Game Promotion Checklist for the Russian Market

In our articles, we provide valuable insights on promoting games in the Russian market, highlighting essential areas of focus, effective channels, and market-specific considerations. This article presents a comprehensive step-by-step guide for creating and implementing a successful marketing strategy to promote a game in Russia.

Market Research:

1. Determine priority regions for promotion, considering Russia’s vast size, and allocate resources accordingly.
2. Create a list of competitors, noting their unique selling propositions (USP), and gather data and creatives from their advertising campaigns.
3. Establish an advertising budget dedicated to game promotion.
4. Identify and segment the target audience using the pyramid principle. Adjust the direction based on the marketing budget, either starting with a narrow audience (e.g., Moscow-based MMORPG players aged 18-25) and expanding to a broader audience (all gamers in Russia) for tight budgets, or starting with a wide audience and gradually narrowing down for larger budgets.

Preparation for Promotion:

5. Develop a game promotion strategy based on insights from market research.

6. Create a game press kit or website, providing comprehensive information about the game, the development team, and engaging visual and video content.
7. Establish social media pages dedicated to the game, fostering a community and shared interests before the game’s launch.
8. Create and localize game pages on online digital distribution platforms such as Steam or AppStore. Pay special attention to optimizing pages, testing various game descriptions, and images.
9. Install a tracking system on the website or utilize in-app analytics to gather valuable data for understanding the effectiveness of advertising channels and distribution systems.
10. Prepare a press release for the game’s release, ensuring its completion before the official launch to maximize early gamer reach.
11. Compile a list of industry media outlets to distribute the press release. Include relevant regional Russian media to reach the target audience across the country’s 85 regions.
12. Create a list of streamers to provide the game for early promotion, during the release, and for ongoing promotion.
13. Identify groups and communities focused on independent game development to publish information about the game before its launch and gather feedback from the professional community.
14. Compile a list of thematic communities for advertising placements. Consider both large communities and regional groups to reach targeted audiences.
15. Gather a list of relevant thematic forums. Here are our top 10 recommendations for forums targeting gamers in the Russian market:

• forums.goha.ru
• forum.igromania.ru
• 4pda.ru/forum
• 4cheat.ru
• gameru.net/forum
• forum.bestgamer.ru
• goodgame.ru/forum
• gamer-mods.ru/forum
• forums.gamemag.ru
• forums.playground.ru

Implementation of the Marketing Campaign:

16. Share information about the game in professional communities for game developers.

17. Publish information about the game on thematic forums before the launch, during the active start, and after the release. Warm up threads with news, features, and exclusive bonuses such as promo codes.
18. Distribute press releases to industry and regional media outlets before the launch and after significant game updates.
19. Set up and launch search advertising on Google and Yandex.
20. Set up and launch targeted advertising on MyTarget (VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, My World), Facebook, and Instagram.
21. Advertise the game in relevant VKontakte thematic communities.
22. Collaborate with streamers on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, as they provide valuable exposure and engagement opportunities.
23. Participate in industry events, including exhibitions like IgroMir, which connects with the gaming community, as well as conferences such as DevGAMM and White