FORZA HORIZON 6.
SR. BRAND MANAGER | TOYOTA
CREDITS | InterTrend, Microsoft, Turn10 Studios, Playground Games
THE PROJECT.As a gamer, the chance to work on Microsoft's best-selling racing IP was a pretty big deal. Forza Horizon 6 artfully takes players across a fictionalized version of Japan — and with it, the chance to roam around in the Land Cruiser.
Land Cruiser had an awareness problem, & Forza offered 100M+ players who skewed young & split evenly male & female; this was exactly the buyer the badge hadn't quite reached. Putting the vehicle in the game meant the campaign would outlive a normal launch & live in that world for years.
Through my leadership, the Land Cruiser became the de facto mascot for Forza — gracing Fanta soda cans, Trolli snacks, and additional promo through an extension with Xbox for its 25th anniversary. I wanted the campaign to live inside the game's universe, though—a nod to the players, an easter egg, if you will — so in partnership with InterTrend we built an experiential activation called 'LOST & FOUND,' pulled from Forza's Barn Finds mechanic, where players explore the map to uncover hidden cars.
THE GOAL.Bridge a legacy badge with a younger, gaming-native audience, authentically without leaning on nostalgia.
THE RESULTS.Initial flight of this multi-year partnership campaign garnered 1B impressions initially; the experiential activation complemented the launch by aiding to overall brand lift and showroom leads.
By activating authentically within the gaming culture, the brand showed up in a way that validated gaming as a relevant space for automotive activations.