Throughout this project, I focused on analysing Minecraft's marketing strategies through the lens of my purpose-built analytical framework, developed earlier in the semester. This framework consists of three pillars: Audience Engagement Strategies, Brand Integration and Narrative Consistency, and Innovation and Adaptability. These elements help explain how Minecraft has maintained active players and cultural relevance for over 15 years.
Theories from scholars like Harizi and Trebicka's (2023) informed my understanding of audience engagement, highlighting the critical role of user-generated content and social media in driving Minecraft’s visibility and community involvement. User-generated content, in particular, allows players to become creators themselves, which is a hallmark of Minecraft’s long-lasting appeal. Harizi and Trebicka’s research aligns perfectly with how Minecraft's marketing uses player creativity to sustain a sense of ownership and personal investment in the game’s ongoing evolution.
Additionally, my analysis draws on Kuo, Hiler, and Lutz’s (2017) work, which explores the importance of narrative consistency in constructing affect in players (Moore, 2012), and fostering long-term brand loyalty. Minecraft’s ability to create a consistent narrative environment—where the player’s imagination drives the story—has created a unique brand identity that fosters loyalty among players of all ages.
To produce my DA, I researched various key elements of Minecraft's marketing success such as user-driven innovation and participatory culture, influencer marketing, brand consistency and corporate restraint after Microsoft's acquisition, user-generated content and sustained relevance and also a little bit of the differences between marketing across global borders, focusing in on Minecraft China Edition (Kerr, 2017).
@beyondtheblocks_mc
Creative Process
When I first began working on my Digital Artefact, I pitched the idea of analysing the marketing strategies of four different games. However, early feedback from several sources made me realise that focusing on a single game would allow me to dive deeper into one specific case study. After reflecting on this feedback, I chose Minecraft as my focal point, a decision that allowed me to thoroughly analyse its marketing strategies and how they have evolved.
TikTok video timelines in Final Cut Pro X
Creating TikTok videos, where I planned to share my findings, posed unique challenges. The analytical nature of my framework made it difficult to compress into short-form content without losing essential detail.
My early drafts were too long, and the information was presented in a way that might not have resonated with TikTok’s fast-paced, visual style. I'm way more used to creating long-form, data-rich analytical content, so this was a bit of an adjustment.
I only recently read an article by Kolagar, et al., (2023), which discussed leveraging OpenAI GPT4 to generate informal, engaging TikTok content summaries from formal educational content. This informed my content creation, where I leveraged OpenAI's GPT-4o to generate scripts that were more concise and conversational. The goal was to strike a balance between providing informative content and keeping it light and engaging for TikTok's audience. I spent considerable time researching Minecraft videos, reading articles, and re-downloading the game to experience key features firsthand, then provided to GPT-4o, which distilled that research into a more digestible format. This process helped me refine the analytical elements so that they informed the content without overwhelming the audience.
An essential part of my strategy involved adapting the content to the TikTok platform and its predominantly U.S.-based audience. I thought an American persona and style would likely resonate better, so I found ElevenLabs to generate an AI voice for the videos. After experimenting with different voices, I chose Britney, a natural, WatchMojo-style voice that brought a professional yet approachable feel to the videos. This allowed me to maintain the analytical core of my content while making it engaging and fun for TikTok viewers.
Posting times were another key factor in my strategy. After researching the best engagement times for my U.S. audiences, I converted AEST to EST and determined 6pm EST (9AM AEST), would be a good option as people are home from school and work.
This change led to a significant increase in views—especially for my second video, which saw a 920% boost in engagement compared to the first.
Engagement & Feedback
Feedback played an important part in shaping my DA. Early feedback from Richard and several classmates, both in person and online, suggested focusing on one game rather than my very ✨ambitious✨ plan to cover four. This shift allowed me to more comprehensively look into Minecraft’s marketing strategies, rather than delivering a watered-down overview of 4 games.
Further feedback encouraged me to frame the DA for a public-facing audience. This was essential for crafting content that would resonate with TikTok’s style and constraints. Consequently, I focused on making the content informative but digestible for those unfamiliar with the BCM215 course, ensuring the analytical depth was still present but not overly academic.
