Marketing a game isn’t as simple as sending out a press release and posting a nice looking graphic on social media in the hopes players might try it out. There is a lot going on behind the scenes to create a whole narrative, develop new engagement strategies and find the best possible way to incorporate the wants and needs of players.
But does this differ when the title you are marketing is a part of a wider franchise? In short, no. In fact, the marketing for the new game becomes that bit tougher. That’s according to Marija Hammon, Head of Marketing at Relax Gaming.
In a chat with CasinoBeats, Hammon takes us back to the release of Money Train 4 – this time, however, with a marketing twist as she discusses all things streamers, affiliates and looking for new inspirations.
Cementing its place in igaming history
As Money Train 4 is the final stop in the Money Train franchise, Hammon explained that this title needed to go out with a bang.
So when it came to brainstorming new ideas on how to market Money Train 4, the Relax Gaming team were presented with the opportunity to look back, reflect and celebrate everything that had come before.
She told CasinoBeats: “Money Train 4, like all of its predecessors, has been met with extremely high expectations, from those within the igaming industry, and players alike. Such was the anticipation for this release, it was imperative that we maximised every single opportunity to ensure we amplified promotion ahead of its launch.
“In the months leading up to release day, we went the extra mile to share stories that celebrated exactly why everyone is so enthusiastic about the Money Train franchise. Truthfully, it’s not been at all difficult to sing this game’s praises considering it has had such a monumental reception from the outset, picking up multiple awards and firmly cementing itself in igaming history.”
The popularity of the Money Train franchise has been evident since the first title in the series was released, with the number of players steadily growing over the years. To close this chapter in the Money Train story, Hammon really wanted to pay homage to the title’s loyal player base – without these players, the game wouldn’t be what it is today.
Hammon continued: “Our Senior GPO, Callum Sultana, and his team prioritised listening to player needs when developing Money Train 4, observing trends in order to tailor the game to their preferences. It was important that we kept open lines of communication, ensuring these fans knew that they were being heard.
“When you have a game that offers so much in the way of stand-out mechanics, distinctive features and highly achievable wins, you have to consider yourself truly blessed. We’ve worked hard to refine our launch strategy, however it’s a title that sells itself on merit.
“There have been many twists and turns since the very first day our development team came up with the idea for Money Train when scouring the casino floor in Vegas. It has been extremely satisfying to be able to go into great detail about the creative processes that have led to our success.
“When marketing most game releases, you don’t necessarily want to look back, but Money Train 4 is the culmination of several years of hard work, and we owe it to the franchise to showcase our learnings over the years and celebrate our success as we bring the curtain down one final time.”
Money Train 4 reaches a new demographic
Marketing Money Train 4 may have taken somewhat of a retrospective view with regards to the franchise as a whole. However, Hammon explained that when it comes to engaging with bettors, you cannot simply focus on the title’s existing player base.
In fact, there is something of an added pressure for suppliers to tap into new demographics of players too. So how do you do that? For Relax Gaming, much of this has come in the form of collaborations with streamers and affiliates. And judging by the numbers, this is working really quite well.
”I believe suppliers have been guilty of under utilising these avenues, which is a huge mistake as they’re home to strong communities of incredibly passionate players,” Hammon continued.
“A key game like Money Train 4 creates ample amounts of anticipation and excitement in itself, and delivering game info directly to these publications in a timely manner is essential in capturing audiences and ‘riding the wave’ of the release, so to speak.
“We quickly recognised the benefits of working with these communities and as a result we’ve been able to highlight elements of a game that may well have been overlooked, bridging knowledge gaps and generating additional buzz around releases. Failing to do any of the above when planning an effective and modern marketing mix is where campaigns can often mean an inability to reach intended targets.
“We pride ourselves on our strong relationships with key player-facing publications within the industry and will continue to work harmoniously to deliver unique content week-in-week-out.”
