Assassin’s Creed was releasing a new title. Ubisoft set two objectives for promoting the release. First, since the game was moving away from having an assassin as the protagonist, we needed to capture the imagination of fans by introducing a new Spartan hero and world. Second, because the game was coming out just 11 months after the last release (and during a saturated time for game releases), our executions had to be innovative enough to stand out for the casual gamer audience.

This campaign included a 2 phased activation. Phase 1 began prior to the game and saw the team launch the Spartan skill on Alexa along with a promoted video showcasing all that Alexios brings home. For phase 2, we revealed the in-game functionality of the skill experience, leveraging social media and promotional videos to amplify excitement, with 900+ total programmed responses, including info on the 500 game locations.

We partnered with Amazon and created the first-ever branded version of the Echo: Alexios, the Spartan Assistant. It helps around the home and in the game, inviting people to a unique world of Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and bringing some “Spartanness” to their daily lives. We also released an introductory video that soon went viral and sparked memes and created limited-edition Echo hardware, allowing fans to experience the game in a whole new way—long before it was even released.

By working with Amazon, we were granted permission to redesign the shell of the Echo Pro for the first time ever. The new “gold helmet” design was modeled after Alexios’ in-game character with the iconic Assassin’s Creed lambda sitting proudly at the helmet’s crest. At the base, the Amazon logo was replaced with the Alexios logo. The wooden boxes the unit was shipped in featured a hand branded logo, and were filled with straw to give the units a rustic ancient feel.

Alexios delivered results that exceeded expectations. With 900+ total programmed responses, including info on the 500 game locations, Alexios let users engage with a video game in ways they’d never experienced before. The introductory video received 4.1 million views without a media spend; the device garnered 95 million earned media impressions, achieved a 5-star rating on Amazon, and became a viral meme. Most important, Alexios assisted in the most successful game launch for the franchise in the current console generation.