In terms of audience engagement, my videos haven’t gone viral, but they performed consistently well, with most achieving over 1,000 views. My second video, which covered influencer marketing with Dream and TommyInnit, reached 6,300 views as of writing this. While I did receive a flurry of comments on October 12th, the accounts seemed dubious in authenticity, so their impact is uncertain. Interestingly, my video covering Minecraft China performed REALLY bad! Was it because I mentioned China?! I guess we'll never know... 🧐
Alex Hern
Future Directions
Looking ahead, I see a few opportunities to further develop my Digital Artefact. One key avenue is to dive deeper into Minecraft’s various paratexts, such as Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Education Edition. These versions of the game extend Minecraft’s reach far beyond its core mechanics, targeting diverse audiences including casual gamers, educators, and younger children (Hofmann, 2019). Analysing how these paratexts contribute to audience engagement and franchise longevity would offer a more comprehensive understanding of Minecraft’s marketing strategies.
Additionally, a comparative analysis with other franchises like Fortnite or Roblox would be valuable. Both games implement similar engagement strategies, including seasonal events, user-generated content, and live-service models, but in distinct ways. Fortnite, for example, leans heavily on event-based marketing and cross-platform collaborations, while Roblox prioritises a sandbox model that encourages user-generated games (Lee, 2024).
A comparison of these franchises with Minecraft would highlight different industry practices and how they maintain community-driven engagement over time.
Another direction for future exploration involves a long-term study of how user-generated content continues to shape Minecraft’s evolution. Minecraft’s modding community, content creators, and player-generated worlds contribute to the game’s lasting success (Postigo, 2007) & (Tancred, et al., 2024). Conducting interviews with content creators and mod developers would offer valuable qualitative insights into how player agency has influenced the game’s development and broader marketing ecosystem.
Editor
From a DA content perspective, Heineman’s (2014) discussion on retrogaming and nostalgia highlights the power that nostalgic content holds, having the ability to reshape identity. This is certainly something I could explore, creating content to appeal to older Minecraft players who might experience nostalgia when looking at gameplay in early days, for example (Moore, 2020).
@CraftGuy, (2023)
Moreover, I’m interested in exploring how AI tools could be utilised to analyse game media marketing strategies. I briefly experimented with this idea during the semester but didn’t have enough time to fully develop it. Mirwan, et al., (2023) only recently explores this concept, with results showing that using AI in marketing drasticly improves operational efficiency, enriches the customer experience, and increases engagement and loyalty. By training an AI tool on industry standards and successful marketing campaigns, I could create a system that evaluates and predicts the effectiveness of various marketing strategies. This tool could be used not only for Minecraft but also for analysing marketing approaches across the gaming industry as a whole.
One challenge I encountered was the limited academic resources on modern game media marketing strategies. There is little research on influencer marketing, social media campaigns, and user-generated content. A future path for this project could be to develop a research article exploring these emerging techniques in greater depth, with hopes of sharing useful insights for researchers, game developers, designers, and marketers.
Wrap Up
Throughout the development of this DA, I have gained a deeper understanding of how Minecraft’s marketing strategies have evolved and sustained the game’s cultural relevance over the years. By focusing on the analytical framework of audience engagement, brand consistency, and innovation, Minecraft serves as a model for how long-term strategies can keep a game thriving even in a highly competitive industry.
Working on this project also pushed me to step out of my comfort zone as a content creator. Creating short-form TikTok videos prompted me to adapt my analytical framework into a format better suited to TikTok while trying to preserve its depth. This experience has been important for balancing research with engaging presentation, a skill that will be helpful for future projects.
Minecraft’s success is a testament to the power of community-driven marketing and the importance of user-generated content in the gaming industry. By focusing on player engagement and brand integrity, Minecraft has managed to stay at the forefront of gaming for over 15 years, and I believe its marketing strategies offer valuable lessons for the future of game media industries.
Contextual Report Reference List
@beyondtheblocks_mc, 2024. TikTok. [Online]
Available at: https://www.tiktok.com/@beyondtheblocks_mc/video/7418783562264087826?ref=uow.jamesmctaggart.com
[Accessed 16 10 2024].
@CraftGuy, 2023. Minecraft Nostalgia is Unmatched. [Online]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRMyr8pJ6Kw
[Accessed 17 10 2024]
ElevenLabs, 2024. Create the most realistic speech with our AI audio platform. [Online]
Available at: https://elevenlabs.io/?ref=uow.jamesmctaggart.com
[Accessed 14 10 2024].
