Heroes and Overwatch

“What was the most popular video game in 2017?” To many game players, the answer will be Overwatch. Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer online first-person shooter video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment. On October 16, 2017, Overwatch officially announced the registered player number reached a milestone of 35 million! It’s okay if you don’t know the game! But here is a moving story about Overwatch you should not miss.

On May 23, 2016, Hongyu Wu, a Chinese young man, sacrificed his life when he was chasing after a motorbike thief. After Hongyu's death, knowing he was a big fan of Overwatch, Hongyu’s friends decided to write down his story and publish it to the online forum about Overwatch. They hoped that more people could know his story. After they posted the story online, thousands of people replied, and many were moved by his story. Some people even emailed the director of Overwatch hoping that they could do something to commemorate him. Two months later, they got a reply from the director. To honor the death of Hongyu Wu, Overwatch decided to add a scene on the map of Lijiang Tower in the game. If you go into the map of Lijiang Tower, on the red side’s control center, you will see a space suit with two Chinese characters “Hongyu” on it. On the wall behind the suit, there is a phrase "Heroes never die" written in Chinese.

This small act of Overwatch won a lot of positive feedback from game players, especially the Chinese players. They appreciated what Overwatch did for Hongyu. Many players said that this act by Overwatch showed how much they care about their players. And that’s why there are so many people who love the game. The director of Overwatch also responded that the core spirit of Overwatch is that the world needs heroes, and people should remember the heroes in both the virtual world and the real world.

What Overwatch did is a good example of listening to the groundswell, and we can learn several things from it.

1.    Not only listen but also talk.
In the book of Groundswell, the authors argue that simply listening to the groundswell is not enough. Companies should also respond to the groundswell after listening (p.98). If we only listen to the groundswell but do not take action, our customers will think that their opinions are not valued. As a result, we may lose their trust. In the case of Overwatch, they did a great job in both listening and responding. After they learned the players’ wishes to commemorate Hongyu, they took action (putting his name in the game) to let more people know his story. By doing this, Overwatch let their players know that the company does listen to them and value their thoughts.

2.    Talk to the groundswell not shout.
Bernoff and Li argued in their book that talking to the groundswell is different from advertising. Advertising is about mass, so it is shouting at customers rather than talking to them. To effectively talk to the groundswell, companies can create a community and participate in the discussion of the community (p.103). In this way, companies will let customers know that they would like to listen to and equally communicate with them. In the case of Overwatch, they have an official online forum where players can share their thoughts about the game with each other. And every day, the director of Overwatch goes to the forum, checks what players are talking about, and replies to some of the topics. After players posted Hongyu’s story online, the director also responded. As we can see, for Overwatch, the forum is not only a tool for them to listen to the groundswell but also a place where they can communicate the players equally.

3.    Word of mouth is a powerful amplifier
Besides listening and talking in Groundswell, the authors also mentioned the importance of energizing the groundswell. By energizing the groundswell, companies can turn some of the customers into “word of mouth” which is a powerful amplifier of brand marketing (p.130). In the case of Overwatch, what they did for Hongyu is a good example of energizing the groundswell. By realizing the players’ wishes to commemorate Hongyu, they make the players more loyal to the game. From their action, the players know that Overwatch is a company with human concerns, and it will deepen the player’s love for the game. Also, the action by Overwatch also confirms the core spirit of the game--we should remember heroes in our life. On China's social media, after knowing what Overwatch did for Hongyu, many players said that they would love this game forever because the company showed their honor to a real hero in people’s daily life.

Imagine if you play Overwatch. When introducing the game to your friends you will be proud, because the company shows care for their players! At that moment, the brand of Overwatch not only stands for a video game but also represents the spirit of heroes.

Overwatch did a great job in listening, talking, and energizing the groundswell. It is one of the secrets of why Overwatch gained such huge success in the field of video games.