One of the most effective methods for authentic social media messaging is breaking down the barrier between creator and audience. While this approach can carry risks, it has the enormous benefit of humanizing a brand when thoughtfully executed. It can bridge the gap between advertiser and consumer, and reshape that relationship into a less formal, more genuine conversation.
This simple social truth inspired our short-form content series, WoW IRL (In Real Life). The goal of this campaign was to recontextualize the rich fantasy of World of Warcraft within our occasionally routine work lives. We could all use a bit more magic at work, right?
We achieved this goal with punchy, funny, and accessible videos that deliberately break the fourth wall, bringing our audience behind the scenes while still staying true to WoW’s unique voice.
We aimed to fuse the mundane with the magical. With WoW IRL, that quest was successfully completed.
It began with a desire to tap into the vast archive of in-game assets and characters created over World of Warcraft’s more than two-decade history. The idea of bringing our loyal audience into an exaggerated fantasy version of our workplace was then selected as an intriguing way to bring that concept to life.
And so, WoW IRL was born.
We opted for sub-60 vertical video to craft bite-sized jokes and references that didn’t overstay their welcome. This format allowed us to embrace an informal, approachable aesthetic that highlighted the striking contrast between the cartoon-like characters of Azeroth and the very real Blizzard offices. It also minimized production demands, making it ideal for the shorter engagement windows of platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok.
The structure and punchlines of each video were planned before filming began. Only then were the appropriate character models chosen from the extensive repository of options available in our two-decade-old online game. After filming around the office, we integrated the in-game models with that footage, a process that required meticulous attention to scale, model animation, and audio synchronization to ensure the jokes landed. Props sourced from around the campus were also incorporated when appropriate, further grounding the campaign in our tangible world.
Each video was then paired with fittingly self-aware captions before posting. “Modern advertising is all about subtlety,” for example - a playful caption for a tongue-in-cheek advertisement for the latest WoW expansion.
These fourth wall-breaking jokes (often at our own expense) infused the campaign with a delightful authenticity that deeply resonated with our audience. Letting them in on the joke was part of the plan from the start, and their enthusiastic response proved that calculated risk paid off.
We accomplished our goal by crafting a series of high-performing, well-received videos that successfully fused the fantasy world of Azeroth with the occasionally less-glamorous realm of B2C marketing.
Each post in this ongoing series garnered very positive feedback, with in-jokes and in-universe references aplenty in the comments. The campaign exceeded viewership benchmarks by 15%, and significantly contributed to platform growth year-over-year.
This distinctive campaign demonstrated that authenticity and accessibility can outperform highly polished content when measuring audience retention and overall engagement. It confirmed that respecting your audience and acknowledging social media’s role as a marketing tool can strengthen the relationship between brand and audience.
WoW IRL proved that sometimes, fusing two worlds can elevate both.
