In Canada, branded entertainment is still a vague term with limitations imposed by TV stations and communication regulating authorities (CRTC). While these restrictions are common to television, they are not yet applied to digital or mobile content or activations.

For Ubisoft’s launch of Watch_Dogs, this challenge turned into an opportunity with the creation of branded entertainment mobile and digital channels. Because of this we were able to create unique content pieces in the form of videos which were broadcast across various social media channels including YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and our own dedicated platforms: watchdogslive.ca and the mobile gaming app, Watch_Dogs Live.

In 2013, Ubisoft launched their new hacking game, Watch_Dogs. Our strategy targeted Canadian gamers, using the theme your phone is your weapon to raise awareness, create engagement and promote pre-orders.

To achieve this, we launched Watch_Dogs Live, a free mobile-to-real-life role-playing gaming app. Participants were initially recruited through a video issued by Dedsec, a fictitious community of hackers who needed help to bring an unscrupulous media mogul to justice.

Once downloaded, participants used the app to create profiles and used geolocation to hack thousands of surrounding locations, including ATMs, hospitals, police stations and airports.

With each successful hack, participants took control of targets, gained experience and moved up the leaderboard. To stay in the top ranks, participants needed to hack daily or suffer losing their targets to other hackers.

Each week, Dedsec issued new challenges to participants who had to complete them to prove their loyalty to the cause and get rewarded for their hacks.

Additionally, Dedsec launched four real-world missions to help bring down the media mogul. Each mission had a mission video, a live-stream of the mission in progress and a recap video to help recruit more participants.

In their first mission, they used Watch_Dogs Live to hack an ATM, taking the media mogul’s cash and distributing thousands of dollars to an unsuspecting crowd of shoppers.

In a second mission, hackers used their phones to increase the pressure of a gas main, blowing up the villain’s Mercedes that contained a bribe waiting for a local politician.

A third mission saw hackers take control of a live broadcast of a popular sports talk show in an unprecedented media partnership.

And, in their final mission, the community redirected a plane, dropping our villain’s illegally obtained cargo on Toronto.

The narrative concluded with the launch of the console edition of Watch_Dogs.

Participants were solicited for the campaign through a recruitment video promoting the Watch_Dogs Live app, which was launched on YouTube and Facebook. The recruitment video and application immediately immersed participants into the world of Watch_Dogs and a companion storyline that we had created specifically for the mobile game. Further push messages for weekly challenges, mission videos and recap videos fuelled the experience and enriched the storyline.

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. Over 10% of those who downloaded the app pre-ordered the game, with 22,000 current pre-orders and final numbers coming at the end of May when the game is released.

Watch_Dogs Live was ranked in the top five games in the App Store, received 500,000 YouTube views for our content videos 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.