According to Hammon, working alongside the streamer community presents a unique opportunity for Relax Gaming to amplify the reach of its titles within the wider igaming ecosystem.
As the brand approaches the anniversary of its Dream Drop Jackpot, Relax Gaming hopes to continue this focus on streamers.
“Relax has always embraced the streamer community with open arms. They are a strong and valuable voice within the wider iGaming ecosystem. We place a high emphasis on fostering and growing these relationships and plan to strengthen this area of our marketing strategy going forward.
“The streamer community provides important visibility, interaction and commentary that brings awareness to a game’s potential in a faster, more direct manner than any other form of marketing.
“We are absolutely honoured that the streaming community continues to support our efforts and give truly glowing coverage to leading Relax products such as the Dream Drop Jackpot and Money Train franchise. Long may this continue!”
A balanced approach
While this method of using streamers has been somewhat successful for Relax Gaming, this isn’t to say that suppliers should solely rely on these channels for marketing their titles.
Word of mouth and streamer recommendations are no longer sufficient to stand out in what has become an increasingly saturated market, so suppliers must take a multi-faceted approach to game marketing.
She added: “In this highly competitive environment with so many fantastic titles to choose from, word-of-mouth in itself is just not enough. No matter how good your product is, it takes a lot of focused planning and strong delivery across multiple channels to ensure a game gets off the ground.
“The weight applied to a game’s promotion doesn’t have to come in the form of heavy financial investment, but what it does require is time and effort, and lots of it. With this you can ensure that the intended message is delivered to a broad spectrum of players.”
To market a game successfully, Hammon shared, suppliers must ensure that they deliver the all-important game information to both operators and the player community in a manner that is easily understood and quick to digest.
It would be naive to suggest that every operator and player takes the time to read all of the finer details of a game – so it is essential that this information is packaged clearly and succinctly.
“It is truly unfortunate how – despite a lot of work – many campaigns and launches fall flat purely due to poor messaging and associated promotional campaigns.
“Another element is of course background narrative. A lot of players and operators enjoy a strong theme, storyline and unique characters, allowing an additional element of interest from a marketing standpoint. Learning more about the creative element and process behind building a game with behind-the-scenes snippets is also always a crowd-pleaser.
“It might sound obvious, but failing to make best use of the creative assets available is a huge mistake that you see some marketers make. Studios work hard to create captivating visuals and it’s up to marketing teams to use these as a base to formulate engaging content, bringing these creative elements to life in a new and captivating way.”
Is the industry missing a trick when it comes to marketing?
Rounding off the discussion, we pressed Hammon on her views regarding wider industry trends – and more specifically, whether or not the gaming industry needs to start casting its net further afield when it comes to marketing inspirations.
For the Head of Marketing, the gaming industry has proved time and time again that it can successfully market its products to different players. But one bit of advice that she offered was, quite simply, to keep a close eye on changing trends within external sectors.
“I certainly wouldn’t say the gaming industry is‘missing a trick’, as there are a lot of talented individuals and teams in the marketing space. However, it is always important to stay on top of marketing trends, and that includes studying movements and efforts outside of the industry too to see if there are any campaigns that could crossover.
“Inevitably, it has become increasingly challenging for content and marketing efforts to stand out. This challenge is occurring around the world due to digital saturation and the pure volume of information we are exposed to on a daily basis, but also on an industry level due to maturation and growth.”
To navigate this challenge of saturation, Hammon suggested that marketers should be selective in their approach to promoting a product – in other words, if you spread your efforts too thin, it becomes much harder to successfully market your games or products.
She concluded: “I firmly believe marketing teams need to be more selective and deliberate in their marketing initiatives, focusing on quality vs. quantity. You cannot have the same attention and focus on all game products if you want to achieve high visibility and impact in your campaign efforts.
“What’s more, I think inspiration and learning should always come from everything and everywhere, not just other marketers. Keep your eyes open, heart in the game, ideas creative, communication strong and efforts sincere. Do things with soul, or don’t do them at all.”
