Activision: Case study

Credits & Description:

Brand ACTIVISION
Entrant AKQA SAN FRANCISCO
AKQA San Francisco, USA Entrant Company
AKQA San Francisco, USA Idea Creation
AKQA San Francisco, USA Production
ACTIVISION Santa Monica, USA Additional Company
EB Davis III AKQA Creative lead
Tandeka Lauriciano AKQA Concepting
Euzcil Castaneto AKQA Copywriting
Nicolas Carey AKQA Lead UX
Miguel Alvarado AKQA Technical Lead
Tyler Burton AKQA Coding
Eric Sare AKQA Coding
Jared Radin AKQA Software Engineer
Charlie Morgan AKQA Coding
Anton Preyomyshev AKQA QA
Anees Ahmed AKQA QA
Noah Conk AKQA UX
Jesse Fulton AKQA Technical Lead
Nicholas Mitrousis AKQA Technical Lead
Mark Bruels AKQA Product Manager
Ben Yu AKQA Client Services
Kristin Goto AKQA Client Services
Gavin McLeod AKQA Executive Creative Director
Thijs van de Wouw AKQA Strategy
Cam Giblin AKQA Art Director (marketing)
Matt Longstaff AKQA Creative Director (marketing)
Charles Calixto AKQA Associate Design Director (marketing)
Nikki Lee AKQA Senior Designer (marketing)
Dave Shuff AKQA Director of Film and Motion (marketing)
Arturo Lindbergh AKQA Motion Design (marketing)
Nate Waddington AKQA Prototyping
Gearoid O’Flynn AKQA Director of Technical Operations & QA
Chris Marsh AKQA Director of Technology
Published: December 2017
Synopsis:
Got yourself into a sticky situation, or want to reap some Clan rewards? Your Ghost has your back with the free Ghost Skill for enabled Alexa devices.
Execution
With the launch of Destiny 2, Activision faced a challenge: how do you make this massive, constantly expanding video game universe feel accessible to new fans? The game already had a character who helped you navigate its multiple worlds – Ghost. But more was needed to simplify this intimidating universe.
So we brought Ghost to life inside your home with a free Amazon Alexa skill and physical product – launching through social, influencers, and takeovers on Amazon.com.
Voiced by the in-game actor, the Destiny 2 Ghost Skill was designed to bridge the aesthetic of the in-game Ghost with Amazon Alexa's suite of products, bringing the character of Ghost out of the game and into your living room. With the skill, players are able to have a daily interaction with a video game character (whether they’re currently inside the game or not). As a first-of-its-kind experience, we’re paving the way for other gaming companies to see the potential in voice-enabled smart home devices to offer real utility to players, introducing a new breed of second screen experiences that never take you away from the game itself.
The skill featured dozens of potential queries, each designed to accommodate the different Destiny 2 player types – social gamers, "lone wolf" gamers, and hardcore gamers, as well as gamers starting out for the very first time.
To date, over a million interactions have occurred between players and Ghost, who is capable of providing over a million unique responses. Within the Alexa ecosystem, it’s the #1 Gaming Skill available and has resulted in over 400M in social and PR impressions and a 7x bump in Destiny 2 sales on Amazon.com when announced. Amazon was so impressed that they produced 4 nationally-run TV spots promoting the skill, giving us millions in free media support.
Campaign Description
Destiny 2 is a massive and intimidating open world video game. To make the game more accessible to new players, we brought Destiny’s in-game guide, Ghost, to life inside your home with Amazon Alexa and a physical product. The most immersive gaming companion ever made, the skill uses live player data to enable a wide range of useful interactions with the game, such as custom recommendations based on previous gameplay, the ability to change armor and weapons in real time with simple voice commands, and easily call for help without taking your focus away from the game. All this while answering questions about the D2 universe with the voice of the in-game actor, seamlessly bridging the video game universe with the real world. The Destiny 2 Ghost Skill also serves as the first major Alexa skill that connects the billion-dollar console gaming industry with the growing smart home marketplace.