The collaboration between Hypothesis Group, a strategy and design agency, the Wieden+Kennedy advertising agency and Metacore Games takes home two Gold Ogilvy Awards at the Advertising Research Foundation's (ARF) 2022 Ogilvy Awards!
In a press release following the ARF Awards, Hypothesis congratulated Wieden+Kennedy on an extremely successful partnership.
The collaboration resulted in two Gold Ogilvy Awards in the "Best New or Emerging Brand" and "Electronics, Tech and Telecommunications" categories for the “What Is Grandma Hiding?” ad campaign that introduced the audience to mobile gaming app “Merge Mansion.”
Hypothesis helped Wieden+Kennedy in reaching millennial women who are the target audience of the mobile app.
“When we presented the WK team with a unique study design that explored why women are motivated to play mobile games, they were enthusiastic and committed to understanding “Merge Mansion”'s core audience in a deeper way,” said Maria Vallis, CEO of Hypothesis Group.
“Their commitment clearly paid off. We're very fortunate to have clients like Wieden+Kennedy who trust us to try new approaches in the name of accomplishing amazing things.”
The mobile gaming space is a highly competitive one, where thousands of apps spring up every day in the hopes of winning over a massive audience of gamers who enjoy their favorite hobby on the go.
Where most companies tend to compete by providing better optimization and gameplay, Hypothesis and Wieden+Kennedy took the time to properly define their target audience and reach out to it.
The “What Is Grandma Hiding?” campaign ads star the actresses Kathy Bates and Grace Rex.
Short adverts see the former, a star of the Titanic movie, in the role of Grandma Ursula, while the latter plays her daughter Maddie. Together, they solve mysteries in a growingly complex puzzle game that is “Merge Mansion.”
While helping Maddie solve the puzzle that is her family history, i.e., the Boulton family’s past, short ads featuring two actresses enrich the entire gaming experience and tell the story in an immersive and original manner.
Short adverts such as these have seen many gamers and non-gamers alike invested in finding the truth about the mansion, all with the help of Hypothesis.
“In addition to a wildly successful campaign, they were able to position Merge Mansion as an entertainment property in its own right. The ads had people from all corners of the internet invested in the Merge Mansion storyline, and prompted calls from fans to turn the property into a TV show or film,” stated Hypothesis in an official press release.
Campaigns such as these are a breath of fresh air in both marketing and gaming circles, and we can only hope to see more of them.
