Niantic

The objective

Generate buzz and drive installs

Starting in Q1 2023, Niantic partnered with TikTok to reach and convert new audiences for Peridot, its all-new AR real-world mobile pet game.

Understanding the challenge of launching original IP in today's saturated market, Niantic's goal was to leverage TikTok's immense audience and ad platform to introduce its new game to potential users in a culturally relevant way and drive installs while scaling efficiently.

Niantic is a San Francisco-based game developer known for its augmented reality mobile games such as Ingress and Pokémon GO.

The solution

A three-pronged launch approach

Niantic partnered with TikTok to be the exclusive promotional platform for the launch of Peridot. The brand executed a three-pronged strategy that leveraged paid ad solutions, organic content and creators.

1. Seed Peridot culture through an owned TikTok channel

To bring the game to life on TikTok, Niantic launched its own TikTok account (@playperidot). Through this channel, the brand was able to seed the storytelling, values and culture of Peridot with paid and organic content. Leveraging Spark Ads and TikTok Pulse, Niantic brought its game directly to the right audiences at the right time in their content-consumption journey.

2. Amplify brand culture with hashtags #PlayPeridot and #Peridot

Niantic gave creators the freedom to use Peridot IP to cultivate a following across microcommunities as users began to discover and interact with the game for themselves. In this way, creators co-created with the brand and then shared that content with their newfound communities of Peridot players using the hashtags #PlayPeridot and #Peridot, amplifying publisher and creator engagement at scale.

3. Empower co-creation using Effect House Challenge

To push things even further, Niantic leveraged Effect House Challenge, inviting TikTok effect creators to create new effects inspired by the world of Peridot. This resulted in sophisticated co-creation that matched the style of the AR-based game while allowing creators to be more innovative in their content generation. Creators were offered 2D and 3D assets to inspire their content along with a $30,000 prize pool. The brand then leveraged the creator content as paid Spark Ads.

The results

Unprecedented engagement and installs

Niantic successfully launched Peridot on TikTok with high levels of engagement, resulting in over 1 million qualified installs within the first month of launch. The game's hashtags (#peridot and #playperidot) generated over 214 million views within the first 8 weeks of launch, with its newfound community engaging with the game in fun and creative ways.

In terms of brand perception, Peridot saw a 30% lift in ad recall and a 24% lift in awareness.¹ Ultimately, the work Niantic put into creating buzz and the trust that was placed on creators with their Peridot IP proved to be a winning formula.

1. Source: TikTok 1st-Party Brand Lift Study.