Expanding into a new market always involves risks, especially when time and resources are limited. In Nigeria, one of the most competitive and culturally diverse environments in Africa, 42 Gaming Group showed that technological innovation and local authenticity can go hand in hand. This case study reveals how the company used artificial intelligence to accelerate market entry, gain media impact, and genuinely connect with its audience.
To accelerate its global reach, 42GG expanded into Nigeria, a highly competitive market with unique cultural characteristics, ensuring the brand’s presence in one of Africa’s most promising gaming landscapes. With limited time and resources, 42GG needed to break into a new market by crafting creative and culturally relevant assets that would stand out against established players and capture national media attention.
To build a stronger connection between the brand and its audience, we partnered with Kantar to conduct in-depth qualitative research. This helped us uncover what truly motivates players, how they engage with marketing messages, and how to design a value proposition that resonates emotionally and fits their cultural context.
The 42 Gaming Group team produced a TV spot using AI-powered tools—not just to reduce costs, but to move faster and test creative hypotheses in a new market. To make the campaign authentic, the voiceover was recorded locally, grounding the message in a familiar tone and language.
"This project challenged us to balance technology with creativity. The core creative concept was to blend an Afro-beat track, live vocals, and AI-driven visuals. The goal is simple yet ambitious: make people engage with our ad, feel it in their hearts through authentic live sounds, and experience the connection between culture and technology."
Oleg Lebedev, AI Creative Producer:
"Without AI, producing this complex photorealistic video so quickly and at a fraction of the cost of a traditionally filmed ad would have been impossible. Doing it this way helped us balance creativity with efficiency, ensuring the brand entered the market quickly and with impact."
The centerpiece of the campaign was Baba, a character introduced as the brand’s first local mascot. Although modest in scale, the campaign demonstrated that even with limited resources, 42 Gaming Group can build culturally relevant creative assets and secure national media presence. It became a proof point of agility: the ability to adapt global expertise to local realities quickly and effectively.
