CONTEXT & PROBLEM
Faced with a lack of visual content to drive Steam NextFest wishlists, I stepped in as marketing lead for Overdawn to revamp their content, showcase core gameplay, and build an active pre-launch community.
STRATEGY & GOALS
After doing research on indie game communities through social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and Reddit, our target audience came out to be a:
Our core objectives were to build a pre-launch wishlist of 500+ users, achieve a ~2% click-through rate on advertisements (considering that Steam wishlists would be more difficult to convert), and drive community engagement across all social media platforms.
CONTENT & ASSETS
To capture Overdawn's dystopian Andrean setting, I designed cyberpunk-inspired graphics and collaborated with the art team to showcase game renders, official artwork, and milestone awards.
Our marketing campaign lived outside of the digital realm, too. Taking advantage of our university campus became an easy way of reaching our target audience and getting people hooked to our game. Below are some posters and business cards I designed for these campaigns.
LANDING PAGE REFRESH
Before launching ad campaigns, I had to optimize the landing page to clearly communicate the game's core concept and features to maximize visitor engagement.
The original Steam landing page had little to no images, mostly consisting of text descriptions. Time to change that.
Our game developer knew the best about the special and cool features of the game, so I used his feedback to build the appropriate assets.
After building those assets, I organized them onto our landing page mockup.
Following feedback and team approval, I iterated on the landing page to deliver its final experience.
ADVERTISEMENTS & ACQUISITIONS
To boost pre-Steam NextFest wishlists, I ran a targeted 3-day ad campaign on Reddit, leveraging its thriving indie game community and robust audience controls.
I targeted specific communities (e.g.,r/PixelArt, r/roguelikes, r/cyberpunkgame, r/touhou, r/Unity3D) to reach players and developers interested in pixel art, roguelikes, and games built in Unity.
I created three videos with varying titles, and then monitored the performance of each video. I turned off the underperforming ads and put more spend on the best performer, which, as you can see below, was Ad 3.
Ad 1 was the game trailer. Showcased a mix of scenic parts of the game and the gameplay itself.
Ad 2 focused purely on the mechanics of the game and general gameplay players can expect.
Ad 3 focused on the visuals of the game, emphasizing the aesthetics and scenic renders.
Over a 3-day window, the targeted ad campaign successfully drove traffic, while the newly refreshed landing page converted those clicks into a large number of wishlists.
OUTCOME & LAUNCH
Ever since building a stronger community in social media platforms, running advertisements, and participating in the Steam NextFest, Overdawn has gotten:
REFLECTION & LEARNING
Working on Overdawn offered an invaluable introduction to the gaming industry and the chance to collaborate with a crazy talented team across art and development. From this project, I learned: