Night aerial view of a plaza lined with giant screens showing Mewtwo and the Pokémon GO logo as crowds walk below
Submitted by BursonAgency IPI Score 9/100

Pokémon GO Saudi Arabia Influencer Team Showdown

Influencer Marketing

Burson set three Arab-speaking gaming influencers against each other to launch Niantic's Pokémon GO in Saudi Arabia, and reports 50.8M impressions across influencer videos.

6.4MEarned Media Reach

Case in 60 seconds

Niantic was launching Pokémon GO in Saudi Arabia, which the page describes as a nation of mobile gamers, while the brand had no Arabic language social channels through which to reach that audience.

Pokémon GO is built on team rivalry and community spirit, so Burson reads the Saudi gaming audience as one that answers to Arab-speaking gaming voices it already follows rather than to messaging from the brand alone.

The launch was staged as an influencer showdown in which each of three Arab-speaking gaming influencers championed one of the game's teams, Valor, Instinct or Mystic, so the rivalry inside the game became a public contest.

Shongbong, Banderitax and oCMz each championed a team before an influencer-led tournament and live Raid Battle against MewTwo at Riyadh's Boulevard City, while Burson produced creative for the venue's screens and launched Arabic language social channels.

Burson reports 50.8M impressions across influencer videos, 120k influencer video engagements and 6.4M earned media reach, with more than 5,000 fans at the Riyadh event and the #1 trending spot on YouTube Saudi Arabia.

Strategy Breakdown

Mobile gamers and the gaming community in Saudi Arabia, reached through Arab-speaking gaming influencers and the brand's first Arabic language social channels.
Pokémon GO supplied the rivalry itself, because its three teams gave the creators sides to champion and gave fans a reason to follow the contest through to the Riyadh event.
Burson built on team rivalry and community spirit as the core of the gameplay, so the campaign asked fans to back a team and turn up in person rather than simply watch creator content.

Creative & Execution System

Assets & channels

  • Other

Partners

  • Burson

Participation mechanic

  • Fans backed one of the three teams championed by the influencers and came to the Boulevard City event in Riyadh, where they watched the influencer-led tournament and took part in a live Raid Battle against MewTwo.

Creator role

  • Shongbong — creator
  • Banderitax — creator
  • oCMz — creator

Results & Evidence

MetricValue
Influencer Video Impressions50.8M impressions
Influencer Video Engagements120K engagements
Earned Media Reach6.4M earned media reach
Event AttendanceMore than 5,000 fans

Why Burson's strategy worked

  1. 1

    Assigning each creator to one side of a rivalry the product already contains gives followers a reason to pick a team, which turns separate influencer posts into one contest rather than parallel endorsements.

  2. 2

    Ending a creator contest at a physical venue gives followers a place to act on the rivalry, because a live tournament and Raid Battle make them participants rather than spectators of the creators' content.

  3. 3

    Launching local language brand channels alongside the creator work gives a market entry somewhere to hold the attention the creators generate, rather than leaving that attention on the creators' own accounts.

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