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When Reed Hastings, chairman of Netflix, said in 2019 that he was more concerned about competing with Fortnite than HBO, he knew what he was talking about. Gaming isn’t the future, it’s the present. Just as agencies have had digital divisions for years, a gaming division should now come as standard – if it doesn’t, you risk being left behind.
A partnership between Bastion, a specialist video games agency, and whisky brand Ballantine’s shows how brands can integrate successfully into an environment that is already massive but still growing all the time. There is every chance that esports will feature at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Mates’ rates: the premise and the challenge
“We’ve spent most of our time trying to get games out into the mainstream and we're now at a point where the mainstream is coming to us,” said Ravi Vijh, Bastion’s managing director.
Ballantine’s, part of the Pernod Ricard stable, is Europe’s No.1 scotch whisky brand and No.2 globally. “But we still have two main challenges,” explained Tom Elton, head of culture and partnerships at Ballantine’s. “We want to increase our spontaneous awareness and we want to build an emotional connection. We want to get closer to who we call our ‘mates’.
“The best way to connect to them is to talk with them about things they care about and hang out in their world. They’re passionate about music (89%), TV and film (72%). And gaming (67%) is growing year on year.”
A video game might seem like an odd fit for a whisky brand but don’t fall for those old myths, such as the idea that gamers are just boys in their bedrooms.
Break for the border(lands): the partnership
Borderlands is an action role-playing game set in a Western sci-fi fantasy world produced by American software developer, Gearbox. The game has been around since 2009, but the third iteration since 2019.
The beauty of Borderlands for Ballantine’s was the existence in their universe of a bar, run by a non-playing character called Moxxi, a sassy single mother. “Moxxi gave us a mouthpiece where we could talk the language of the community,” said Elton. “As well as releasing her own spiced whisky, Moxxi’s Bar Edition, she had her own LinkedIn channel where she was talking and connecting with the CEO of Pernod Ricard. She had her own Twitter feed where she was talking to her mates around the community. We linked her with endemic Borderlands streamers.”
Crucially, to assuage legal and ethical concerns, Borderlands is an 18+ game with 80% of the audience over 18. Elton asserts that, as a digital world, gaming is better regulated, with more age-gating, than many other platforms.
There’s more to come. Borderlands 4 is in the works and in August this year there will be a Hollywood film based on the franchise starring Cate Blanchett. Ballantine’s will have an on-screen as well as experiential rights for Moxxi’s Bar around the movie’s release.
Vijh added: “This is one of the reasons I’m enjoying working with Ballantine’s – they have a road map of longevity. They came to us with an idea but said it’s probably shit so can you smash it up and start again! That was refreshing because there are times when people come to us with an idea and say they just want us to execute it.”
Doubles all round: the results
The partnership has worked “in every way”, according to Elton. All 100,000 bottles of the Moxxi Bar Edition sold out; the Ballantine’s Amazon page crashed in Spain; the UK and US supply sold out in four hours; as did the supply in Germany. In the US, people were buying one bottle to drink and one to keep. With shipping fees, customers were paying around $140 for a bottle of whisky that retails at less than $30.
Talk the talk: the method
Brands can’t just barge into a game and expect the community to welcome them with open arms. You need to bring value while respecting and understanding your audience.
“Calling a millennial or Gen Z a gamer is a bit like calling a baby boomer a TV watcher – it’s nonsensical,” said Elton. It’s vital to understand your audience and talk their language, hence the partnership with gaming specialists Bastion. “You have to win over this audience – it’s their sacred time and their passion.”
He added: “There are better opportunities for brands [in gaming] because people are actively playing versus passively watching or reading. There is character development and interactive music. So it’s an integration of all the other passions into this ecosystem.”
Ballantine’s deliberately partnered with an existing game with an existing, engaged audience. Getting involved with a new game carries too much risk. “You might as well burn your money,” joked Elton.
Equally, because it’s an existing game, Ballantine’s made sure to offer new, bespoke content. “We made sure we match the tone of voice,” said Elton, “and offered more than a bottle, like in-game skins that added value back to people. We tried hard to create value.”
Four steps to success: dos and don’ts
- Not all gamers are the same – understand your brand and how it aligns with the communities
- Build longer and deeper relationships with those communities. Don’t just jump in and jump out
- Get the tone of voice right – it’s important that people recognise it
- Give more than you take