Influencer Kits & Collector’s Editions: A Design Riot

Background

A trip in the WayBack Machine takes us to 2006 and the founding of Riot Games, the renowned publisher of insane hit MOBA, League of Legends. Riding on years of success for the title, and in an effort to delve deeper into the rich realm and lore of the LoL franchise, Riot started a new division called “Riot Forge” in an effort to develop new genres and narrative-driven games that expanded on League of Legend’s iconic characters. 

Challenge

OK, we know the world has gone digital, and sure, virtual items often overshadow physical goods, but c’mon, let’s be real — there will always be a demand for tangible, high-quality collectibles among the most dedicated fans. And we’re here for it. To support the marketing and engagement with these new spinoff titles, Riot sought out a trusted, expert creative partner for influencer kit and collector’s edition production. They knew it was paramount that this partner understood their IPs, their passionate fan base, and could deliver on insanely cool, premium, collector-worthy products that were a physical extension of their games, storytelling, and lore. Wonder who could that be…? 

Solution

The gaming fiends at Off Base were pleased as punch to provide a turnkey solution to meet Riot’s needs for a multitude of their Collector’s Editions, including CONVERGENCE: A League of Legends Story™ (a spinoff featuring Ekko), The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story™ (a spinoff featuring Sylas), and Bandle Tale: A League of Legends Story™ (a cozy spinoff featuring fuzzy Yordles). Our team expertly handled all facets of these projects, including ideation, design, manufacturing, production, and logistics, delivering exclusive, high-quality products on time and on budget for the Riot Games merch store. We also brought our full-service approach to creating Influencer Kits for Heartsteel, Riot Music’s edgy throwback boyband, and 2XKO, Riot Games’ upcoming vibrant fighting game.

Results

These projects underscore our ability to align creative vision with the execution of physical goods, elevating the brand experience for both fans and influencers. Our complete nuts-to-bolts service, from ideation to warehouse delivery, was a massive success — so much so that each of our Collector’s Edition projects for CONVERGENCE and The Mageseeker was the recipient of a Clio award for Best Packaging and Premium Merchandise. We’re that damn good.

Taking a moment to continue to humble brag, for the Heartsteel influencer kit we developed a combination of items to help bring excitement to the new, reimagined League of Legends eclectic bunch of music industry misfits and renegades. Each item in the kit was customized to reflect the band’s unique personality, including a bespoke, branded flight case, a retro cassette tape featuring their debut song paired with a branded cassette player showcasing the band’s logo, and a customized Heartsteel Polaroid camera, encouraging influencers to capture and share their unboxing experiences on social media, ensuring the kit left a lasting impression.

Many social media bloggers were left wanting to know where to buy the Heartsteel “suitcase” and were envious of the throwback collectible items. Ironically, many Influencers were caught in what was joked as a “Cassette Tape PR stunt” as some did not even know how to open up the cassette tape case or insert it in the player, much less how to push play, resulting in hundreds of thousands of impressions and a high level of engagement. Kids these days — we love ‘em.