Even if you’ve never played a computer game, you’ve definitely heard of Minecraft. Imagine a world made of cubes where you can build a castle, go into a dungeon, compete with other players, or just quietly explore the pixelated universe.
Our client has created a platform that allows Minecraft players to compete in PvP tournaments (one-on-one) with the ability to place bets, with a guarantee of fairness and payouts for each game.
The client contacted us at Solve Marketing with a request:
“We need a marketing strategy that will help our service make a significant breakthrough. We need a professional vision from experts so that we can launch in new countries and scale properly, and not waste advertising budgets where it won’t work.”
The client’s team had an ambitious goal: to create a gaming world where the rules are transparent and the player is protected.
And the strategy was to:
1. Bring the platform to the international market with a focus on the UK, Germany, and France.
2. Form a loyal community of players (18+) who are ready to make deposits and participate in tournaments.
3. Create a significant difference from competitors through positioning.
4. Build a systematic marketing model for scaling.
And we got to work!
| How long did it take to develop the strategy? | 150 hours, 6 working weeks |
| What is the composition of the marketing strategy development team? | Head of Marketing Team, Head of PM Team, Head of Content Team, operational marketer, SMM marketer, Head of PPC, Facebook PPC. |
| How was the result of the work used? | Implementation of Solve Marketing. |
We have signed a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), so this case study is without details.
Where, how, and why people play Minecraft
Minecraft is no longer a new game, but it’s like Lego:
it never loses its relevance as it is constantly being modified by the players themselves.
In 2023:
- 173+ million monthly active players.
- Among the 10 most popular games on Twitch.
- 60 million hours of viewing per month.
- 10 years of market popularity and one of the most profitable games in the world.
Players create content, build their own worlds, shoot streams, make PvP tournaments, fanfiction, and guides.
Minecraft has been hosting tournaments for a long time. However, the issues of security and trust in platforms that provide the opportunity to play with bets remain open.
How does it work?
We conducted a detailed analysis of the markets of the UK, Germany, and France, as these were the markets where the client wanted to start. In the UK, there is a huge demand for online duels. In Germany, we see solvent, disciplined gamers. In France, we see users for whom “playing with friends” is a key motive for spending money.
🔎 In all three markets, we saw something in common:
A tangible lack of security and payout guarantees. Players in this market lack transparency. It’s as if there is no system in place to protect players.
Where to communicate?
- YouTube — more than 62% of social traffic in Minecraft comes from there.
- Twitch — Minecraft streams are watched 60+ million hours per month.
- TikTok — new gaming youth: short video content, gimmicks, memes.
- Discord is the main platform for gaming communities.
- Reddit — honest reviews, server search, tournament discussions.
All these platforms are a communication environment where you can promote your project through content, partnerships, communities, and streamers.
Competitors and how not to repeat their mistakes
There are several strong players on the market that dominate different areas of Minecraft PvP and tournaments.
We analyzed the 6 largest platforms, studied their processes, approach to communication, and involvement in monetization.
Social media is a powerful channel for attracting new players
We saw that it was difficult for projects in this area to build a stable process of creating interesting and useful content. Some platforms maintained their social networks irregularly, while others used them as a news channel for platform updates.
Insight: competitors have a reach, but don’t use social media as a strategic engagement tool. Their content is dry, impersonal, and does not build trust. And this is while gamers live on Twitch, TikTok, Reddit, Discord.
Competitors’ websites
Most websites resemble either launchers or forums:
- Navigation is difficult.
- There is no adaptation to new players.
- There is no brand identity.
- The visual presentation, although very gamer, does not inspire confidence.
- No one explains why to pay.
- No one talks about security.
In other words, there is no platform that puts honesty, guarantees, and player support at the center of its communication.
Do you want us to help you understand your users?
Leave us a request and we will select a strategy that works from the inside.
Audience analysis: who are these people who play Minecraft… for money?Audience analysis: who are these people who play Minecraft… for money?
Before launching a platform or introducing it to new markets, you need to know exactly who it is for, what this player wants, and why they will choose us.
We have identified two main audiences, at the intersection of which a potential user is born:
- Minecraft players — a creative, active and very emotional community.
- Fans of PvP games and competitions — those who are looking for drive, rivalry, victories, and excitement. It doesn’t matter what kind of game it is.
Facts about the audience:
- 173 million monthly active users in 2023.
- 24 years is the average age of a player.
- 15-21 years old (43%) is the most active group.
- 18-24 years old are the most solvent.
- 56% of the top Minecraft servers are located in the United States.
- Germany and the UK are among the top 5 markets where the game is most popular.
So, we are dealing with a young, active, flexible audience that is ready to try a new platform. Especially if this platform broadcasts signs of trust, like adult services that this audience has already encountered in other, non-gaming, life.
PvP audience
PvP games are a different energy. And this is where players are:
- spend money more often than in a regular game mode;
- seek real competition, not just passing levels;
- come back again and again because each game is unique;
- want honesty, as most have already experienced fraud.
