Going into the Aether Revolt campaign, marketing started to shift dramatically toward acquisition. I was presented with the opportunity to strategize, direct and execute a Facebook Canvas Ad, which at the time was pretty new. The basic needs communicated were that this needed to cater to new players who are considering attending a Prerelease event 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 thought it was important to create a friendly introduction to the event by showing the user what to expect. It would go a long way to not only display the goods they’d get, but also give them the tools to make the best of those goods in the form of a guide to create their own first deck.
I created a rough layout while paying special attention to the hierarchy that would appeal best to new players. Once the slide order, copy, and overall design 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.
Our designer was a seasoned Magic player, and as such, his initial iteration of the guide was very thorough. We worked on simplifying the information as much as possible to remove the intimidating complexity that Magic can bring to new players. Our goal was to encourage newcomers 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.