Exclusible INC, 2024. Roblox vs Fortnite: Brand Experiences in the Gaming Universe. [Online]
Available at: https://www.exclusible.com/resources/roblox-vs-fortnite-brand-experiences-in-the-gaming-universe/?ref=uow.jamesmctaggart.com
[Accessed 17 10 2024].
Harizi, A. & Trebicka, B., 2023, The Integration of Social Media in Integrated Marketing Communication: A Systematic Review and Theoretical Framework, Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 12(6), pp. 159-175.
Heineman, D., 2014. Public Memory and Gamer Identity: Retrogaming as Nostalgia. Journal of Games Criticism, 1(1), pp. 1-24.
Hern, A., 2019. Revealed: how TikTok censors videos that do not please Beijing. [Online]
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/sep/25/revealed-how-tiktok-censors-videos-that-do-not-please-beijing?ref=uow.jamesmctaggart.com
[Accessed 16 10 2024].
Hofmann, K., 2019. Minecraft as AI Playground and Laboratory. CHI PLAY '19: Proceedings of the Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play.
Kerr, A., 2017. Global Games: Production, Circulation and Policy in the Networked Era. 1 ed. Oxfordshire: Routledge.
Kolagar, Z., Steindl, S. & Zarcone, A., 2023. EduQuick: A Dataset Toward Evaluating Summarization of Informal Educational Content for Social Media. Proceedings of the 4th Workshop on Evaluation and Comparison of NLP Systems, p. 32–48.
Kuo, A., Hiler, J. & Lutz, R., 2017, From Super Mario to Skyrim: A framework for the evolution of video game consumption, Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 16(2), pp. 101-120.
Lee, A., 2024. Why Fortnite and Roblox still rely on social to drive discovery and engagement of branded experiences. [Online]
Available at: https://digiday.com/marketing/why-fortnite-and-roblox-still-rely-on-social-to-drive-discovery-and-engagement-of-branded-experiences/
[Accessed 16 10 2024].
LootLabs, 2024. Minecraft Celebrates 15th Birthday and Continues to Focus on UGC. [Online]
Available at: https://lootlabs.gg/minecraft-celebrates-15th-birthday-and-continues-to-focus-on-ugc/?ref=uow.jamesmctaggart.com
[Accessed 16 10 2024].
McTaggart, J., 2024. BCM215 - Game Media Industries Pitch. [Online]
Available at: https://uow.jamesmctaggart.com/bcm215-game-media-industries-pitch/
[Accessed 15 10 2024].
Midjourney, 2024. Midjourney. [Online]
Available at: https://www.midjourney.com/home
[Accessed 14 10 2024].
Mirwan, S. H., Ginny, P. L., Darwin, D. & Ghazali, R., 2023. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Developing Marketing Strategies. International Journal of Applied Research and Sustainable Sciences, 1(3), pp. 225-238.
Moore, C 2020, BCM215 Game Media Industries - BCM215 Game Media Industries: Nostalgia (Retrogames and Indie Game Design), YouTube video, viewed 16 October 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYTg5pDUfgA
Moore, Christopher 2012, Invigorating play: the role of affect in online multiplayer fps games, in Guns, grenades, and grunts: first-person shooter games, Continuum, New York, N.Y., pp.341-364.
OpenAI, 2024. Introducing GPT-4o and more tools to ChatGPT free users. [Online]
Available at: https://openai.com/index/gpt-4o-and-more-tools-to-chatgpt-free/?ref=uow.jamesmctaggart.com
[Accessed 16 10 2024].
Postigo, H., 2007. Of Mods and Modders: Chasing Down the Value of Fan-Based Digital Game Modifications. Games and Culture, 2(4), pp. 300-313.
Singh, C., 2024. The Best Time to Post on TikTok in 2024. [Online]
Available at: https://www.socialpilot.co/blog/best-time-to-post-on-tiktok
[Accessed 17 10 2024].
Statista, 2024. Countries with the largest TikTok audience as of July 2024. [Online]
Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1299807/number-of-monthly-unique-tiktok-users/
[Accessed 16 10 2024].
Tancred, N., Türkay, S., Vickery, N. & Wyeth, P., 2024. Understanding Modding Devotion, Practices and Motivations using Serious Leisure Perspective. OzCHI '23: Proceedings of the 35th Australian Computer-Human Interaction Conference, pp. 11-23.
