• by Larissa Faw , November 11, 2015

Video game heroine Lara Croft is back in the just released “Rise of the Tomb Raider” which is backed by a multifaceted campaign developed by several agencies.

Publicis Groupe’s Razorfish developed the marketing strategy, a promotional Web site (and surrounding media), and campaign banner work. Razorfish designed the site to express the three elements of Lara’s journey -- “sky above, earth below, fire within.” In addition, the experience was designed to be modular, allowing the media assets to be embedded across multiple partner sites and shared through different social channels. 

G-Net Media created TV spots and video assets, which include the "Descent Into Legend" trailer, November’s "Make Your Mark" and the global "Legend Within" spot.

The campaign also partnered with Yeah Yeah Yeah’s singer Karen O to write and compose an original song, “I Shall Rise,” for the game that also relates Lara’s transformative journey. 

The social strategy, led by Ayzenberg, is rooted in Instagram’s native interface and ability to tag different levels of the experience in a choose-your-own-adventure style format. Gamers can access the "Private" channel that is embedded within the experience that provides them an extended narrative and each day new entries are added to Lara's Journal.

Xbox also paired with Wunderman on its PR efforts to elicit interest and awareness for the pre-order of Rise of the Tomb Raider. This data-driven campaign is targeting fans based on different behavioral segments including so-called "Heroine Junkies"--those who play more than five hours on the Reboot title game. Another group has been labeled "Character Driven" gamers that play more than five hours on any title known for a strong lead protagonist. There’s also a broader "Action Adventure” segment.  Each group will receive customized email communications.

"This game is evolutionary and has required us to evolve our marketing strategy by listening to what consumers have told us they want most in the game -- more tombs and earlier access," says Microsoft’s Kirsten Ward, general manager of devices and studios marketing. "We’ve leveraged digital ubiquity as our competitive advantage in order to engage gamers and allow them to experience and get to know our re-emerged heroine before the game is even live.” 

"Lara Croft: Rise of the Tomb Raiser" was released Nov. 10 by developer Crystal Dynamics and publisher Square Enix and is played across Microsoft's Xbox 360 and One platforms.