Diablo 4’s marketing campaign is even more out of whack than mobile advertising

On June 6th the sky turned orange. Smoke from Canadian wildfires drifted south, casting a dull orange hue across the northeastern US states. New York City seemed otherworldly and post-apocalyptic, its residents breathing in dangerous air. The orange smoke blurred skyscrapers and spiers, leaving only the flashing screens of Times Square that eerily lit the city streets.

One billboard bluntly read, “Welcome to Hell, New York.”

It’s an advertisement that’s both timely and random. Activision Blizzards diablo 4 was officially released the day before. Lilith, as tall as a small building, looms over the people of New York whose eyes sting from the smoke. On Twitter, someone jokes: diablo 4The marketing team has gone too far.

Of course, Activision Blizzard didn’t set the Canadian forest on fire to create huge amounts of smoke blown south by the wind. But the apocalyptic weather seemed to highlight the sheer craziness and boldness of Activision Blizzard’s big marketing campaign, which stands out even as video game marketing stunts get bolder.

The only common thread that seems to tie this campaign together is virality and shock – the kind of marketing you see more in mobile games. Of course, that’s not to say that this type of marketing is unknown in console and PC games, but it’s ubiquitous in the mobile space: dramatic storylines that have little impact on actual gameplay (sometimes with celebrity endorsements), mass-market advertising that features off-gameplay that isn’t actually in-game and marketing designed to go viral. Diablo 4′s Marketing embodies the ethos of mobile gaming advertising, intentional or not.

Activision Blizzard has basically done all sorts of marketing activities that we’ve seen for video games — and then some — to “become part of the conversation in places where you don’t typically see a video game or Diablo,” according to the statement diablo 4 General Manager Rod Fergusson.

celebrities? Check to see if both Megan Fox and Chloë Grace Moretz are in ads. Fox appeared in a series of hyperbolic tweets and videos mocking people who are bad at it diablo 4, and we’re calling out a few big-name streamers too. Moretz appeared in a video to make one diablo 4 character too. These traits aren’t that unusual when you think about Fox’s work and aesthetic – Jennifer’s body, everyone? (Fox’s ad campaign isn’t popular with everyone, though, but some claim it is throws game marketing back several decades. For others, Fox is the mom and fits the role perfectly.) Meanwhile, Moretz has succeeded on her part mentioned in interviews that she loves video games.

Celebrity marketing isn’t new either, but recent mobile game promotions seem to have ushered in an era of big or unexpected celebrity cameos. Pedro Pascal, equal to the success of The last of usappeared in ads for merge mansion, a crazy mobile game. In 2022, mobile game Royal Match ran an ad starring Rick Hoffman (suits) That appeared to be from Cameo, an app that allows fans to pay celebrities to say a specific phrase. But it’s also increasingly a trend for big titles: League of Legends led Lil Nas X to become the “new CEO” of Riot Games in an ad before unveiling a new anthem. diablo 4 Also have an anthem; Halsey sings it.

Activision Blizzard also held a launch party at a church in Los Angeles; author And gaming expert Danny Peña related that the party ended with Lilith flying off the ceiling with skin cloak and all before Zedd showed up at the DJ. “That’s when you know a company has a big budget,” Peña said. “Hollywood is really getting involved and getting into the gaming industry.” It might be about expanding the Diablo franchise to new people, he said. This advertising stunt also reflects the nature of the campaign merge mansion recently drawn. In March, the developers invited influencers to a themed, real-life scavenger hunt at the Paramour Estate in Los Angeles.

But it didn’t stop there. Questionable food product? got it Fast Food Activation? Yes indeed. Activision Blizzard hired marketing firm B-Reel to create and distribute vegan smoothies that look like mixed meat. It also partnered with KFC to give away diablo 4 eyes and signed with Burger King to reward players Who can cook five spicy double cheeseburgers?. There’s even a damn hot sauce First we celebrate Name is. Some of these activations feel more like a challenge or threat, but make sense: Lilith is literally wearing a cloak of skin, so the guts of a meatshake aren’t that surprising. We’ve come to expect food campaigns as a marketing strategy for video games and more – McDonald’s is famous for that with their accompanying toys – but these campaigns are usually a little more appetizing or cute.

Fergusson told Polygon that these types of food collaborations are popular on TikTok — although Polygon noted that the TikToks about the meatshake seemed, or were, mostly from small accounts paid partnerships that didn’t quite catch on. It made sense for KFC to get involved as a company features its own gaming arm, diablo 4‘s Marketing Vice President Kaleb Ruel mentioned.

The company behind the gross drink is fully committed to this goal. When asked about the recipe, B-Reel joked that it was demon meat mixed in a cup. “We ended up having a drink with a ghoul brain as a base, covered in some sweet, delicious red, black, and white demon juice, topped off with a layer of smoky, see-through skin to keep everything in place,” B-That Reel creative team Zack McDonald, Afshin Moeini and Christian Poppius informed Polygon via email. They provided no real recipe and proved as impenetrable as the gates of hell.

And then there are the seemingly independent and completely out of joint brand partnerships. Then there’s the satanic chocolate shop. How about a huge mural on the ceiling of a cathedral? A fun choice for a game based on satanic panic, and amusing given that Activision Blizzard has already gone the more traditional route, placing large billboards around New York City. A trailer directed by an award-winning filmmaker? eternals’ Chloé Zhao is on board.

The more important question is: what not Activision Blizzard? It’s likely that the company spent millions of dollars building these campaigns. (Blizzard declined to share the marketing budget for diablo 4, but opined that it was “in line with the goals of the game.”) It’s hard to imagine how it all fits together, or who actually wants to drink (or eat?) a “meat” shake. But it seems that’s not the most important part of a campaign. Rather, according to marketers Polygon spoke to, the point of the campaign may simply be its sheer scale.

“The launch marketing is definitely a case of ‘more is more’ because now that the game has proven to be a worthy addition to the 26-year-old franchise, they have an opportunity to go really big and have a much wider reach. “An audience, many of whom may never have played a Diablo game or even this type of RPG dungeon crawler,” Phillip Driver, CEO of The Game Marketer, said via email. “Blizzard had to make this too big to fail, and that can only happen through tremendous momentum in the market.”

Activision Blizzard not only competes with other video games, but also with YouTube, TikTok, movies and television, Trevor Dudeck, Lemonade the Agency’s marketing CEO, told Polygon. “We live in the attention economy,” said Dudeck. “Each brand is at war for 24 hours and it’s getting harder and harder to get through.”

According to Dudeck, it’s just an attempt to reach as many people as possible. “It takes a willingness to put a bunch of colorful things together and say, ‘Okay, let’s do 20 things,'” Dudeck said. “10 of them may not be related to the others. Five of them could fail. But the five or six that could pull through will do really well. Many brands are not willing to take that risk.”

It also makes sense to take advantage of the series’ inherent shock value. diablo 4 goes to places that are somehow darker than before; There is no good vibes here, just shock and awe. And at least all the ads are directly related to the video game and its themes, unlike mobile game ads which are often used have only minimal resemblance to their source material.

It seems to have worked – if fans joke about it diablo 4 A billboard shrouded in the smoky orange sky is a clue. And Activision Blizzard — in another calculated marketing move — issued a press release sharing this diablo 4 The game sold $666 million worldwide in its first five days, making it “the best-selling opening in Blizzard history.”