CR7 & Fatal Fury - SportQuake

the background

the background

After the Saudi MiSK Foundation acquired Japanese game developer SNK, they wanted to put SNK back on the map with a bold marketing move. Together, we brought the football icon, Cristiano Ronaldo, into Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, integrating CR7 as a playable character and campaign lead for the game’s first global launch in 26 years.

client

Brief

SNK’s legendary Fatal Fury series had remained untouched since 1999. With the Saudi MiSK Foundation’s recent acquisition of SNK, our brief was to develop a relaunch strategy that would attract global attention, re-establish Fatal Fury’s relevance across new markets, and drive sustained cultural momentum for both the game and brand.

brand-first

Approach

Deleted: Leaning on previous experience with Free Fire and other projects, we developed a strategic framework to help Fatal Fury City of the Wolves launch achieve maximum impact. The ambassador deal was built on four key elements:

Reach & cultural relevance – With over 1 billion followers, sharing the game’s launch with CR7’s global audience would gain instant global attention – reaching audiences across sport, gaming and entertainment
Value alignment – SNK and Fatal Fury could align their brand image with CR7, to bring cultural relevance and a passionate loyal fan base to the game. Bringing a legacy game back to life, needed a legend.
360 integrated activations – CR7 wouldn’t just be the face of the campaign, he was integrated as a playable character. All of this coincided with Fatal Fury sponsoring a series of boxing events in key markets.
Production excellence – Working with the right partners was key – especially when CR7 is behind the lens. We would secure a brilliant production partner to lead on this, including ideas and creativity.

insights &

Impact

From early UGC content between CR7 and DJ Ganacci, to the game’s presence at major KSA fight nights – everything was designed to launch together and build momentum worldwide.

The launch saw mass media coverage spanning gaming, sport and mainstream outlets to generate $470M+ in media value alone. It became part of a cultural movement, not just media.

Within just 48 hours of Fatal Fury’s iconic Fight Night, social posts featuring #FatalFury and #EubankBenn generated over 20.3 billion global impressions.

We’re unable to share exact results due to confidentiality.

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