PUBG Mobile by Tencent: Launch and Development of the Incentive Program for YouTube Gaming Influencers
Tencent Games is a video game publishing division of Tencent, a Chinese conglomerate, with a portfolio of such popular projects as Archeage, Crossfire, and League of Legends behind
Background
Tencent Games is a video game publishing division of Tencent, a Chinese conglomerate, with a portfolio of popular titles such as ArcheAge, Crossfire, and League of Legends.
PUBG Mobile is a mobile version of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, a smashing battle royale game, which is extremely close to its original version.
Goal
In order to promote PUBG Mobile in the CIS and European countries, Tencent decided to launch a PUBG Mobile Next Star incentive program, an international program for creators.
At first, our task was community management, but the final decision also included searching for and inviting creators to join the affiliate program.
Solution
- Search and recruitment of Russian-speaking creators from Russia and the CIS to participate in the incentive program
- Search for and involvement of creators from Europe in participation in the incentive program. Seven language areas were addressed: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, and Czech
- Community management: creating trust relationships with creators, supporting and promoting them through the program funnel, including daily communication during game mission walkthroughs, bonus payment management, and financial arrangements
It Wasn't That Easy…
As there are quite a few original PC game version streamers, the client expected many creators to also be willing to take part in the PUBG Mobile incentive program, but it turned out to be far fewer bloggers who wanted to join the program and review PUBG Mobile. That is why our team continued with further searches, negotiations, and efforts to engage European bloggers in the program.
…But Possible
To increase visibility and raise awareness of the program within the game community, we worked with the managers of official PUBG Mobile social media accounts in European countries and arranged for posts to be published on those accounts, inviting creators to participate in the program.
There were seven posts in seven languages (English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Romanian, and Czech). Besides, we published posts on regional PUBGM Discord servers.
| Country / Language | Media | Link | Subscribers | Language | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR | Link | 170,000 | English | Published | |
| EUR | Link | 13,200 | English | Published | |
| Germany | Link | 48,300 | German | Published | |
| Germany | Discord | Link | 11,734 | German | Published |
| France | Link | 75,800 | French | Published | |
| France | Discord | Link | 8,393 | French | Published |
| Italy | Link | 4,500 | Italian | Published | |
| Spain | Discord | Link | 4,543 | Spanish | Published |
| Romania | Discord | Link | 13,583 | Romanian | Published |
| Czech | Discord | Link | 2,480 | Czech | Published |
Apart from social media posts, we contacted the YouTube bloggers we needed in person and explained the advantages of mobile game streaming, the peculiarities of the PUBG Mobile Next Star incentive program, and what money and in-game rewards could be obtained. All negotiations were held in seven different languages.
All these actions ultimately led us to the desired result.
Results
We involved 72 European creators in the program, and 58 more completed the participation form via PUBGM's official channels. Of them, 28 creators were approved to participate, and 20 finally registered in and completed the program.
The campaign took 6 months, from April to September 2022. We conducted participant onboarding during the first month, and the first missions began in May.
Throughout the program, our team maintained day-to-day communication with the participating YouTube bloggers. Our client published missions, and we submitted them to the creators. During their walkthrough, the streamers made clips, added required hashtags, and uploaded them to their channels. If all rules were observed, they received money and in-game rewards. All bonus payment processes were also supervised by our team.
