Shortlisted 2023

Media & Entertainment

Brand

PlayStation

Entered by:

EssenceMediacom

#GameTok

Credited:

TikTok

The Challenge

Not everyone wants to play big AAA games. Part of the joy of PlayStation is the vast universe of experiences available, particularly from indie game-developers.

There are more than 3,000 other great games available on PS5. Our challenge was to make it easier for people to find the wide variety of games they wanted to play on PlayStation.

More specifically, we had to:

  1. Highlight the breadth of games and regain favour with smaller game developers; and
  2. Re-launch PlayStation’s subscription gaming service, PlayStation Plus, which allowed customers to access a variety of game titles and experiences.
  3. We knew that gaming content was growing on TikTok, but our insight was that PlayStation had an opportunity to become a bigger part of the TikTok community.

With the gaming community quickly adopting the platform, TikTok was the perfect medium to launch in to reach and engage both our core audiences, users and potential users.

When we looked at ways to take gaming-related content on the platform to the next level, we alighted on #BookTok, which was seeing huge engagement and driving real-life sales by highlighting key (and sometimes forgotten) books, curating them around a hashtag for users to explore.

At the time of ideation, #BookTok had nearly 22 billion minutes of view time according to TikTok.

We needed an equivalent platform that could position PlayStation within the TikTok gaming community and pop culture at large.

It was time for #GameTok.

The Content Solution

GameTok was created as a celebration, conversation space, and invitation for the TikTok community to join in on all things PlayStation.

It would act as an always-on destination for anyone looking to find out more about the latest and the greatest things to do on the platform- including some of the most under-the-radar games.

GameTok would celebrate all elements of the PlayStation lifestyle, brand and the breadth of games.

We would make it a must-click destination by partnering with key global content creators encouraging everyone to declare their love of PlayStation via creative expression (think art, tattoos, gaming set-up, cakes, paintings, etc.).

This led us to select more than 75+ top tier influencers to partner with. All of our influencers had to be creative, and capable of genuinely speaking about their love of gaming. People like AsapBlockay, Danocracy and others who had an authentic relationship to the gaming community and could speak to PlayStation’s audiences with first-hand knowledge.

Content would be promoted both organically and via paid, to provide a multifaceted media approach that was pulsed together. This helped build a feeling of real, genuine excitement around the movement.

Working together with TikTok, we worked to ensure that all parties were using the best and latest in optimal practices; along with near real-time reporting that coalesced paid and earned together.

The big strategic goal would be to make #GameTok more than a media play, but to push it as an always-on umbrella.
It would be a place that could house future game releases as well as our wider conversations about PlayStation, combining both an organic and paid always-on approach. The program would increase in complexity, number of markets, and depth over time.

Ultimately, we would position PlayStation as a key part of pop-culture in an evergreen manner.

From the legends of indie games through to blockbuster titles, #GameTok would become the rallying call for all gamers on TikTok.

The Media/Content Amplification Solution

We launched in three markets to start – the US, Canada and the UK – expanding to PlayStation’s 14 biggest markets throughout the year as part of our always-on strategy.

This included Germany, France, Australia, Spain, Mexico, Malaysia, India, Belgium, The Netherlands, Brazil and Italy.
We enticed TikTok-ers to express their love for PlayStation via:

• A hashtag challenge dovetailing into the #Gametok hashtag where people could create content centred on their love for gaming. They could participate by adding the tag to their post with #Gametok, browsing the dedicated section on TikTok, or browsing the hashtag as a search.

• 75+ handpicked creators selected for both local and global relevance personally in a coordinated global effort to launch a centralized message.

• All content was housed on a sponsored editorial landing page to help organize and curate the content, highlighting indie game-related content on the landing page. There was curation on the page from the brand to build up the most brand safe experience but the content itself was UGC and creator based.

• These organic efforts were backed up by a full slate of TikTok ad products to build awareness and goodwill, including Spark ads – generating 246m video views – to boost our creator content, build reach and frequency, and engage with the gaming community on TikTok. They were buoyed 9M engagements with our content via paid.

• We tied the organic and paid efforts together through a pulsed, creatively consistent push to create a concerted effort that always felt authentic.

The Result

GameTok is now active in 14 markets and has become a global movement, a place where the world can engage with PlayStation.

To date, we’ve driven over 35bn global content views, 1.4bn global likes, and 41M comments across 75+ content creators.

The core launch period saw a 23% rise in branded search year on year, driven by #GameTok.

The campaign generated a global average CPV of $.007 (30% above benchmark) and a 33% VTR.

Ultimately, we strengthened the bridge between PlayStation and the larger gaming community on TikTok, driving awareness and sales of individual games and PlayStation Plus subscriptions.

PlayStation Plus saw the strongest holiday sale in history, powered by an all-time high of revenue generated from paid ads. This was driven by a jump in new buyers who were first-time purchasers.

We delivered a new platform, a new conversation with indie gamers and a massive revenue boost.

jobdone.