Redefining the Companion App.
How a new take on an old concept helped supercharge a global campaign.
The Spark
11 months before the launch of Need For Speed Heat we proposed an idea that would lead to one of the most epic, multi-team efforts I‘ve ever seen, and one of our most successful Need For Speed campaigns to date.
On the surface it was very simple.
What if, instead of players twiddling their thumbs waiting for the game to drop, we gave them a novel way to participate during the campaign, vest interest, and flex their creative muscles? If Need For Speed has the deepest customization in the genre, then let’s use it in a way never seen before.
From this concept, we created the NFS Heat Studio app. A new way to get hands-on before the game was out, and at Gamescom 2019 we let players know they could get it right then and there.
The Campaign
Over the course of a 10 week campaign we dropped new car packs into the app every week, allowing players to download and customize their favorite rides. Players could do everything that was possible in-game and more; swap parts, create wraps, take snapshots, share on social media, even view their favorite creations IRL through the use of AR technology.
Having never done anything like this before, we had hoped that players would see it as a refreshing way to engage with the game, something to get excited about and something to share with friends. But the actual reception completely blew us away.
With over 3.5 million organic installs to date, 24 mins spent per day/per active user, and over 5 million unique customizations, its success illuminated one undeniable truth. Players are dying to jump in.
The (insane) Scale
This wasn’t just a companion app, it was an experience that became tightly woven into every aspect of our ramp to launch. NFS Heat Studio turned into our red-thread across the campaign, opening up opportunities with our world class community team like a partnership with David Dobrik to rally his fanbase through creative app challenges.
Collaborations with French Montana and A$AP Ferg to harness their music in bespoke launch moments alongside their own car creations. The list goes on and on and on.
But most importantly, 10 days before the game launched we surprised almost 200,000 players by generating a personalized launch trailer for each of them, featuring their customized ride as the hero car.
To create one launch trailer is hard enough, but to generate almost 200,000 seemed near impossible. To achieve this mad concept, we partnered with The Mill to bring scale and EA engineers to push Frostbite in ways it had never been used before.
Here’s an excerpt from The Mill’s article on the endeavor.
It was amazing to see what everyone involved could accomplish in our time frame, even our suppliers pulled out all the stops. We had 100 high powered gaming workstations working simultaneously, creating full renders from user-generated content at an extraordinary rate
The Finish Line
On the surface this herculean lift seemed almost effortless, but it was only possible through the combined passion of EA, North Kingdom, and The Mill.
The traditional companion app may be loosing its shine, but old ideas reimagined can reveal major opportunities to disrupt traditional methods if born from strong insights.
In this industry we are extremely lucky to have consumers who want to jump in and try new things, all it takes is a little play.
