
Square Enix × AYMI
Pre-sales across the global launch window — concentrated through digital channels.
A digital-first release model for a global IP — pre-sales up, digital downloads up, CAC down.
- Digital downloads
- +230%
- CAC
- -42%
- Region-weighted ROI
- +88%
- Storefront conversion
- +62%
The brief beneath the brief.
Square Enix's IP travels globally; the marketing playbook didn't, evenly. Each region was running its own pre-launch motion with different KPI, different creative, and uneven measurement. Pre-sales were strong in some territories and thin in others without a clear diagnosis.
The brief was a unified digital-first release model — same architecture across regions, localized at the surface, measured cleanly across all.
The Method, applied.
Five movements: Discovery, Strategy, Creative, Launch, Optimize. Each one feeds the next; the loop closes on Optimize and starts again on Discovery.
- Step 01Discovery
Region-by-region funnel diagnostic. Found that soft territories had soft mid-funnel (wishlist → conversion), not soft awareness.
- Step 02Strategy
Unified release architecture: same five phases across regions, localized creative and offer layer, single measurement frame.
- Step 03Creative
Modular creative system anchored on title world, localized through region-specific narrative beats and platform behaviors.
- Step 04Launch
Coordinated global rollout. Digital storefronts treated as primary distribution; physical channels as secondary.
- Step 05Optimize
Region-weighted ROI tracked daily through launch window. Spend rebalanced mid-launch as previously soft territories lit up under the new mid-funnel work.
What the numbers carried.
Pre-sales lifted 750% globally with region-weighted ROI up 88% — the gain weighted toward previously soft territories the new model unlocked. Digital downloads climbed 230% as the unified architecture concentrated demand at the digital storefront. CAC dropped 42%. Storefront conversion lifted 62%.
What the launch proved: the IP wasn't soft anywhere. The playbook had been.
Related work
All work →
GamingEpic Games
+1,600% — Rebuilding UA + monetization as a single system — moving the meter on in-game purchases, not just installs.
GamingActivision Blizzard
+400% — A pre-order campaign that prized player quality over raw signups — and lifted pre-orders 400% with CPU cut by two-thirds.
GamingRiot Games
+800% — A tournament marketing engine that treats the spectator audience as a commercial system, not a hype machine.
The work above ran on the same five movements as every AYMI engagement.
Launch growth systems for game publishers. The performance layer underneath your trailers, store pages, and creator coverage.