MORTAL KOMBAT
Client
NetherRealm Studios
As the in-house Lead Creative Director at NetherRealm, my role was to guide the creative vision for the Mortal Kombat franchise across several major releases, including Mortal Kombat X, Mortal Kombat Mobile, the 25th Anniversary campaign, Mortal Kombat 11 and Mortal Kombat 1.
The Challenge: The Mortal Kombat community is one of the most dedicated and savvy in gaming. They can spot inauthentic, "corporate" marketing from a mile away. Making even more challenging to create cultural moments that earned the respect of our most hardcore fans.
The Insight: Stop marketing at our fans and start talking with them. Our strategy was to shift our entire creative approach from a traditional broadcast to an authentic, daily conversation happening inside the community itself. Changing the tone and voice on all our channels to something fun, relevant and that says "We are FUCKING Mortal Kombat"
The Results:
✱ Both MKX and MK11 campaigns became the most successful launches in NetherRealm's history. One after another.
✱ While Mortal Kombat X got to the top 10 best-selling games of that year, Mortal Kombat 11 was the best-selling title among all WB Games releases and one of the top five best-selling games of 2019.
✱ We tripled our Facebook following to 6 million and saw record-breaking engagement across all social platforms.
The Road to MK11 and MK1: The success of MK11 didn't happen in a vacuum. It was the result of years of listening and learning from the community across other franchise touchpoints. With Mortal Kombat X and Mortal Kombat Mobile, we tested and refined the community-first approach that would become our blueprint. The 25th Anniversary campaign was a chance to honor the brand's heritage and celebrate the fans who had been with us from the beginning, strengthening the bond that made the MK11 launch possible.
AWARDS:
Clio: 2 Gold, 6 Silver, 1 Bronze
Promax: 2 Gold
