- Popular match-three mobile game Candy Crush Soda Saga has teamed with the World Surf League (WSL) for a limited-time in-game tournament, the “Soda Surf Cup,” per a press release. The effort is timed across the Rip Curl WSL Finals competitive browsing event.
- The Soda Surf Cup is playable now until Oct. 2 with on-theme gaming features like surfboard candies and the possibility to win prizes. To promote the hassle, creator Kyle Gordon will adopt a latest persona as “Crush Sodason” and share content on Instagram and TikTok.
- The tie-up may even include additional experiences slated for Sept. 8-16 inclusive of giveaways, a meet-and-greet opportunity with the sport’s Soda Gummy Bear mascot and more. The effort makes the WSL the most recent to make use of the Candy Crush franchise to tap into popular culture.
Mobile gaming, the preferred format for gameplay, continues to be a widely utilized resource for marketers trying to tap right into a larger audience, and throughout the category, the Candy Crush umbrella has continued to carry its own. Candy Crush for the past five years has remained the top-grossing franchise within the U.S. app stores, per release details. Accordingly, others have plugged into the favored titles, including the Jonas Brothers, which partnered with Candy Crush Saga in May to advertise the band’s upcoming tour and latest album.
Beginning today (Sept. 7) Candy Crush Soda Saga is attempting to grow hype across the WSL’s upcoming competition with the limited-run launch of its latest event, Soda Surf Cup. Billed as an in-game tournament, on-theme details throughout the matching game include surfboard candies along with a diorama of brand name characters the Soda Gummy Bears and Yeti taking up the waves. The effort is inspired by the Rip Curl WSL Finals, a one-day event that decides this yr’s browsing World Champions. The finals tournament, which is the WSL’s most-watched event, per the discharge, has a contest window spanning Sept. 8-16, with the competition held on the perfect day for waves.
Included within the Soda Surf Cup can be the potential to win a grand prize, which is a custom surfboard made by Matt Biolos, certainly one of the world’s top surfboard shapers, and signed by the WSL Final 5 on the tournament event. Players can even win a one-year supply of gold bars, which is the currency utilized in Candy Crush Soda Saga. The Candy Crush franchise is owned by entertainment company King, which is an element of Activision Blizzard.
Promoting the tie-up, Candy Crush Soda Saga teamed with popular TikTok creator Gordon, who’s taking up an alternate persona — which is usually the idea of his videos — to turn out to be a wannabe surfer, Crush Sodason. As a part of the hassle, Gordon will sport a purple wetsuit and surfboard for comedic posts and detail his ambitions to turn out to be WSL’s next browsing success. The creator will begin sharing content Sept. 11 on TikTok and Instagram, and extra exclusive content shall be available on Candy Crush’s social media. Together, the mobile gaming experience and social media promotion could help the WSL tap into latest audiences, including the following wave of athletes, with teens continuing to signal that TikTok is their most-favored social platform.
Candy Crush Soda Saga also teased in-person activations, including the potential to identify Gordon “training” on a beach in San Clemente, California, which is where the Rip Curl WSL Finals are being held, on Sept. 7. Additionally, the marketer from Sept. 8-16 has other consumer experiences planned, including a “Sodalicious” prize van, a meet-and-greet opportunity, and giveaways of things like stickers and treats. In addition to helping the WSL gain momentum, a roster of in-person experiences could help Candy Crush, a digitally native offering, explore latest ways of reaching its current customer base while also extending to latest consumers.
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