In 2013, Ubisoft wanted to launch their new hacking game, Watch_Dogs, in which the hero uses a mobile phone as a weapon. Their objectives were to raise awareness of their new title, create engagement with the brand and promote pre-orders. With a year to go between the announcement and release date, how can we stay top of mind with our target?

Our strategy was to get Canadian gamers hooked on the Watch_Dogs brand by bringing the game to life under the theme: your phone is your weapon. So we created Watch_Dogs Live, a mobile gaming app that turned every phone into a hacking device.

Watch_Dogs Live launched with a recruitment video from a fictitious hacker group called Dedsec. The group was the primary source of communication with our participants, sending out push notifications about weekly rewards.

Dedsec also launched each of the four live missions through mission videos. Once received, participants used Facebook and Twitter to share the messages with their networks and complete missions. A live feed of each mission allowed participants to witness the results of their actions within the app itself. Once missions were completed, recap videos were posted to the app and reused as YouTube pre-roll to recruit more hackers.

Watch_Dogs Live was the hook needed to keep Watch_Dogs top of mind from the game announcement to the launch of the game. By giving gamers what they wanted in the first place, a game, we were able to build a community around a mobile app and sustain interest for an entire year.

Watch_Dogs Live received over 200,000 downloads from the App Store and Google Play; double the projected number. It was ranked in the top five games in the App Store, received 500,000 YouTube views and 8,700,000 total hacks. The 80% engagement rate was unprecedented for a free mobile gaming app. Additionally, Watch_Dogs Live received 10,480,000 unpaid media impressions and earned Ubisoft the title of Canadian Marketer of the Year.