IrrationalGames
Irrational Games faced significant go-to-market challenges: Branding - New ownership and a new name caused company recognition problems, Community: Cultivating and mobilizing a community (new & existing) essential prior to product release, Digital strategy: build a loyal relationship with fans, and Brand-defining launch: It was critical for Irrational Games to set the industry standard with BioShock Infinite as they had done in the past
Branding & Visual Design Guide
Hunt & Gather started by crafting a compelling brand aesthetic, tone and personality for Irrational, including an extensive logo exploration which led to a bold deco-inspired logo that payed homage to their best-selling title “BioShock.” The logo had to work in multiple mediums - on game box art, the web, game trailer videos and more. In keeping with the quirkiness of the industry and company personality, the collateral package had traditional “business card and letterhead” materials, but also included nontraditional items like t-shirts, mouse pads, iPhone wallpaper backgrounds, IM icons and more.
User Profiling and Content Strategy
Hunt & Gather truly got to know the target audience and was able to create very segmented user persona based on needs analysis to understand the depth of the emotional connection with the brand and one another. The site needed to appeal to the quirky, intelligent, unexpected, high-design soul that defined Irrational Games’ core products. The key to the strategy was the “WOOT! factor” - the gaming signifier for a moment of unexpected delight when you discover something new and amazing.
Gaming and Motivational Structure
The site was structured as an inside-out theory to allow for quirky injections of Irrational humor including a sprinkling of Easter eggs, exclusive “insider” content from the game studio (e.g. rejected concept art) and even a hilarious badge and points system rewarding community members for site-wide actions.
Sustainable, Viral Community
Leaderboards, on-going contests and a robust forum to take advantage of the gamers’ natural inclination for healthy competition allowed users to go behind the scenes in a way no game company website had ever let visitors do. The content strategy continued the inside-out structure, showcasing failures and laughing at mistakes openly. The site invited users to “Ask Irrational” anything, be featured in podcasts, and also provided quirky “overheard at Irrational” snippets that became the core of a twitter campaign.
Social Media Strategy
H&G developed a social media strategy celebrating the quirky, accessible nature of the brand. The strategy was a success in ensuring a consistent experience as the site and brand expanded to other touchpoints within the consumer life cycle.
Irrational Games faced significant go-to-market challenges: Branding - New ownership and a new name caused company recognition problems, Community: Cultivating and mobilizing a community (new & existing) essential prior to product release, Digital strategy: build a loyal relationship with fans, and Brand-defining launch: It was critical for Irrational Games to set the industry standard with BioShock Infinite as they had done in the past
Branding & Visual Design Guide
Hunt & Gather started by crafting a compelling brand aesthetic, tone and personality for Irrational, including an extensive logo exploration which led to a bold deco-inspired logo that payed homage to their best-selling title “BioShock.” The logo had to work in multiple mediums - on game box art, the web, game trailer videos and more. In keeping with the quirkiness of the industry and company personality, the collateral package had traditional “business card and letterhead” materials, but also included nontraditional items like t-shirts, mouse pads, iPhone wallpaper backgrounds, IM icons and more.
User Profiling and Content Strategy
Hunt & Gather truly got to know the target audience and was able to create very segmented user persona based on needs analysis to understand the depth of the emotional connection with the brand and one another. The site needed to appeal to the quirky, intelligent, unexpected, high-design soul that defined Irrational Games’ core products. The key to the strategy was the “WOOT! factor” - the gaming signifier for a moment of unexpected delight when you discover something new and amazing.
Gaming and Motivational Structure
The site was structured as an inside-out theory to allow for quirky injections of Irrational humor including a sprinkling of Easter eggs, exclusive “insider” content from the game studio (e.g. rejected concept art) and even a hilarious badge and points system rewarding community members for site-wide actions.
Sustainable, Viral Community
Leaderboards, on-going contests and a robust forum to take advantage of the gamers’ natural inclination for healthy competition allowed users to go behind the scenes in a way no game company website had ever let visitors do. The content strategy continued the inside-out structure, showcasing failures and laughing at mistakes openly. The site invited users to “Ask Irrational” anything, be featured in podcasts, and also provided quirky “overheard at Irrational” snippets that became the core of a twitter campaign.
Social Media Strategy
H&G developed a social media strategy celebrating the quirky, accessible nature of the brand. The strategy was a success in ensuring a consistent experience as the site and brand expanded to other touchpoints within the consumer life cycle.
Results
Over 800 registered members within 3 days of site launch. Current membership is 7,000 members with high loyalty visitation, 23,000 twitter followers, and 9,000 Facebook fans.
Irrational’s first podcast was the top downloaded podcast across all categories on iTunes for the Month of February 2010 (one month after site launch).
IrrationalGames.com has won 3 awards for community driven sites and continues to grow their fan based at an extraordinary rate.
Set an industry standard for “insider insights” model of content development for game developer sites
Over 800 registered members within 3 days of site launch. Current membership is 7,000 members with high loyalty visitation, 23,000 twitter followers, and 9,000 Facebook fans.
Irrational’s first podcast was the top downloaded podcast across all categories on iTunes for the Month of February 2010 (one month after site launch).
IrrationalGames.com has won 3 awards for community driven sites and continues to grow their fan based at an extraordinary rate.
Set an industry standard for “insider insights” model of content development for game developer sites
Now a word from...
From Irrational Games Community Manager, Collin Moore
“H&G exceeded all my expectations. Exceptional design taste, artistic skill, technical ability, and a collaborative relationship process. They made IrrationalGames.com stand out as a fresh, engaging, and streamlined experience. I am beyond thrilled with the final website experience H&G created, and I know fans are too.”
From Irrational Games Community Manager, Collin Moore
“H&G exceeded all my expectations. Exceptional design taste, artistic skill, technical ability, and a collaborative relationship process. They made IrrationalGames.com stand out as a fresh, engaging, and streamlined experience. I am beyond thrilled with the final website experience H&G created, and I know fans are too.”
