Our strategy for promoting the puzzle game Mercury Hg was to overcome its lack of a character-driven narrative by creating a compelling fictional backstory and a viral mockumentary campaign.
To achieve this, we adopted a three-pronged approach:
-
Creating a Fictional Character and Narrative: We developed “Mercury Man”, a character with a bizarre and humorous origin story directly linked to the game’s central substance, mercury. The spoof documentary, titled Weird Yet Wonderful, was designed to be genuinely entertaining and highly shareable, drawing in a broad audience who might not typically engage with marketing for a puzzle game.
-
Building a Multi-Platform, Immersive World: We extended the mockumentary’s narrative across multiple platforms to add authenticity and depth. By creating a spoof website, a Facebook page for Mercury Man, and a dedicated Facebook account, we enabled users to immerse themselves in the story and interact directly with the character, blurring the line between fiction and reality.
-
Designing an Integrated, Non-Intrusive Call to Action: The direct link to the game, Mercury Hg, was carefully crafted to be clear yet unobtrusive. Sponsored banners on the website and a “liked page” on Facebook were used to drive traffic without disrupting the believability of the narrative. This subtle approach ensured that, although the content was entertaining and shareable, it consistently led back to the product.
