Activision
Blizzard
Diablo IV Launch Campaign
ROLE
Brand Strategy Director
SERVICES
• Go-to-Market Strategy
• Marketing Strategy
Brand Strategy Director
SERVICES
• Go-to-Market Strategy
• Marketing Strategy
After an 11-year hiatus, Diablo IV needed to reignite the legendary franchise. My role was to develop a marketing platform that would seduce die-hard fans, lure back skeptics, and capture a global audience of new gamers, masterfully blending nostalgia with groundbreaking marketing.
After an 11-year hiatus, Diablo IV needed to reignite the legendary franchise. I was asked to lead the launch campaign, a project focused on rekindling the passion of the series’ devoted fans. My role was to develop a marketing platform that would captivate die-hard fans, win back skeptics, and attract a global audience of new gamers by skillfully combining nostalgia with innovative marketing strategies.
After an 11-year hiatus, Diablo IV needed to reignite the legendary franchise. I was asked to lead the launch campaign, a project focused on rekindling the passion of the series’ devoted fans. My role was to develop a marketing platform that would captivate die-hard fans, win back skeptics, and attract a global audience of new gamers by skillfully combining nostalgia with innovative marketing strategies.
APPROACH
Diablo is the #1 gothic franchise of all time. The players treat the franchise like a religion because the story is better than the bible. It’s a cult, but the team at Activision Blizzard was worried about alienating people who were new to the franchise. My goal was to remind the marketing team at Activision Blizzard along with their agency partners that Diablo is in a class of its own, and that we have our own brand of darkness we need to lean into. Brand strategy plays a small, but important puzzle piece to the marketing machine of a AAA studio. I played an even smaller strategic role, if anything, but I’m very proud of the Blizzard team and their agency partners on embracing the darkness.
Developing a brand strategy for a video game is not easy. There are many variables outside of your control, and ultimately, it’s the players that get to decide if a game is going to be a hit or not. While good marketing can save a bad movie, there’s no amount of marketing that can ever save a bad game. At the least, you must facilitate the operations with a clear strategic platform that can improve the coordinating function of the disparate marketing teams. At best, the strategic platform should spawn ideas that captivate the imagination of players—creating an intense desire to play the game itself.
Developing a brand strategy for a video game is not easy. There are many variables outside of your control, and ultimately, it’s the players that get to decide if a game is going to be a hit or not. While good marketing can save a bad movie, there’s no amount of marketing that can ever save a bad game. At the least, you must facilitate the operations with a clear strategic platform that can improve the coordinating function of the disparate marketing teams. At best, the strategic platform should spawn ideas that captivate the imagination of players—creating an intense desire to play the game itself.
RESULT
— Developed a comprehensive creative platform "Unleash Hell on Earth" for Diablo IV's launch, synthesizing existing reseach and strategy to reignite the franchise after an 11-year hiatus.
— Crafted a multi-faceted brand narrative strategy targeting three distinct audience segments: the loyal legion, lapsed players, and the uninitiated, ensuring broad appeal while maintaining the franchise's core identity.
— Engineered a campaign framework built on three pillars: "Embrace the Darkness," "Stoke the Flames," and "Rally the Demons," providing a cohesive structure for all marketing initiatives.
— Created a strategic playbook enabling internal and external agency teams to evaluate and align creative ideas with the franchise's unique gothic aesthetic and immersive gameplay experience.
— Developed a long-term content strategy to support the game's live service model, including recommendations for talent engagement and production streamlining for future seasons and patches.
— Formulated a cultural strategy to elevate Diablo IV from a game launch to a cultural phenomenon, leveraging the franchise's iconic status in the gothic fantasy genre to spark a "movement of biblical proportions."
— Crafted a multi-faceted brand narrative strategy targeting three distinct audience segments: the loyal legion, lapsed players, and the uninitiated, ensuring broad appeal while maintaining the franchise's core identity.
— Engineered a campaign framework built on three pillars: "Embrace the Darkness," "Stoke the Flames," and "Rally the Demons," providing a cohesive structure for all marketing initiatives.
— Created a strategic playbook enabling internal and external agency teams to evaluate and align creative ideas with the franchise's unique gothic aesthetic and immersive gameplay experience.
— Developed a long-term content strategy to support the game's live service model, including recommendations for talent engagement and production streamlining for future seasons and patches.
— Formulated a cultural strategy to elevate Diablo IV from a game launch to a cultural phenomenon, leveraging the franchise's iconic status in the gothic fantasy genre to spark a "movement of biblical proportions."