WorldTimeBuddy, 2024. Converting EST to Sydney Time. [Online]
Available at: https://www.worldtimebuddy.com/est-to-australia-sydney
[Accessed 16 10 2024].
DA Content Reference List
TikTok Video #1 - Mojang Fails, but Minecraft Community Saves the Day
Ambient Crafts 2023, all of a sudden, everything becomes alright..., online video, Ambient Crafts, viewed 24 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANkxRGvl1VY&t=775s.
ChronoFury 2021, Better Third Person Mod in Minecraft (Cinematic Camera Angles), online video, ChronoFury, viewed 24 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEphmIioblk.
Grisard, J & O' Connor, I 2021, Conversations With Angels, online audio, Lofi Jazz Records, viewed 24 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tolWz53Kzbo.
Honeyfrost 2024, Seasons Realism - Minecraft Marketplace [OFFICIAL TRAILER], online video, Honeyfrost, viewed 24 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brbc6p4f0QA.
McNulty, T., 2022. Minecraft Removes Features From The Wild Update, Disappointing Fans. [Online] Available at: https://screenrant.com/minecraft-wild-update-remove-features-firefly-birch-backlash/ [Accessed 20 09 2024].
Minecraft 2022, The Wild Update: Craft Your Path – Official Minecraft Launch Trailer, online video, Minecraft, viewed 24 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXr5glhGkzE&t=1s.
Minecraft 2022, The Wild Update: What Will You Uncover? – Official Minecraft Trailer, online video, Minecraft, viewed 24 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chuRE9nxLT4.
Moszczynska, M., 2022. Mojang Fails, but Minecraft Community Saves the Day Again. [Online] Available at: https://www.gamepressure.com/newsroom/mojang-fails-but-minecraft-community-saves-the-day-again/zc450c [Accessed 14 09 2024].
NVIDIA GeForce 2021, Minecraft with RTX | Community UGC Showcase, online video, NVIDIA GeForce, viewed 24 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW8l4aP8U9s.
@MinecraftMeme16 2022, "If you count the split update you could say we were supposed to get sculk two updates ago. Strip away the stuff we should already have gotten and you don’t get a very wild wild update.", X/Twitter post, viewed 24 September 2024, https://twitter.com/MinecraftMeme16/status/1527686145261416453.
Starfish Studios 2024, Naturalist Add-On 2.0 (Official Trailer), online video, Starfish Studios, viewed 23 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZco2VydhJ8.
TikTok Video #2 - TommyInnit and Dream Era – The Power of Minecraft Creators
Alexander, J., 2021. Living the Dream SMP. [Online] Available at: https://www.theverge.com/22338418/dream-smp-youtube-minecraft-fanart-fanfiction-video-edits-fandom [Accessed 27 09 2024].
Bernal, A., 2021. TommyInnit hits major Twitch milestone with over 650k viewers for Dream SMP finale. [Online] Available at: https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/tommyinnit-hits-major-twitch-milestone-with-over-650k-viewers-for-dream-smp-finale-1498481/ [Accessed 27 09 2024].
Dream n.d., Dream YouTube channel, YouTube channel, viewed 27 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/c/dream.
Google Trends 2024, Minecraft – Search term comparison: 28 August 2016 to 29 December 2019 and 30 December 2019 to 29 December 2024, Google Trends, viewed 27 September 2024, https://trends.google.com/trends/.
MinerSkilled7392 2020, Dream SMP gives Minecraft more viewers than Just Chatting, Reddit post, r/dreamsmp, viewed 27 September 2024, https://www.reddit.com/r/dreamsmp/comments/kr7p22/dream_smp_gives_minecraft_more_viewers_than_just/.
TommyInnit n.d., TommyInnit YouTube channel, YouTube channel, viewed 27 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/c/TommyInnit.
@DaquavisMC 2023, Minecraft dream clip, online video, @DaquavisMC, viewed 27 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/XBFPY0NjPoQ.
@Froghau 2024, How the Tommyinnit Sapnap Duo Won MCC 19 (Sky Battle Highlights) #Shorts, online video, @Froghau, viewed 27 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v3d_8JkU2W0.
@krefix 2023, Dream gets revenge on TommyInnit, online video, @krefix, viewed 27 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QBph9nwUttg.
@NOVRClips 2023, Is TommyInnit Colorblind?? (Slimecicle clip), online video, @NOVRClips, viewed 27 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/8ea1BeYFTP8.
