Utilizing cell video games as a part of a brand-building promotional technique | Pocket Gamer.biz

With the growing recognition of cell gaming it’s no shock that you simply’ll discover corporations in probably the most sudden of locations integrating them into their promotional methods. Except for main heavyweights in foods and drinks resembling Fanta, plainly even theme park operators are getting in on the cell gaming craze.

Katmandu: Ethermerge is an easy match-2 title being produced by Falcon’s Past and developed in collaboration with Epic Story Interactive. Falcon’s Past are the corporate who run a lot of parks and sights together with the 2 of the titular Katmandu parks, one in Spain, opened in 2007, and one within the Dominican Republic which opened earlier this 12 months. And who’ve pursued this newest surge of multimedia promotional methods.

As a part of the promotional technique for his or her model, Falcon’s Past has pursued not solely a Roblox expertise, an e-commerce retailer and an animated sequence, however now additionally a cell sport.

So what does a comparatively innocuous match-2 merge add to extra conventional strategies of promotion? We discover out extra concerning the method and rationale behind their cell title from the president of digital media at Falcon’s Past, Jason Ambler.

PocketGamer.biz: Are you able to inform us about what you’re doing? It’s a bit of uncommon to make use of a cell sport to advertise a theme park. 

Jason Ambler: We’re actually persevering with to advertise our Katmandu Parks by numerous types of promoting and social media activation; nevertheless, we imagine that Katmandu has the potential to be a a lot bigger client model than what has now been established and well-received on the parks themselves.

Our entrance into the world of cell gaming with Katmandu: EtherMerge helps our 360-degree growth technique for the Katmandu franchise, activating the model concurrently throughout all types of leisure, together with media content material, video video games, client merchandise, and, after all, the themed leisure locations themselves.

In essence, we view our cell video games much less as a promotional instrument, and extra as an essential platform extension of our Katmandu model; one that permits us to interact with our viewers in new and significant methods.

Merge video games are a comparatively in style style, however why go for this style over others?

We selected to make our cell sport debut with a merge-2 sport, because of its huge worldwide attraction and informal nature of gameplay. As a well-known and accessible style, we will welcome present followers of Katmandu, in addition to introduce the model to new audiences.

We noticed nice worth in a sport that gamers might choose up and put down and slot in inside their day by day lives and different actions. What’s nice about this format is that Katmandu Park company can play our Katmandu: EtherMerge cell sport whereas ready within the queue line at certainly one of our sights and even proceed their relationship with the model as soon as they return at house.

Why did you select to work with Epic Story Interactive on this title?

We had beforehand introduced our alliance with Epic Story Media to assist early Katmandu franchise improvement and growth throughout media content material, video games, and client merchandise. By way of that alliance, the Epic workforce has gained intimate information of our Katmandu model, lore, and aspirations, which is why it made sense for us to collaborate with their sport studio, Epic Story Interactive (ESI).

Not solely did Epic’s tradition, course of, and methodology intently align with our personal, however in addition they have intensive information and experience in creating and publishing cell and on-line video games for beloved kids’s manufacturers resembling Slugterra, Ben 10 and Beyblade. Whereas ESI has notably sturdy expertise in Match-3 type video games, EtherMerge was their first foray into making a merge-2 sport, so all of the gameplay and mechanics needed to be developed from the bottom up.

Who is that this title aimed in the direction of by way of age, employment, gender and different demographics?

One of many most important causes we selected to debut with a Merge-2 type sport is its worldwide attraction to a really huge demographic with a really excessive age ceiling, each female and male, very similar to our Katmandu Park locations. Contemplating the already broad attain and recognition of merge video games and the inclusive nature of the Katmandu model, we see Katmandu: EtherMerge as a sport for almost anybody.

Do you have got plans for any extra cell video games sooner or later? Are you able to inform us what they’ll be like?

Falcon’s is barely simply starting to understand its ambitions in cell gaming, and gaming usually. We’re not solely additional model extension for Katmandu on this area, but additionally introducing some thrilling new manufacturers and franchises we’ve got in improvement, in addition to new experiences with our licensed accomplice manufacturers. We will probably be exploring new sport kinds, codecs, genres, and goal audiences and are trying ahead to sharing extra updates on these plans sooner or later.

Do you are feeling cell gaming is a vital a part of promotional methods throughout many industries, together with theme parks?

Completely. Increasing our manufacturers throughout a number of channels on the identical time is core to our technique, and what we imagine that audiences are craving. Customers and followers wish to join with their favourite characters, tales and types throughout any variety of platforms together with client merchandise, brick-and-mortar leisure locations, media content material, and even, dare we are saying, the metaverse. We’ve got to be in all places that they’re.

With cell gaming being the biggest and fastest-growing phase of the biggest class of the leisure business, it’s actually an enormous a part of our imaginative and prescient at Falcon’s Past as a diversified know-how, leisure, and media enterprise.