Remedy

The most significant export products of the Finnish game industry are supported by a strong takeover of the domestic market by means of earned media.

The Client

Remedy Entertainment is an independent, Finnish game developer, known locally and globally for its unique style of creating story-driven action games. Remedy’s portfolio includes successful titles such as Max Payne, Alan Wake and Control.

The company has developed timeless products that have all the elements of a true classic and the necessary prerequisites for building an entire franchise brand. Remedy’s games have been made into books, cartoons, concerts and a Hollywood movie.

The Challenge

Remedy’s latest product, Alan Wake 2, continues the story of the highly popular Alan Wake franchise. The launch of the long-awaited game was set in the middle of the hottest window for new game releases in the fall of 2023, when the competition for the public’s attention is fierce.

The business goal was to introduce Alan Wake 2 to the Finnish audience in good time and start the hype in advance to fuel demand already in the spring, when the game industry is typically slower in terms of new releases. The brand goal was to create positive expectations and buzz around both Remedy and Alan Wake 2, strengthening the studio’s pioneering position in the Finnish game industry and emphasizing the unique features of Alan Wake 2, which is connected to Finnish culture through the storyline, characters and music. The communication goal was to build and maintain earned media visibility for the Alan Wake 2 game from the first announcement to the launch in a period of about six months.

The Solution

Communications and PR strategy was done in close co-operation with Remedy’s inhouse team. In terms of success, it was important not only to tell about the differentiating factors of Alan Wake 2, but also to make it an easily approachable topic for the mainstream audience. In addition to the existing fan base, it was important to find new potential audiences who would join the game, so the communication ended up emphasizing Alan Wake 2 as a major domestic entertainment product that exceeds any other pop culture products in terms of production value.

The main message was “Finland’s biggest entertainment phenomenon in 2023”. The promise was verified in communication in many different ways: for example, we brought out the scale of the game production and introduced numerous domestic talents – actors, musicians, screenwriters and other partners, that all have a role in building the game experience as well as the brand of Alan Wake 2.

We divided launch communication in distinct phases, which created awareness from the first announcement towards a more in-depth story arc and revelations from different areas of game production. The local communication activities were most focused on press releases and media announcements conducted in cooperation with Remedy, public appearances and spokesperson interviews, PR events, and the preparation of a localized press kit for Finnish media. The communication was implemented in synchronization with other global marketing communications.

The Results

Alan Wake 2 received positive media attention in Finland over the 6-month period before its release, and it was quoted in most national mainstream media outlets in addition to endemic game industry publications. Among other things, the country’s number one newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, covered the topic in three separate articles published almost consecutively.

The main message also reached the news headlines and the game was directly referred to as the biggest entertainment product in Finland, which helped us raise awareness among mainstream consumers. The achieved publicity has instilled a strong perception of Alan Wake 2 as a mainstream entertainment product aimed at adult consumers, prompting the audiences to anticipate the release in the fall of 2023.

The Meaning

Alan Wake 2 is proof of Remedy’s visionary work and a textbook example of a successful launch of a Finnish game product, where the home field advantage is harnessed to serve the marketing communications objectives. The redeemed potential of earned media tells its own story about the interest in Alan Wake 2 and the fact that being Finnish is still something to be proud of.