Sonic: Frontiers Case Study

Sega

GLOBAL LAUNCH CAMPAIGN

The Next Generation of Hedgehog Action

THE CHALLENGE

Prior to the launch of Frontiers, Sonic as a brand was experiencing a boom of positive sentiment from the recent smashing success of the film.

We set out to capitalize on the sentiment, leverage that fanfare and ride the blue wave into the gaming space by helping get new fans of the film franchise or TV series to play Frontiers.

THE STRATEGY

Starting with audience research and strategy from our media team, and creating all of the major campaign assets, we helped launch the most ambitious Sonic title ever.

Our strategy phase included helping fans understand the unique (but slightly limited) take on open world games, we borrowed the concept of “zones” from classic Sonic games to plant the idea of Sonic’s first “open zone” game.

We also named the game.

THE APPROACH

Our campaign successfully targeted kids, parents, and Sonic fans of all ages by delivering customized messaging and compelling storytelling through key channels such as influencers, videos, and social media.

We identified cultural moments to capitalize on Sonic’s status as a pop culture icon, like collaborating with MrBeast and an extensive OOH campaign in NYC and LA, including Times Square.

Influencer Campaign

We created an immersive Sonic-themed competition by merging the interactive excitement of the Action Adventure 3D platformer, Sonic Frontiers, with Mr. Beast’s compelling humor and generosity.

Contestants on TikTok competed for a chance to win $10K, marking Mr. Beast’s first gaming collaboration on the platform.

This partnership of two icons resulted in a remarkable surge in engagement, with over +30M views and 17,000+ interactions.

Mr Beast x Sonic Frontiers

Merrick x Sonic Frontiers

AV Campaign

Over the course of 2021 and 2022, we created the teaser trailer, an announce trailer, three different story/feature trailers, the primary launch trailer (for which we licensed Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now”)  and two live action spots designed to appeal to families and gift-givers.

THE RESULTS

Sonic Frontiers emerged as the top-selling Sonic game of the past decade and the highest-selling 3D Sonic game ever.

Approximately 300K sales were directly attributed to our media efforts, showcasing the significant impact of our campaign on the game’s success.
Throughout an eight-month duration across 15 territories, our campaign resonated with audiences worldwide, generating an impressive 450M+ high-quality impressions and accumulating over 400M video views.