Working with Supercell’s data scientist, we learned that in 5 years, players had collectively destroyed 100 billion town halls, 433 billion archer towers and 4 trillion walls.

We realized that behind all that destruction, was a story never told before.

One about an unlikely hero who rebuilt it all: the humble, hard working Builder.

Players kept the Builder working away on their villages 24/7, but he was an overlooked and underappreciated character. In over 5 years of building, destroying, rebuilding and re-destroying, the Builder had received none of the glory, and all of the blisters.

The Builder wasn’t just a fresh face to our storytelling, he represented all of the time, effort and care our players had invested in their villages. Making him the perfect symbol to help players’ rediscover their passion for Clash.

In the game, players discovered the Builder’s hut was abandoned and a sign led them to our video on YouTube. Fans spread the word making the it the #1 trending video. The Builder then shared his journey both inside and outside the game.

Other characters stepped in to do the builder's job, giving players lots of funny Easter eggs to encounter. Out-of-game, the Builder took over the @ClashofClans Instagram, so players could track his adventures as he: posted daily, taking travel suggestions from fans, revealed surprise structures that blended game world elements with real world purpose (Tesla Towers that could charge phones, refreshing water canons on beaches, windsweepers to cool off in city streets) around the world. He also offered services on LinkedIn and Craigslist, fielding requests and fulfilling a few odd jobs. Then he traveled into Facebook’s AR platform, giving fans an opportunity to interview to be the Builder.

Storytelling is the most essential magic of a great game. It transforms game code into feeling, making the wins sweeter and the losses more devastating.

The Builder’s journey used that magic to incredible ends: 56 million logged in to participate. Game events saw above average participation (80% versus 48%). Fans could even purchase a permanent Builder statue for their village…. 350,000 players happily sprung for it.

Out-of-game, with no paid media on YouTube we captured 187 million views. The @ClashofClans Instagram following grew by 600k (+15%) and posts drew over 6 millions likes. Nearly 30,000 called the Builder’s hotline or friended him on LinkedIn. As one of Facebook’s first-ever AR partners, we blew-out the benchmarks with 4 million AR videos or photos created. Experiential sites attracted 500,000+ visitors, and 40 media mentions garnered 72 million impressions.

And the Builder’s story isn’t over—a new chapter’s already in the works.

We’ve never had a hero leave their virtual world and really live amongst us. Clash of Clans recognized that we finally have the technology and media to make this happen. Platforms like Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, AR, and Reddit are challenging what it means to be alive, real, and most of all needed. We used this media insight to reignite a game.

If we could change how players felt about the Builder, we could change how they felt about the game.

Clash revolved around celebrating destruction, not building. To bring players’ attention to the Builder, we would need to remove from the game all together.

What if the Builder found a place where he could finally be the hero?

What if for one month the Builder left Clash to join our world? Where his creations could be real, needed and appreciated, and social media could connect him to players?

Working side-by-side with the game team, we designed a month-long story with tentpole moments for mass awareness and sustained daily beats for hyper-involved fans. We’d synchronize our storytelling between two key channels: activities unfolding live in-game, and interactive out-of-game content revolving around the Builder’s adventure. To minimize our need for paid media, we would send fans in-game to content out-of-game and vice versa.

As Clash of Clans approached its 5th birthday, developer Supercell wrestled with an existential question: How do you keep the spark alive after so many years?

Supercell is under constant pressure to keep players engaged in a fiercely competitive, fast-moving market. (Over 500 new mobile games are submitted to the iOS store everyday.) And after five years, fans were complaining that the game felt stale.

To renew players passion for Clash, Supercell needed to do more than a sappy retrospective video. They needed a story that would make the game feel new again. In the words of the game’s lead developer, “We’d never want people to think the game’s best days were behind it.”