Fourth Frame Studios Head of Studio Oluwafemi Okusanya held a conversation with Blizzard Entertainment Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Monica Austin on how her company is defining its IP in the marketplace. Austin reported that “World of Warcraft” just had its 20th anniversary and reached one-quarter of a billion players. “Blizzard was the first studio to recognize community,” she said. “For the next 20 years, we want to think about a modern version of building community. Community from a marketing and Blizzard lens is the biggest opportunity for exploring our IP.”

Austin, who joined Blizzard six months ago, said her No. 1 question is where the community is spending its time, to ensure that the company is invested in those platforms, from TikTok to YouTube. “We want to have authentic conversations with them there on those platforms,” she noted. “And we also need to invest energy in keeping the IP fresh and relevant with evergreen content.”

An in-house team creates most of Blizzard’s copious media output. “The way we engage is like a content ecosystem,” Austin explained. “We also work to connect with influencers, viewers, and fans as a way to work with brand content.”

She pointed to Blizzard’s collaboration with over 100 content creators and influencers for “World of Warcraft: The War Within.” “These games are incredibly global and we’re really going deep with our international teams,” she said. “It’s important that we’re helping them by offering enough content so they want to engage.”

Other marketing activations included Vases of Hatred, a promotion to celebrate the launch of the “Diablo IV” expansion, “Vessel of Hatred.” The promotion let players send a bouquet of dead flowers to a frenemy or rival.

“It drove engagement with players across the Internet,” she pointed out. To promote “The War Within,” the in-house team built a VR experience, “Escape from Dalaran.”

With regard to linear media, Austin noted that “Warcraft” was the “first to lean into that” with a 2016 movie “which was huge outside the U.S.” “We look for an expansion of things you can’t get in a game, be it in-person events, VR or exploring TV and film,” she said.

The company is also looking for a way to use the mobile platform. “When you get it right, the players show up,” she concluded. “Games are the new comic books.”