Garena Free Fire and BBH nudges fans to battle in style with global brand campaign

Battle royale mobile game Garena Free Fire has unveiled its first-ever global brand campaign along with its new brand identity, Battle In Style. It worked with BBH to unveil not only the usual launch teaser and film, but a holistic campaign extending from an integrated brand activation to a virtual concert and a Free Fire Anthem, composed in partnership with Unisonar. This was done to inspire gamers and beyond to live every battle in style: in gaming and in life. BBH was appointed as Garena Free Fire's strategic creative brand partner in January this year with work being led out of Asia for the global market. Meanwhile, the mobile game achieved a record of 150 million peak daily active users globally in August 2021.

The campaign kickstarted with a film titled "Life is a battle, battle in style". Directed by Ernest Desumbia, the film shows an ordinary teenager leaping between the game world and real world, as she brings her personality and style into both. It is now airing globally. From here, BBH launched a teaser campaign on social channels hinting at something big: a live performance featuring T.R.A.P. – Free Fire’s virtual band.

Finally, it was time for T.R.A.P.’s interactive performance, live-streamed on YouTube on 27 November. Blending gameplay, 3D creation and responsive emojis, viewers could influence the performance in real-time, using live chat to vote on Moco’s dance moves or choose Kelly’s pet – two of many unexpected twists throughout the show.

After four solo performances by Miguel, Antonio, Kelly and Moco, the Free Fire gamers finally got to see the reunion performance. Conceptualised by BBH and the Garena Free Fire music team and produced by Unisonar, the anthem was created by blending four genres (country, electronic, rap and pop) over one another – the final piece in the #BattleInStyle puzzle.

Kelly Pon, chief creative officer of BBH Shanghai, said Free Fire has the ambition to go beyond simply being a game but a bona fide brand with a purpose and belief that resonates with their gamers. According to her, today’s Gen Z is saddled with increasing pressures and anxiety where every day can seem like a battle.

"We wanted to show and inspire the Gen Zs that if you can take on Free Fire’s in-game battles in style, you can take on all of life’s battles in style. Essentially, it’s about embodying a positive, authentic spirit and outlook in life while giving Free Fire a relevant meaningful voice that sets it apart from other mobile games," she added.

Meanwhile, Christine Ng, chairperson of BBH Singapore, added that the agency was thrilled to have embarked on this journey of brand-building with Garena, impacting every touchpoint that connects with the Free Fire audience.

"It’s exciting for our teams to be working with one of top most downloaded games in the world and to be able to shape the game’s brand identity from the ground up. We share common and fierce ambitions for the brand in the long-run and look forward to continuing to infuse Battle in Style into the lives of youths around the world through this partnership," Ng said.

Separately, BBH Singapore is also working with Riot Games for creative duties in Southeast Asia. The agency was appointed last September.