biborg has been an invaluable partner for us over the years, consistently delivering innovative and impactful campaigns. Their creative vision and media expertise have been instrumental once again in delivering an exceptional campaign for Monster Hunter Wilds. They’ve captured the excitement and the scale of the game and we’re thrilled with the results. We’re confident our campaign will resonate with both our dedicated fanbase and new players alike, driving significant awareness and engagement.”

Antoine Molant, EMEA and UK Marketing Director, Capcom