First mobile game app developer to run a global television advertising campaign

King Digital Entertainment was the first mobile game app developer to run its own global TV advertising campaign, initially to promote Candy Crush Saga in the USA, UK and Japan, but later including other popular titles in its stable such as Farm Heroes Saga, Pet Rescue Saga and Bubble Witch Saga. Previously it was rare to see apps advertised on television outside of Japan, with gaming apps receiving exposure through TV commercials as part of a wider product push, such as Microsoft’s Windows 8 advert in November 2012, which featured Angry Birds Star Wars (Rovio Entertainment, 2012). The move most notably paid dividends in Japan, where it leapt up the iOS charts from outside the top 100 most downloaded iPhone games to the No.1 spot in just five days. According to Statista, as of July 2014, King was attracting 481 million monthly active users on Facebook across four of the top 10 games available on the platform: Candy Crush Saga (148.56 MAU), Farm Heroes Saga (40.21 MAU), Pet Rescue Saga (36.21 MAU) and Bubble Witch 2 Saga (22.07 MAU).