The data shows:
- 55% of players have experienced fraud in the game at least three times;
- 35% have multiple accounts, which makes it difficult to control;
- 40% of players say that playing against people is more interesting than against the system.
The key values are competition, freedom, and equal rules for everyone.
We also conducted research on Reddit and forums to hear “live voices,” and two messages were constantly heard there:
- Playing for money is interesting but risky.
- We want fair conditions without deception.
Do you know anything about your audience other than gender and age? If not, we are waiting for you!
Choice factors: how we built a strategy based on real behavior
Along with the audience analysis, we structured the needs and expectations of customers that make them either choose a platform or pass by. To do this, we used our own choice factors framework, a tool that helps you understand what is important to your audience right now and where you are losing out to your competitors.
Insight: all that distinguishes (so far) the leader in your field is the choice factors that they have, but you don’t have yet.
We find the choice factors and formulate a plan to implement them in our clients’ businesses.
In the process of developing a marketing strategy, we have identified 130+ factors that influence customer behavior. Since we work with the project as a remote marketing department , the collected choice factors help us not to lose focus on important tasks and move the business towards the planned indicators.
📌 Interested in learning more about the choice factors framework? Read about it in our article:
Choice factors framework | Solve Marketing
Product and UX: what does the player’s path look like?
The platform should work as a well-coordinated mechanism: from the first visit, registration, and entry into the game, there should be as few steps as possible, and each of these steps should be simple and clear for the player.
We analyzed the entire user journey to remove barriers, add trust triggers, and build a process that matches the habits of PvP players.
Contact points that we have simplified:
- Landing page.
- Registration and verification.
- Search for a tournament or an opponent.
- Deposit replenishment.
- After the game, confirmation of the result, the possibility of appeal, and payout.
If you work with an audience of players, we recommend paying attention to the following elements of your funnel:
- Does the first screen of the landing page convey your positioning? Is this positioning based on the factors of your customers’ choice or is it your own vision of the important advantages of your project?
- Tone of Voice — do you follow a common Tone of Voice throughout the entire funnel?
- Are the videos explaining the platform outdated?
Do you want your product to stand out from the competition? Sign up for a free consultation and we will show you how to do it systematically.
Do you want your product to stand out from the competition? Sign up for a free consultation and we will show you how to do it systematically.
🔎 SWOT and hypotheses
Before forming the core of the marketing system, we conducted a full SWOT analysis. This allowed us to look at the platform not only through the eyes of a fan of the idea, but also through the eyes of an investor, a skeptic, and a real user:
— Where are we strong? — Uniqueness, security, anti-reading.
— Where are we vulnerable? — Lack of a well-known brand, strict regulatory requirements for the niche.
— What opportunities does the market offer? — Organization of large tournaments involving sponsors and many players, formation of our own community.
— What can go wrong? — Investment risks, unfair play of competitors, reputational risks.
Based on the analysis, we formed strategic hypotheses, each of which we discussed with the client separately, and chose the most priority and interesting ones to test.
Example of a hypothesis:
Direct lead generation on the landing page may not work, so we will have to build a more complex sales funnel. For example: to lead the audience from advertising to the community page on social media first, and then the subscribers will be converted into players.
It is the work with strategic tasks that distinguishes the systemic marketing of a successful company from other companies that work only with operational tasks and do not invest in their development. Read more about the difference between strategy and operations in our article .
Positioning: how to find a place in the player’s mind
Positioning is not only what we write about ourselves on our website or social media. It is also what the customer thinks about us, what opinion he or she forms when interacting with our content and service. That is why we asked ourselves a key question at the start of our work:
How to make the player think: “I understand what kind of platform this is and what makes it different from others.”
To answer this question, we conducted an in-depth analysis:
- competitors and their messages,
- the behavior of players in communities;
- real choice factors that influence the decision to join the platform.
We were looking for a place in the mind that was free, relevant, and important.
We went through several iterations with the team and agreed on the final version together:
Minecraft Showdowns with Surefire Payouts.
Discover the unique PvP platform for Minecraft mini-games. We guarantee not only the organization of fights but also the fairness and safety of each battle.
The client said that it was “clear, simple, and very to the point”. This positioning was used to build a communication strategy through all channels: website, social media, video, advertising, and community outreach.
What is the result?
We always end our strategic work with a full-fledged section with a step-by-step action plan — not just analytics, but a marketing system that takes into account the market, audience, limitations, and potential for growth.
This startup is an example of how to turn an ambitious idea into a business ready to scale.
Not through large advertising budgets, but through deep analytics, accurate positioning, targeted lead generation channels, and competent presence at every stage of user interaction.
We are a strategic marketing department and are ready to join your business as partners. We will take responsibility for the marketing function in your business: from research and positioning to content, branding, communications, advertising, community, and ongoing support of operational and strategic tasks.
And if necessary, we will develop product logic, UX, ToV, and prepare the platform for growth or entry into new markets.
📌 Looking for an effective and comprehensive strategy for your product?
We work as your remote marketing department that understands not only the numbers but also the essence of the business.
