Friday, April 21, 2023

How Great Key Art Can Lead to Doubling Marketing Numbers [VIDEO SUMMARY]

"How Great Key Art Can Lead to Doubling Marketing Numbers" is a video published by GDC, where the speaker shares their experience and insights on the importance of key art in video game marketing. The speaker, who has been in the industry for over 10 years, is the marketing director at video game publisher Graffiti Games and agency Vim Global. The video discusses the effectiveness of good key art in attracting and converting people into visits, wishlists, and ultimately sales. It also shares case studies and examples of how investing in key art has led to significant improvements in marketing results.


Key art is a visual representation of a game, often used for store pages, thumbnails for trailers, media in a press kit, and social media channels. The speaker emphasizes that key art is probably the most significant marketing tool for a game and plays a crucial role in attracting attention from consumers, media, streamers, publishers, and more. To create effective key art, it is essential to have a clear focal point, invest in research, and be prepared to update the art for sales or promotions after launch.

The video provides examples of good key art, such as Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, which features a clear focal point and easily readable logo. The speaker also discusses the importance of being aware of banner sizes and dimensions, as well as creating original key art for small capsules to ensure legibility and clarity.


The speaker shares case studies of games like Blue Fire and Bite the Bullet, demonstrating how investing in key art led to significant improvements in marketing results. For instance, Blue Fire saw a 150% increase in daily wishlists, a 120% increase in Steam click-through rate, and a 145% increase in visitors. Bite the Bullet saw a 900% increase in daily wishlists, a 141% increase in daily visitors, and a 220% increase in impressions.

To find the right artist for creating key art, the speaker suggests determining a budget, asking developers, publishers, friends, and partners for recommendations, and starting the process early. It is also essential to provide clear direction and ideas to the artist, get the needed file sizes, and obtain the source file for future updates and alterations.

In conclusion, the video offers valuable insights and examples of how investing in great key art can lead to significant improvements in marketing numbers for video games. The speaker's knowledge and experience in the industry provide a solid foundation for the advice and case studies shared, making the content informative and engaging.