How Bungie Leveled Up Personalization with Movable Ink
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For some, picking up the gaming controller is a way to unwind; for others, it’s a lifestyle. No matter what someone’s reason for gaming is, it’s no secret that the virtual world can be more fun than reality — especially when it’s from the comfort of your sofa. And as one of the top studios in the gaming industry, Bungie has made it their mission for the past 30 years to challenge players to reach new heights by activating their excitement for the game, all while maintaining a key focus on their core values.
To Bungie, the player experience always comes first. They believe that success only exists when everyone involved delivers an extraordinary experience for each gamer. Keeping this top of mind has made Bungie stand out from the crowd.
Bungie is best known for the Halo franchise, but has also gained popularity from developing one of the biggest live service games globally. For example, Destiny 2 is designed to keep the player continuously engaged every step of the way through game content. Bungie’s game developers frequently add new adventures, characters, and environments to make the game feel fresh in the eyes of the players — keeping them around to see what’s next.
A live service game requires a strong sense of community. Players must feel connected to the game to stay committed. Bungie’s marketers knew they needed a digital strategy that made gamers feel empowered and motivated in their pursuit to conquer each level. How did they do this? Through the power of personalization.
This is when the Bungie and Movable Ink co-op mode was unlocked.
Challenge
Bungie’s marketers needed a way to make their digital strategy more captivating for their gamers, especially through tough economic times, with tailored messaging that was interactive, automated, and data-driven.
Solution
With the help of Movable Ink and the dedicated client experience team, Bungie created a strategy that prioritized zero- and first-party data to implement the most personalized and effective messaging possible. The marketing team also used core Movable Ink functionalities, such as polling and social sharing, to maximize audience engagement.
Whether someone has just begun their gaming journey or they’re a longtime veteran, Bungie is dedicated to keeping players' devotion at its highest level by creating memorable email experiences. In this case study, discover how Bungie built a marketing strategy as unique as each gamer.
Tailored Event Promotion: Guardian Games
To promote a three-week-long live event within Destiny 2, Bungie designed an email experience that was one of a kind for each player. Throughout the campaign, emails were sent to keep everyone updated on their progress and victories such as days won by class, deposits by class, top competitive score, and torches lit.
By using data that was already at marketers’ fingertips, this one-size-fits-all email was transformed into a tailored masterpiece.
To take the communication to the next level, the team added a hashtag CTA to create buzz and conversation among gamers on Twitter and Facebook.
This email proved to be a champion, resulting in an improved churn rate of 46% and a 124% lift in CTR.
Results: 46% improved churn rate, 124% lift in CTR
Value Past Experience: Dungeon Memories
Value Past Experience: Dungeon Memories
Bungie recognizes that gaming creates everlasting connections and memories for their audience. To evoke a sense of nostalgia, every player entering a new dungeon in Destiny 2 received the memory email campaign. Giving players the opportunity to reflect on games they’ve played in the past maintains and strengthens the Bungie community.
A unique hashtag was created for this email campaign, which allows players to easily share their memories on social media and chat with others about their experiences.
Showcase Key Moments: 2021 Year-in-Review
Gamers love celebrating their achievements and recognizing where they can improve. Enter the year-in-review campaign.
By identifying key data points, Bungie created a visually engaging email that highlighted major milestones, scores, and rankings, all personalized to the individual player. Capturing up to ten different game stats, there’s no shortage of what players can get excited about.
This Bungie campaign gained so much popularity that those who had initially opted out of email communications opted back in for the sole purpose of receiving their year-in-review numbers.
The hashtag created for the email campaign, #Destiny2YearinReview, even landed the third trending spot on Twitter because so many people were eager to share their personal stats with fellow players. This proved that what started with just an email transformed into something much greater.
Gather Preferences: Progressive Polling
There’s no better way to capture a real audience’s perspective than through a poll. It’s not only a fun and interactive way to promote engagement, but it’s an integral part of activating zero-party data. Bungie’s marketing team recognized this and made their
next move.
To entice players to click within the email, Bungie asked them to choose their favorite game moment. Bungie can now capture important preferences from players and create high performing games in the future.
Bungie conducted another poll that let players vote for the map they wanted to see in the game that weekend, which is very rare in the gaming industry. This has been a unique way for Bungie to stand out from the crowd.
This makes players feel valued when they discover their map was chosen, and gives Bungie the opportunity to deliver on what everyone wants to experience.
The incorporation of polls within the email resulted in a 75% lift in CTR.
Results: 75% lift in CTR
Conclusion
Gaming brings people together. Good marketing makes that bond even stronger. And this case study has proven one thing: when brands listen to their customers, it’s inevitable that increased engagement and devotion will follow.
The Bungie and Movable Ink partnership is a force to be reckoned with.