@Technothewarrior 2022, Tommyinnit tries to KILL Technoblade on dream smp minecraft., online video, @Technothewarrior, viewed 27 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rtp9t1eAcDY.
TikTok Video #3 - 10 Years After Microsoft Acquisition – Did Minecraft Stay True?
@minecraft 2023, Minecraft Legends - Lost Legend: The Portal Pile, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/HSEd_22fP4U.
@minecraft 2024, A DAY AS A CHICKEN!, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tK5nv-LT2yQ.
@minecraft 2024, ARE YOU READY FOR MINECRAFT LIVE?, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qblNGFKN5rg.
@minecraft 2024, DO YOU REMEMBER THE FEELING, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hAVeFvHtn58.
@minecraft 2024, Minecraft: Realms Plus, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rk80QOm6vTE.
@minecraft 2024, NETFLIX & CRAFT ⛏️, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QCthaMqjezc.
@minecraft 2024, RECAP: 15 Days of Minecraft, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/O3XKEIqF_G0.
@minecraft 2024, TRAILS AND TALES FEATURE ROUNDUP - PART 1, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/6PHDvwWZ0aA.
Minecraft 2022, Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition – Official Trailer, online video, Minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNMfF9TYETM.
Stuart, K. & Hern, A., 2014. Minecraft sold: Microsoft buys Mojang for $2.5bn. [Online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/15/microsoft-buys-minecraft-creator-mojang-for-25bn [Accessed 30 09 2024].
TikTok Video #4 - Minecraft Marketing Is Different in China – China Edition
Fundy 2024, So I got access to Minecraft: China Edition..., online video, Fundy, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnYF1ny1J6c&t=1s.
Logdotzip 2021, Minecraft in China is TOTALLY Different, online video, Logdotzip, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKkZ_vt52Z8&t=5s.
lokiboypogi2020 2021, Imagine reworking Thresh to be able to please the Chinese market only to forget to replace his splash art, Reddit post, r/LeagueOfMemes, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.reddit.com/r/LeagueOfMemes/comments/p3d1sa/imagine_reworking_thresh_to_be_able_to_please_the/.
Prism 2024, 59 Minecraft China Edition Secrets, online video, Prism, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H38m53CqIZs&t=7s.
prismarina 2023, 10 Facts You Didn't Know About Minecraft China Edition, online video, prismarina, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmRuCA4MIyw&t=2s.
TheMisterEpic 2022, What is Happening with Minecraft's CHINA EDITION?!?, online video, TheMisterEpic, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swv9ZStnJIA&t=577s.
TikTok Video #5 - Minecraft’s Evergreen Marketing Strategy
@minecraft 2024, Minecraft: Realms Plus, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rk80QOm6vTE.
@minecraft 2024, RECAP: 15 Days of Minecraft, online video, @minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/shorts/O3XKEIqF_G0.
ChronoFury 2021, Better Third Person Mod in Minecraft (Cinematic Camera Angles), online video, ChronoFury, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEphmIioblk.
Honeyfrost 2024, Seasons Realism - Minecraft Marketplace [OFFICIAL TRAILER], online video, Honeyfrost, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brbc6p4f0QA.
Minecraft 2024, Minecraft Live 2024: Highlights, online video, Minecraft, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-quD3fWOjU.
NVIDIA GeForce 2021, Minecraft with RTX | Community UGC Showcase, online video, NVIDIA GeForce, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YW8l4aP8U9s.
PewDiePie 2019, Minecraft Part 1, online video, PewDiePie, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGt-BZ-SxGI&t=689s.
uisce beatha 2019, Minecraft Stock Footage #12, online video, uisce beatha, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5X0P5LAmNl0.
uisce beatha 2019, Minecraft Stock Footage #16, online video, uisce beatha, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edJqiQDGcj0&t=25s.
Valkyrae 2023, LIVE! extra extra extra secret minecraft pixelmon stream huehuehuehu, online video, Valkyrae, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CmGjltsNf0&list=PLT26S_5-1t6ndZoQ0dUo_JjvBEjpmHQ9x&index=5.
Valkyrae 2023, LIVE! MINECRAFT PIXELMON THEN DRUNK WITH SYKKUNO, FUSLIE AND KKATAMINA, online video, streamed live on 9 April 2023, viewed 30 September 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTwneHLpAYo&t=5084s.
