We adopted a digital-first strategy to take advantage of the digital world’s interactive user experience. In a 2014 study, Millennials spent nearly three times as much of their time watching content online as non-Millennials. Our gamer audience spends a lot of their time clicking, swiping, dragging, and dropping things on their computers, smartphones, and tablets. We decided to use the interactivity of the digital space to amplify the campaign’s delivery of immersion and control.

Since the mobile screen has become the primary screen, we created the first-ever browser-based interactive mobile film. With the film told from the perspective of a bag of cash, viewers could control the point of view by swiping their finger or using the gyroscope on their smartphone or tablet. We used WebGL, KRPano, WebM, HTML5, and other technologies to ensure that the experience could be viewed on iOS and Android devices, without apps or plug-ins to download. Viewers just had to click and play.

We got our audience to sit up and listen. The Hardline campaign drove serious engagement with the brand, with viewers spending more than six years in total view time with the experience. The Battlefield Hardline marketing campaign also translated into financial success for Electronic Arts — Hardline debuted at #1 in sales across all hardware platforms in the U.S. and U.K., and stayed there for several weeks despite blockbuster releases from competitors like Sony and Square Enix.