Com2us

The objective

Founded in 1998, South Korean game developer and publisher Come2us Corp has expanded globally, with brances operating in USA, China, Japan, Taiwan, SEA and Europe.

On August 7, 2024, they launched BTS Cooking On: TinyTAN Restaurant, a mobile game featuring global phenomenon K-pop group BTS's iconic TinyTan characters in 170 global regions, across 11 languages. The game offers players an immersive cooking experience with local dishes from around the world. To ensure broad appeal beyond BTS fans, Come2us was keen to drive global brand awareness, engagement and long-term player retention through sustained gameplay and building a dedicated community around the game.

They saw TikTok's short-form immersive content format and its unique features like AR filters and influencer collaborations as a success key to generating organic, viral content, so they turned to TikTok as the central platform and a key channel for their integrated global marketing strategy.

The solution

TikTok played a crucial role in helping BTS Cooking On: TinyTAN Restaurant achieve its campaign objectives. TikTok's in-feed ads integrated the game into users' feeds seemlessly making it feel more natural and engaging than a traditional advertisement. This boosted curiosity and engagement, optimizing click-through rates (CTR) and new user acquisition. Additionally, TikTok's fun and intuitive AR filters allowed users to interact with the game's characters in a playful way which was aligned with the nature of the game. This organically drove viral participation and content creation.

To reach an audience beyond BTS fans, TikTok recommended targeting a broader audience including casual gamers, GenZ and Millenials in key regions like the US, South Korea and Japan in a phased approach. This meant starting with AR filters, the creator partnership to generate buzz, followed by traffic-focused ads to drive ap downloads. Creators from Korea, Japan and the US, particularly those with strong ties to K-pop culture, were engaged to create authentic and resonant content with the target audience. By engaging creators and leveraging TikTo's global reach, Come2us were able to build awareness, drive downloads, and foster long-term user engagement.

The Results

In the first two weeks of the launch, BTS Cooking On surpassed 1 million global downloads and ranked in the top five popular games in 15 regions. Just over two weeks after the launch, Come2us and their BTS Cooking On campaign on TikTok was able to acquire 92 million new users and additional 5.6k new followers to their TikTok page, boosting the game's visibility globally. The AR filters and influencer-generated content also amplified visibility and engagement with more than 18 million views.

Media performance exceeded expectations, with a 41% decrease in Click-per-mille (CPM), a 1.4% click-through rate (CTR) and a 25.2% view-through rate (VTR). The Reach and Frequency Ads placements saw an even higher VTR of 48.5%, demonstrating effective user engagement. In the US, the campaign exceeded its goals, achieving 200% of the targeted CTR and 164% of the CPM Target.

Beyond performance metrics, the campaign generated organic global reach, expanding the game's visibility and global presence even in countries outside of the targeted regions. Furthermore, user-generated content continued to spread after the campaign ended, leading to sustained game downloads and organic user acquisition.