FarmVille 2 was struggling. The marketing budget had been cut to almost nothing, and the upcoming My Family Farm update needed to be a hit — or the game would be cancelled. With no dedicated marketing team left, the job fell to me and my manager.

We started promoting nearly two months before release, giving players time to build their own word of mouth. I wrote dozens of social posts, produced a behind-the-scenes content series by interviewing the game's developers and artists, and arranged physical giveaways to supplement in-game rewards. I also brought No Kid Hungry into the campaign as a charitable partner — a first for Zynga at that scale.

72 million unique impressions across Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and the FarmVille 2 blog. More than $20,000 raised for No Kid Hungry. More impressions, revenue, and new users than any Zynga campaign before it — at a fraction of the usual cost.