S04 E11 Innogames’ Deniz Kekeç On Building Long-Lasting Relationships With Narrative Marketing

Players who relate to your game are easier to retain. But how do you pinpoint the story that enhances your game’s USP, resonates with your player base and sparks the desire to stay in the game? Deniz Kekeç, Performance Marketing Manager for casual simulation game Sunrise Village at Innogames, has cracked the code with a pioneering approach to UA that she calls “narrative marketing.” It’s a content-driven approach that involves writing a game’s story or enhancing an existing one “in a way that the user can bond with the product themselves.” And it works because the engaging narrative appeals to players’ emotions and builds their preferences into gameplay from the start. In this insightful episode with hosts Peggy Anne Salz and Brian Baglow, Deniz delves into the formula for success and how studios can determine, test and adapt the right narrative for their game. She should know—she tested several, including love stories, mystery yarns and a strange relative with secrets. Curious about the concept that excited players and transformed Sunrise Village’s reach and retention? Well, you’ll have to listen until the end for that. 

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS

00:00 - Intro

03:53 - What is narrative marketing?

06:59 - Determining the right narrative

11:33 - Testing the narratives

17:50 - Adapting the narrative to different UA channels

20:53 - Advice for getting started

26:12 - Yoga lessons in marketing

28:55 - What story won? 

30:22 - Favourite games Q&A 

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