Supporting an online community can create the perfect resource to ensure your customers continue to find what they’re looking for in what you offer. Products that tap into the heart of consumer interests are key to greater brand success, and an open connection with your customers can greatly help with the insight needed to get new product development just right.
Serbian game developer Nordeus has been doing just this for more than 10 years, since it launched its flagship title Top Eleven, the world’s most played mobile online football management game. The motto of the app’s online community of scores of football lovers around the world — “By fans – for fans” — speaks volumes to this.
It’s not an easy match at the forefront of the highly competitive mobile-game industry, but Nordeus has discovered that authentic two-way communication with its audience is helping them win the game. Here’s how the team took the lead with a 3D live match redesign, the latest community-insight opportunity.
1:0 - A marketing game plan kick-off to remember
Top Eleven identified a new request coming loud and clear from the app’s YouTube community: a 3D live match feature to take the game to a whole new level. Its in-house development team got to work on including all the bells and whistles of 3D gaming, with the help of motion capture and AI. After several rounds of adaptations, including beta testing with regular players, Nordeus successfully developed Top Eleven to answer its users' growing needs.
The brand wanted to meet this achievement with an equally effective feature launch that would allow its community to celebrate the force of their input and deepen their connection with the game.
As with previous campaign kick-offs, the company turned to YouTube to spark a lasting impression within its community. The team sought to generate hype among active users and those who were no longer as engaged with the game, while also appealing to newcomers.
“For us, the bigger goal with the 3D-live-match campaigns was mitigating and bringing back churn players. So a huge success criteria was growing daily active users by reactivating long-term players,” says Andrej Kugonič, head of marketing, at Nordeus’ sports division.
The bespoke feature launch trailer, showcasing 3D live matches to their full extent, racked up more than 450,000 organic views, while gathering 10,000 likes — a strong affirmation on the success of resonating with real consumer interests.
2:0 - Scoring on launch month with 360º interactive YouTube video
With YouTube, Nordeus found a most fitting video feature to accompany Top Eleven’s 3D introduction.
Crafting video content inspired by the new 3D gameplay experience, Top Eleven created an immersive 360º YouTube video with a promo-game-code treasure hunt that invited its players to get involved and collect rewards.
With a trophy-worthy completion rate of 94.7% and over 240,000 views, the YouTube feature not only created strong intrigue to draw in active players, but also caught the attention of those as yet unaware of the app.
3:0 - Calling all-star YouTube personalities onto the pitch
On the back of its momentum Nordeus teamed up with 55 YouTube content creators from across the globe to create meaningful connections, including two on-channel and in-game collaborations with Sidemen and ChrisMD, the biggest pair of stars in the segment. Nordeus also collaborated with local language content creators from Spain, Germany, Greece, Serbia, and Poland. With this, Top Eleven hit its highest influencer conversion rate to date.
Top Eleven saw significant in-app purchase revenue increase and a positive jump in the click-through-rates of its 3D live match videos.
The team was able to reach its key audience — with new registrations and the reactivation of inactive app users booming, along with a big decrease in its cost per install.
But it hasn’t stopped there, and 3D live matches are an ever-evolving feature that remains open to requests from the community. Top Eleven continues its aim to become synonymous with the tailored gaming experience that lets players get as close as they possibly can to that on-pitch feeling.
Riley Hammersly, Top Eleven’s marketing creative lead, explains: “The stories you hear about those who play our game, from the ways in which it has helped them experience football in a new way, to how it has connected so many people are all completely vital for us in understanding how else we can evolve and grow the game today.”
