Launching Legend Story Studios’ Silver Age with confidence

“This was a very interesting test for us. We hadn’t done anything like this at scale before.” - Matt Monk, Legend Story Studios

Legend Story Studios was preparing to launch Silver Age, a new, faster, and more accessible format for their trading card game, Flesh and Blood. With the trading card game market reaching over 42 million active players as of 2023, and projected to reach 11.8 billion USD by 2030, the stakes for the launch were high. Legend Story Studios needed to cut through a crowded global market and engage players quickly. This meant a standard media campaign wasn’t going to cut it.

authentic digital stepped in to take on the challenge, delivering a paid media campaign that would get players involved and actively invested in the format.

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Project overview

• Legend Story Studios engaged authentic digital to support the rollout of Silver Age.
• authentic digital led the planning and execution of paid media across key regions, aligning activity with local game stores and pivotal release moments.
• Players connected with the release content and discovered ways to get involved through their local stores.
• The campaign introduced a more structured, repeatable approach for future launches.

Reaching the right audience

Legend Story Studios is the New Zealand-based game design and publishing studio behind Flesh and Blood, a competitive trading card game with a global community of engaged players. With a strong emphasis on in-store, face-to-face play, the studio is on a mission to bring more players into the game and fuel the excitement at local game tables around the world.

“It all adds up from a brand point of view, getting people really interested and wanting people to play the game.” - Matt Monk, Legend Story Studios    

While they had run their own ads in-house before, they required a more structured approach to support the Silver Age launch. For authentic digital, it was an opportunity to help a New Zealand success story scale its IP onto the global stage and compete for attention in a multi-billion dollar market.

A smarter campaign approach

“It’s done a good job at opening up the doors for new players to come in.” - Matt Monk, Legend Story Studios

To capture real audience interest for Silver Age, we built a paid media strategy focused on reaching players most likely to engage with the new format. The goal was to remove friction at every step, helping players quickly find where to buy, play, and connect locally.

With players discovering the game in different ways, the campaign needed to meet them at the right time and place.

We did this by:

• Prioritising key regions and local game stores using audience insights and location data.
• Reaching players at different stages through a mix of geo-targeting, remarketing, and event-based targeting.
• Running ads across multiple channels to support the full player journey.
• Building on Legend Story Studios’ existing website, data, and creative assets to keep the approach practical and scalable.

This approach supported both existing fans and new players discovering Flesh and Blood, while giving Legend Story Studios a clearer way to test, learn, and scale across key markets.

A trusted, collaborative partnership

“I’m happy with the results and happy with your updates, and just knowing that we could trust you to keep your hands on the steering wheel while we continued to do what we do.” - Matt Monk, Legend Story Studios

Legend Story Studios came to authentic digital through a personal recommendation, so there was already a level of trust from the start. From there, the focus was on building a working relationship that felt open, straightforward, and reliable.

We worked closely with the Legend Story Studios team, sharing insights, talking through decisions, and adapting as the campaign evolved. They could rely on us for clear advice, steady campaign management, and a flexible approach that fit around their priorities.

Regular check-ins helped keep everything on track, giving Legend Story Studios confidence that the campaign was being actively managed and improved while they stayed focused on running the game.

The outcome

“The investment into the creative and the investment with you guys has been a big success for us.” - Matt Monk, Legend Story Studios

The campaign proved that a focused, well-executed paid media campaign can work, even for niche, competitive gaming audiences.

Key wins:

• Built awareness of Silver Age among a relevant Flesh and Blood audience.
• Players engaged with the release content and took action through store discovery.
• Expanded the player base, bringing new audiences into the game alongside the existing community.

Beyond the immediate results, our work with Legend Story Studios highlights the value of really understanding your audience and meeting them where they are. Even in highly specialised communities, there’s strong potential for growth when the approach is clear, consistent, and well targeted.

Need support reaching your customers?

If you’re working on a similar challenge, whether you’re launching something new or looking to grow what’s already working, we can help you reach the customers you need.

Reach out for a conversation to learn how we can support you with targeted paid media and specialist SEO support.

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