Going into the Aether Revolt campaign, marketing started to shift dramatically toward acquisition. I was presented with the opportunity to direct a Facebook Canvas Ad from beginning to end, which at the time was pretty new. The basic needs communicated were that this needed to cater to new players who might be considering attending a Prerelease and might be a bit daunted by the learning process. They wanted us to make a stepped approach, while focusing on the Aether Revolt Prerelease pack.

I created a rough layout while paying special attention to the hierarchy that would appeal best to new players. I thought it was important to create a friendly introduction to the event by showing the user what to expect. Once the slide order, copy, look and feel were approved, I recruited an animator for the execution of the cover animation, as well as one of our Magic savvy designers to put together further iterations of the “Build a Deck” steps, while I put the finishing touches on the rest of the slides.

One of my favorite parts of the project was directing our designer to simplify the information as much as possible on the “Build a Deck” portion. Since he’s a seasoned Magic player, his initial approach was a bit more complex than appropriate. It was a pleasant experience to collaborate and reach a non-intimidating way to present the information. Our point was to encourage players to go out there and break a few eggs, they might not make a winning deck on their first try, but the best way to learn is by playing a few rounds.

Online feedback was quite positive. Some users commented on how they would be referencing our guide during Prerelease and how well it captured the basics, others tagged their “new to Magic” friends. In the end, we walked away getting the exact reactions we were aiming for.