Xbox All Access Sponsored Content Campaign with IGN.com
drove ~4.5MM in impressions/views and delivered 138% to the Campaign goal
Challenge
Facing a down economy and massive expected discounts in the gaming and console industry of 20-25% for the Holidays, I sought new ways to keep our overall program originations Xbox All Access flat despite competitive factors during the holiday season.
The Xbox All Access program started in 2019. After many years of partnership, I identified this program as a great candidate for a sponsored content program with the premier gaming and entertainment outlet, IGN. With a budget of $135,000, I looked for an opportunity to promote our longstanding Citizens Pay Partner, Xbox All Access, during the Q4 holiday season. I identified the premier gaming and entertainment outlet of IGN.com to generate awareness for the Xbox All Access program, drive the target audience to the XAA landing page, and positively influence consideration for XAA during the holiday season.
The campaign flight needed to hit Tuesday, November 28th, 2023, to avoid competing with Black Friday and Cyber Monday Xbox promotions.
In addition to the objectives, we desired to tell the content story of the Xbox All Access program, specifically how the program allows gamers access to 100s of games through the bundled Game Pass Ultimate subscription, in addition to their choice of a next-gen Xbox console. To tell this story, we also looked to collaborate with gaming studios to spotlight popular game titles available through Game Pass Ultimate within the content. Citizens Pay had never previously partnered with the game studios, so this was a new and exciting opportunity.
Actions
Identifying the Right Marketing Mix:
To meet the objective, I customized the campaign package with IGN to include the following:
Native Feature with Video-on-Demand (VOD) Package
1 Native Feature ("Gift Yourself Xbox All Access This Holiday and Game Through 2025") and accompanying VOD that would automatically play within the article and in strategic places across IGN.com.
Social posts promoting the Native Feature with a snippet of the VOD on IGN's owned & operated Facebook, X, and Instagram properties.
VOD posted to IGN's owned & operated YouTube.
Commerce Placement in IGN's Holiday Gift Guide
Co-branded banner ads programmatically displayed across IGN.com that would drive users to the guide.
Added Value Standard Banner Ads programmatically displayed across IGN.com
Telling the Content Story:
Through our Xbox All Access contacts, we collaborated with studios of the following game titles:
Minecraft
Party Animals
Forza Motorsport
Starfield
For the target audience, I mainly focused on males aged 32-40 nationwide with an average income of ~$84,000 who were gaming enthusiasts interested in consoles. In addition to the game title spotlight, I focused the main message on the program's affordability so they can "play now, pay over time" and the joy of "gifting yourself" this holiday season with a "game for every mood."
Collaborating Cross-Functionally for Success:
From start to finish, I had an accelerated timeline of 7 to 8 weeks to hit the flight date. I worked cross-functionally with the external teams, such as our Xbox All Access contact, the Studio Liaison, and agency partners, as well as internal teams, like our Content Specialist, Office of Fair Banking, In-House Legal Counsel, and First Line of Defense Risk, to get the campaign launched on time and in compliance with stringent advertising guidelines based on federal laws and regulations.
Results
The campaign successfully deployed in-market from 11/28/2023 to 12/31/2023, and total over-delivery was 38% above the campaign goal, achieving 4.5MM views/impressions. Most notable campaign package results include:
The Native Package with VOD delivered 152% of the goal
The Holiday Gift Guide Commerce Placement package delivered 121% of the goal
The results thrilled my Xbox All Access partners and my Executive Leadership at Citizens Pay. The campaign raised fantastic awareness for the program during the most important season and deepened the relationship with a longstanding Citizens Pay merchant program.