Sweepstakes Marketing: How video game company’s gamified sweepstakes strategy got 12,000 FINAL FANTASY pre-orders

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Square Enix is a video game company. One of its series is FINAL FANTASY, which was originally released in 1987. A mainline FINAL FANTASY title is typically released once every five to eight years. On June 22, 2023, the company launched FINAL FANTASY XVI.

“Our challenge was to build excitement around one of the most anticipated game releases of the year while overcoming a unique hurdle:  PS5s, the platform needed to play the game, were experiencing a supply shortage,” said Osa Odiase, Product Marketing Manager, Square Enix, and Consultant, Osa Odiase.

BEFORE: Passive marketing strategies

“Traditionally, the game industry has relied heavily on passive marketing strategies, such as high-visibility events, trailers, and major announcements like 'pre-orders live' or 'game release dates,’” he said.

Although these methods are successful in creating initial excitement, he felt they often fail in fostering a deeper interaction with the audience beyond simple media consumption.

“After researching sweepstakes statistics and looking through entries in the Shorty Awards, I saw a unique chance to blend gamification with marketing through a highly engaging sweepstakes,” Odiase said.

AFTER: Interactive sweepstakes that promotes organic sharing

“We approached this by creating an interactive, gamified sweepstakes, within Gleam.io, called Trials of Fate, where participants could engage with our brand and win prizes, including PS5 consoles,” Odiase said.

Creative Sample #1: Sweepstakes on mobile device

“Since the game was a PS5 exclusive and the PS5 shortage was still ongoing, offering the console as the primary prize drove significant interest from both FINAL FANTASY fans and general PlayStation players, as it aligned directly with their needs,” Odiase said.

The team created 33 unique entry actions across three categories – social engagement, sales (e.g., pre-orders), and survey questions. The entries for social engagement encouraged word-of-mouth from fans.

“It needed to be authentic to our existing community but also welcoming to new players for whom FINAL FANTASY XVI would be their first experience with the series. By providing a mix of quest style activities to unlock entries, the team was able to deliver an engaging activation to all players, whether this was their first or their sixteenth FINAL FANTASY,” said Morten Haugaard, Executive Director, Publishing Strategy, Square Enix.

The team was able to secure seven video game consoles to offer as prizes – six were part of the general prize draw, but one was reserved for the most active users to further incentivize engagement. Participants who completed more than 100 entries were entered into that exclusive PS5 drawing by earning ‘Eikon Status’ (in the video game, Eikons are powerful beings and they play a central role in the game’s storyline). Out of 82,000 total entrants, over 15,000 participants achieved Eikon Status.

But sweepstakes are not just a marketing endeavor, they require cooperation with the legal team as well. And the team needed to work closely with Legal to make sure the entry options were accounted for in the official rules.

“A key challenge was accounting for the time-gated entry methods and entry methods that had prerequisites (such as completing other entry methods first) and communicating the entire process to participants in a clear and comprehensive manner. It was imperative to work closely with the marketing team to understand how each entry method operated, to structure the progression of entry methods in a way that gave participants freedom and flexibility in how they chose to engage with the campaign,” said Alberto Wilches, Senior Counsel, Square Enix.

RESULTS: 3.6 million entries

The team attracted 3.6 million entries – without paid media, influencer, or earned media support – along with 12,000 confirmed pre-orders.

The team added 19,900 Twitter (currently known as X) followers, a 939% month-over-month increase, and 17,700 Twitch followers, a 1,375% increase. “The massive social media growth (e.g., 939% MoM on Twitter followers) is benchmarked against our average social metrics from the months preceding the campaign,” Odiase said.

“The Trials of Fate campaign has made it easier for us to set up and run similar campaigns. For example, key learnings from the Trials of Fate campaign were applied to a recent KINGDOM HEARTS campaign, #KHonSteam, that included a multitude of entry procedures and requirements,” Wilches said.

Related resources

Social Media Marketing: 7 steps for using contests and sweepstakes to promote your brand

Test Your Marketing Intuition: Which sweepstakes incentive drove the most leads?

Social Media Marketing: A look at contests from the customer’s perspective