Monster Hunter World: Cataclysm
Creative & Art Direction
Integrated Launch Campaign
Client: Capcom (MOCK PROJECT)
Agency: Personal
Capcom’s Monster Hunter has always been a personal favorite of mine, taking me back to fond memories in college when I would play missions between classes with my peers. So with this, and my experience in advertising thought I would make up a campaign for an expansion. All aspects of these are fictional and have no official ties with the franchise itself.
The premise; Monster Hunter World is returning with it’s newest expansion, Cataclysm. After the events of Iceborne, the Hunters of Astera return to a home, ravaged by unexplained calamities. Upon further investigation, the research commision discovered that Velkhana was also the gate keeper to the source of the Everstream. And with her death, the power is now left unchecked. The energy has now began seeping out to the surface, causing Astera to be at the epicenter of it all. The cracks have also been reported to allow passage for monsters who have been long thought extinct. It’s now up to the Fifth Fleet Hunters to figure out how to seal the energy back and to bring balance back to Astera’s ecosystem.
This activation is set to tease, and spark interest while revealing a surprise twist for the audience. Creating a fun, engaging, and story driven experience for people to interact with online and offline. All leading up to a big unveiling at a major gaming event and the expansion launch.
I do not claim ownership of hero image used on the page.
Photo by Capcom
the hook.
The initial tease is that Monster Hunter is coming out with a new expansion called Cataclysm, and for the most part will be marketed as the return of monsters from previous entries of the franchise, with one of the most popular Elder Dragon, Alatreon returning as the flagship monster of that expansion. During the teaser launch people will be asked to download an app for a promo code so they may purchase the expansion at a discount rate.
the surprise.
As the launch date draws closer, the game will start launching harder hitting advertising for the expansion (billboards, banners, etc.) The app will now enter the second phase and the SOS message will unlock. And people will be given a date that differs from the launch date. Additionally a new tab will be added to the app called Real Time Reports.
This will cause a stir with the community in trying to figure out if it’s a mistake or if the expansion is getting an early launch. People will be hungry for information and will take to reddit and data mine anything from the app for clues. At the same time, people will also begin to realize that there are a lot of things that aren’t what they seem.
Real Time Reports will be a gamified easter egg hunt. People will come to locations where they’ll find advertising for the game, and upon further inspection will see secret messages on them. These messages will then be input on the Real Time Reports section to unlock SOS beacons. Once a specific number of beacons are unlocked, a location will appear on the map. Which are the coordinates on some of the SOS beacons.
the payoff.
Participants will then discover the coordinates and beacons pointing to a single location. Arriving at the marked location at the right date and time will reveal a big launch party.
Once the beacons are activated on the app, it’ll trigger a timer on a triangulated location. It’ll be revealed that something will happen at a Museum on a later date. And the players with the app will have access to the event.
