For the Final Fantasy XIV : Shadowbringers video game that was released on the 2nd of July 2019, Biborg and the game developer Square Enix collaborated on an EMEA digital wide campaign including outdoor, online display advertising and social units.

Final Fantasy XIV is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game in which the player controls a customised adventurer avatar from one of the playable races.

Two years since the release of the last expansion, Shadowbringers invites gamers to dive into the next chapter of the critically acclaimed game where hero becomes villain as the Warrior of Light embraces the dark and embarks upon an adventure that transcends worlds. It has become one of the best stories in the franchise.

The primary audience for this title are lapsed and current Final Fantasy XIV players, with the wider target audience being gamers who are into role-playing games in general.

The objective of the campaign was to excite the core audience, convert friends and reach non-traditional Final Fantasy gamers.

The main message to communicate in the campaign was that Shadowbringers is a cathartic experience where you can ‘embrace the darkness’. The stopping power of the title is an empowering and satisfying invitation to experience the freedom of being as bad, evil and vicious as you want to be.

There were two phases of the campaign : pre-launch and launch. The idea behind the pre-launch was to begin drumming up the excitement for the expansion and raise awareness around the game. It was also designed to encourage people to pre-order the expansion.

The launch phase was aimed at notifying gamers that it was available and for those who missed the pre-launch.

For the pre-launch phase, Biborg created a 30 second YouTube Trueview format and a YouTube Bumper ad which were based on the teasing trailer.

For the launch phase, the same type of formats were created but this time the montage was based on the announcement trailers.

Online advertising formats were created targeting different users: the core fans and ‘friends’.

A suite of social units for the launch phase, including Instagram stories, a Facebook video takeover, a Facebook Canvas and Snapchat units were created to target audiences on social media.

To target passers by in the metro stations, a Digital out of home unit was done focusing on the Warrior of Darkness transformation.

The Final Fantasy cult, which has continually impressed generations of gamers, opens its door for you.