Advertising plays a crucial role in the success of mobile games, offering several significant benefits like increased visibility, revenue generation, and brand loyalty. Through a variety of advertising and promotional strategies to attract players, like in-game advertising or social media campaigns, mobile game developers are doing everything they can to promote their titles to potential players. In this article, I'll take ads from Evony: The King’s Return, one of my favorite MMO strategy games, as an example and break it down to find out just how important ads are to the success of a mobile game.
"Evony: The King’s Return" is a free-to-download and play strategy mobile game available on iOS and Android. Unlike many other games, it doesn’t bombard you with interstitial ads. While you can buy virtual goodies, all the gameplay is up to you. To level up, you’ll dive into strategic city-building, intense PvP (player versus player) and PvE (player versus environment) battles, and brain-teasing puzzles. The main quest line keeps you on track, making sure you experience every part of the game while rewarding you with more awesome content.
In 2017, Top Games made a big impression during the Super Bowl with their strategy game, Evony: The King’s Return. The 30-second commercial, filmed in Queenstown in December, featured Hollywood stars Aaron Eckhart, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Fan Bingbing. This star-studded ad quickly boosted the game's visibility, shooting it up to 17th place in the US App Store download rankings.
The ad, overseen by VFX supervisor Benjamin Walsh from Deluxe-owned VFX House, was packed with impressive special effects. It showed historical leaders George Washington (played by Eckhart), King Arthur (Morgan), and Empress Wu Zetian (Bingbing) teaming up for an epic battle. The VFX team, consisting of 30 artists, created amazing CG effects like massive armies, weapons, horses, and atmospheric elements such as fireballs, fog, and smoke. The climax of the commercial featured all three leaders storming an enemy castle, showcasing the game's strategic and historical themes.
This successful campaign highlighted how powerful high-profile advertising can be in boosting a game's visibility and attracting new players.
Evony offers a buffet of gaming experiences. The ads for "Evony: The King’s Return" show a fighter messing around with numbered barrels, which is a nod to the game’s puzzle-solving fun. These puzzles are just as crucial as city-building and strategy for moving forward in the game. You’re free to focus on the parts you love, but skipping any part means falling behind. The game’s success comes from letting players dive into what they enjoy most.
The "Evony: The King’s Return" ads give you a sneak peek of the real gameplay, hooking you with strategic thinking and action. These ads aren’t just flashy; they show the actual interactive and strategic elements you’ll face, especially in the puzzles. And these puzzles aren’t just mini-games; they’re challenging and rewarding, fitting perfectly with the game’s overall strategy.
How effective are Evony’s ads? Well, they’ve got an impressive 80% retention rate from players who installed the game after seeing the puzzle ads. This shows that "Evony: The King’s Return" ads do a great job of attracting and engaging players, making sure they stick around for the game’s rich and varied gameplay.
By fine-tuning "Evony: The King’s Return" ads to reflect the game’s core elements, the marketing team has built a loyal player base. These ads not only grab your attention but also give you a true taste of the strategic and puzzle-solving adventures waiting for you in the game.
So, if you’re ready for a game that’s as strategic as it is fun, dive into "Evony: The King’s Return" and see what all the fuss is about!
