Leveraging Digital Out-of-Home (DOOH) for Global Promotion in the Genshin Impact Odyssey
Run a visually striking, large-scale DOOH campaign for Genshin Impact's #ENDLESSJOURNEY anniversary in Russia.
Background
The #ENDLESSJOURNEY project was created by the developers of Genshin Impact based on active feedback from players. For over two years Genshin has been uniting a huge community of fans around it (note — 63 million users according to 2023 data).
The concept of unity became the basis of a global marketing campaign dedicated to the game's anniversary (note — the first release of Genshin Impact took place in September 2020). On the HoYouLAB forum (note — as part of the Player Stories Submission online event) the developers asked players to write their impressions of Genshin Impact. They received about 150,000 user responses in just one month.
Genshin Impact story design within the #ENDLESSJOURNEY project. Source: HoYouLAB.
The most interesting stories moved from online to offline, becoming OOH/DOOH advertising. Billboard placements began in September 2022 in various countries, along with Genshin Impact-themed offline events. Illuminated in-game Teleport Waypoints by the game's developers could be found on busy London streets, Chinese subways, Mexican beaches, Japanese festivals, and more.
How can a project be presented in Russia?
This was the question we started with when working with Genshin Impact as part of their global #ENDLESSJOURNEY campaign. Russia occupies one of the leading places in game downloads, ranking among the Top-5 countries. The variety of formats and locations required us to find interesting solutions quickly.
Goal
The client asked us to solve several tasks at once, reflecting a wide range of their marketing goals. It was important to ensure large promotion coverage, but it was equally important that the campaign was visually appealing and looked good in photos and videos.
We approached the tasks in a step-by-step manner. First, we had to offer options for places and formats of outdoor/indoor advertising. Next, to attract as many viewers as possible to the campaign placements and turn it into a themed event with cosplayers. All of this had to be filmed for the storyline of the #ENDLESSJOURNEY global commercial.
Solution
The project turned out to be diverse and unusual and, as always, all tasks had to be solved in a fairly short period of time. Before #ENDLESSJOURNEY, we had been working with Genshin Impact on YouTube for about a year, so we were already used to fast deadlines.
We also realized that the main indicator of a successful campaign for the client is reach. If YouTube was about views, outdoor advertising required heavy traffic. Because of this, the choice of location for advertising materials was focused on the top locations in Moscow and St. Petersburg. RMAA systematically works with catalogs of outdoor advertising objects in Russia and the CIS, so we were able to offer the client the most attractive options for indoor and outdoor placement within a few days of the request.
The client chose the European Shopping Mall in Moscow. The object is located closest to the city center. The atriums inside the shopping mall (note — Atrium Moscow and Atrium Berlin), equipped with digital screens that span the entire width and height of the building, allow visual materials to be placed in a large-scale and spectacular way.
A few words about photo and video production within the project. We needed to account for the technical requirements of the equipment so that the filmed material would meet high standards and make it into the global commercial. This stage involved our professional base, whom RMAA engages on photo and video tasks on an ongoing basis. For DOOH and OOH projects, clients often ask for high-quality visual reports, and we understand the importance of this service.
Results
The #ENDLESSJOURNEY project launched on September 24, 2022. The event was attended by Genshin Impact fans, cosplayers and shoppers of the European Shopping Mall. Accidental spectators turned out to be potentially new players for Genshin as they actively used Teleport Waypoints on digital screens alongside the updated game release. Within 5 days the campaign was shown to 564,079 people in the shopping mall.
As originally planned, project footage was featured in the client's international commercial along with stories from other countries.
HoYouLAB developers published an extended post about the campaign on their platform. Genshin Impact continues to meet its fans in different parts of the world at themed events, including Russia. But that's another story… and the journey never ends.
