Until recently, gaming was a peaceful place where millions of gamers spent their time connected. Movistar Telecom knows this very well, as 40% of its business is in gaming, and as part of its brand pillars, it is committed to keeping it safe.

However, drug cartels, have moved from recruiting children on the streets to doing it in video games, breaking into a space of entertainment that gamers, parents, and even the government thought was untouchable.

That's why we decided to get in the game to alert millions of players about this problem, which they were unaware of until now.

In Mexico, thousands of children are being recruited through mobile video games to join organized crime. The video games they play on their smarthphones, which is the preferred platform for 81.4% of gamers, leave them more exposed. They become easy targets for drug cartels seeking to approach them through gaming.

Movistar Telecom is a brand socially committed to the digital environment, ensuring that gamers have a safe space. That's why they created a video game film, an engaging content piece that used gaming entertainment to connect with audiences and deliver a message based on real events.

Using a video game narrative, they aimed to warn children and young people that the outcome of becoming involved with drug cartels is fatal. No matter how attractive it sounds or appears, it never ends well. They also raised awareness among parents about supervising their children more closely and ensuring the “narcos” do not play with their lives.

The danger is not only in the streets but also in our homes, on our mobile devices, and has infiltrated the world of entertainment in the most popular and widely watched video games.

For Movistar Telecom, this is not just a game. To counteract and minimize the growing impact of these harmful practices, they decided to act by creating content that appeals to the tastes and interests of their target audience: gamers.

Situation:

Recruitment through gaming poses a danger that the gaming community was unaware of, and they were not conscious of the fact that drug cartels were entering their world and disrupting the peace they once enjoyed. The more time they spent entertained, the more time they were exposed to potential contact.

Brief:

As a socially responsible company committed to creating a safe digital environment and with a significant stake in gaming, the brand needed to launch content that would stand out in a world of cutting-edge entertainment.

Objectives:

Movistar Telecom, as a socially responsible company, always prioritizes the cybersecurity of its users. Therefore, it seeks to connect through the codes and language of a gaming audience that uses smartphones for entertainment. We must make them see that recruitment can start like a game, but it always ends up like one: in Game Over.

Audience insights.

Young gamers, parents who game, and non-gaming parents.

81.4% of this audience of gamers use smarthphones as their connection platform, so we had to speak to them in their language.

Community building and management approach.

Once the media began to raise awareness of this issue and the community began to react to the content, we directed them to our site where they could find information on how to stay protected with a parental control or with information from Freedom Squad, a group of gamer cybersecurity experts.

Clearly explain the creative idea?

This video game film tells the story of a young gamer who is deceived and recruited by drug traffickers through a mobile gaming platform.

The video game film is designed to connect with gamers. The characters move and act like video game characters, with a narrative similar to Grand Theft Auto (GTA), one of the most famous video games in history, and an epic ending. Therefore, we had to be impactful, engaging, and true to the tastes of our audience.

How did the creative insight directly influence the amplification of the brand message?

81.4% of gamers in Mexico who use Movistar Telecom's mobile devices as an entertainment platform felt identified with the message of the video game film: staying in a safe environment.

Implementation:

In a month when the conversation on social media revolves around children (because Mexico celebrates Children's Day on April 30), we wanted to raise awareness about the issue and emphasize the importance of monitoring who our children are playing with.

Timeline:

April 8, 2024 - May 8, 2024

Placement:

The piece was broadcast on Facebook, YouTube, YouTube Shorts, Instagram, X, TikTok, cinemas, TV, and Movistar Arena.

Scale:

It was launched in a space sponsored by Movistar Telecom for gamers: Arena Movistar, and amplified in Mexico's most important tournament: the final of League of Legends, where one of the teams sponsored by the brand (R7) presented it. Influencers, gamers, and Twitch streamers retransmitted and shared it on their Discord, Twitch, and social media channels. A specific forum was created for Freedom Squad, the largest video game cybersecurity group in Mexico, to discuss the topic.

Reach

More than 34 million users were impacted across different platforms.

Even representatives from the UN/UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) approached us to continue working together.

2 million hours in social media in 2 weeks.

Engagement

A 7-minute piece on digital platforms managed to connect with our audience thanks to its entertaining and impressive narrative.

Impact

+ 23 millions of views across platforms in 2 weeks.

Quality of experience and interaction:

We were the most-streamed brand in Mexico.

Change in behavior:

Searches for parental control increased by 67%.

Brand perception:

87% positive sentiment.

Achievement against objective:

The initial goal was to achieve a total of 22 million views, which was surpassed in just 2 weeks.

In Mexico, there is a culture of drug trafficking, with music, series, and shows that talk about it. Drug cartels have become everyday images on the news, and their constant approach to young people seems unstoppable. However, everyone knows they are dangerous and stays away from them. That's why the narcos are now seeking to approach our children and catch them off guard in a space we all believed to be safe: mobile gaming.

Although gaming represents a large part of Movistar Telecom's business, its true purpose is to care for its gaming community at all times, standing by their side to ensure cybersecurity and promote healthy, danger-free gaming.