WARGAMING - WORLD OF TANKS — WWII TANKER INTERVIEWS - CASE STUDY

Wargaming.net approached We Are The Mighty (WATM) and Refuel Agency with an incredible opportunity — join forces with one of the World Wrestling Entertainment’s greatest legends, Stone Cold Steve Austin, to tell the story of three amazing and heroic WWII tanker veterans for the launch of their World of Tanks game. Unfortunately, as pre-production began, cross-country lockdowns were ramping up and our interview subjects were among the most vulnerable population. Still, we knew these stories had to be told.

VIEW "WORLD OF TANKS — WWII TANKER INTERVIEWS" HERE

Stone Cold and three World War II vets walk into a bar… that was the plan, at least, until the pandemic struck.

A MIGHTY APPROACH

With Stone Cold quarantining in Nevada and our high-risk veterans scattered across America, WATM needed to be precise, creative, and extra cautious.

Interviews First

We dispatched a skeleton crew to meet our elderly veterans, now well into their nineties, in their homes. Ensuring the strictest of COVID protocols — multiple tests after arriving at each location, maintaining social distancing throughout the filming process, sanitization of rooms and equipment — we meticulously documented hours of conversations with each veteran.

Time for Questions

After documenting our veterans’ amazing stories, we packed up and headed to Nevada to meet with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Stone Cold watched our interviews and asked our team about their battles, he showed incredible difference and respect in the process as “asked” our veterans their questions. With clever shooting and meticulous editing, we were able to splice the footage together to creative interviews without having the participants ever meet.

Editorial Support

Meanwhile, a team of veteran authors wrote articles about each of our three heroes to commemorate their stories on We Are The Mighty. This allowed for further distribution for the campaign into the military community.

This WWII tanker vet shares his amazing story with Stone Cold Steve Austin

When asked about joining the Army, Caserta said almost every male his age wanted to do their part. They felt betrayed by the Japanese and wanted to sign up...

Joslin Joseph

Mar 15 · 4 min read

Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Interview with this WWII Vet Will Amaze You

Clarence Smoyer served in the 32nd Armored Regiment of the 3rd Armored Division. Hailing from Pennsylvania, Smoyer served as a gunner during World War II. On D-Day...

Joslin Joseph

Sep 11 · 5 min read

Watch Stone Cold Steve Austin interview this WWII tanker who saw combat in France

Walter served in World War II as a tank gunner. He was assigned to E Company of the 33rd Armored Regiment of the 3rd Armored Division. Upon answering the call...

Joslin Joseph

Sep 3 · 4 min read

DELIVERY AND PERFORMANCE METRICS

In accordance with an abbreviated go-live schedule, WATM's post team edited around the clock for 48 hours, incorporating rare WWII battle film while addressing realtime notes from WWE, Wargaming and Refuel Agency.

The production arrived in time for a livestream tie-in with the 2020 WWE Summerslam kickoff.

Additionally, Wargaming benefitted from WATM's incredible reach into the military community delivering the following below.

2.5M+

REACH

4.3M+

IMPRESSIONS

448.8K+

VIEWS

192.6K+

MINUTES WATCHED

8.2K+

COMMENTS, LIKES AND SHARES

THIS CAMPAIGN IS DEDICATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF...

Sgt. Joseph Caserta

May 4, 1922 - Feb 5, 2021

This interview series is dedicated to the memory of Sgt. Joseph Caserta, US Army. Your service will never be forgotten.

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