Mobile game marketing is all about performance – numbers and optimization over storytelling. Merge Mansion is doing the opposite. A mobile where simple gameplay meets compelling storytelling it has chosen to focus on marketing that’s so entertaining that it stands out from other mobile games.

This campaign embraced that approach to the max. By building on the game's lore and fan fiction theories, and adding elements of true crime, detective story tropes, and one Internet darling du jour we were able to leverage Merge Mansion to the next level of pop culture fame – even sparking rumors of an upcoming

Since its launch in 2020 Merge Mansion has relied heavily on it’s storyline featuring family drama and mystery revolving around a condemned mansion and the secretive Grandma Ursula. This rich lore combined with 3D animated ads that raise more questions than give answers has earned the game a devoted fan following and cult like internet status. But in order to break out of it’s niche internet fame we needed to do something that would get the masses interested in “What’s Grandma Hiding?”

The objective of the campaign became to make Grandma Ursula and the game famous and raise Merge Mansion to the next level of pop culture fame.

To get the masses interested we decided to lean heavily on the game’s proven recipe for success, but added some extra spice by introducing a new character, a hard-nosed detective faced with the hardest case of their career. Our star investigator, played by Pedro Pascal, would be the vehicle that allowed us to turn “What’s Grandma Hiding?” into an investigation for the masses.

After grabbing the attention of the internet in the form of three true crime style trailer films, we upped the ante in a brand experience where we invited Pascal along with other mystery-busting celebrity sleuths, YouTubers, influencers and super fans to a real-life replica of the mansion to find out what Grandma is hiding. This experience was then broadcast to the world through the participants’ social channels, PR, and a compelling after movie urging people to solve mystery themselves by playing the game.

The game’s core audience are 25-50 y/o women. We knew they loved the game’s lore, but we also knew that they love true crime. We decided to combine the two to create mass appeal.

Next, we needed the perfect lead detective. We wanted someone who had the credibility and magnetism to capture our target audience's attention and imagination. After careful deliberation, we landed on Pedro Pascal who was literally on the verge of becoming the hottest actor in the world.

But we didn’t want to world only to remember our star investigator, instead, we needed to get people interested in the mystery behind the game – and so, we decided to actually let Pascal along with other notable mystery busters try to solve the case first hand in reality and entertainment bending immersive brand experience. Eventually also encouraging people to find the answer for themselves by playing the game.

We started by releasing three true crime-style trailer films on the weekend of the finale of The Last of Us, the most anticipated TV series of 2023, starring Pedro Pascal. The internet. Went. Nuts. It didn’t just make a splash, the trailers released a tidal wave of reactions that plastered every social platform. Recruiting millions of investigators from around the globe.

Following that Pascal was joined by celebrity sleuths, Ashley Benson and Jesse Williams for an on-site investigation inside the mansion with a handful of super fans and content creators. Part live-action theatre meets escape room, and part Instagrammable lore-museum the guests were immersed into the world of Merge Mansion.

Finally we released a post-event cinematic film giving fans worldwide a glimpse inside the mansion and the call to action to download Merge Mansion for a chance to develop their own theories of what Grandma Ursula is hiding.

The investigation clocked 1 billion total impressions across platforms and over 300 different publications reported on the genre-bending integrated campaign.

The trailer films have been viewed 38.1 million times on YouTube, received over 218,000 likes on TikTok, plus 138,000 likes on Instagram over the course of the campaign. ¨

The Merge Mansion event day made a splash with 177.9M social impressions causing a riptide of intrigue. But most importantly fans worldwide were obsessed with the campaign, joining the investigation to search for answers and share their theories, even igniting rumors of an actual Merge Mansion Movie.