Middle Earth: Shadow of War is the game that never forgets by dynamically generating orcs that remember each in-game interaction and decision. To launch a game that never forgets, we used data, AI and dynamic message delivery to create the campaign that doesn’t either. We created an interactive, live-action trailer that brought the gaming experience to life. During the game trailer users were forced to make a choice: Save an ally? Or abandon him? Using cookies and social authentication to remember the user’s choice, the orc returns in banners, on favorite gaming sites, user social feeds and other unexpected places with personalized messages just for them. Annoying ads on the internet, pre-roll content and an interactive live-action trailer became a customized story with characters that have a real and personal history with gamers, proving that Nothing Will Be Forgotten.

The campaign showed up wherever the user went. Using programmatic, dynamic creative, we were able to tie the campaign not to a single destination but to the users themselves. This meant the campaign showed up in social feeds, on display ads on our audience’s favorite websites and in pre-roll content across the Internet. There was no telling where a player’s orc could show up next.

Focusing on high-impact assets in key places, Shadow of War was positioned as a must-play AAA experience, leading the game to be the #1 selling game the month of its release, up against industry powerhouses, including Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Mario Odyssey and South Park: The Fractured but Whole.