WWE, the professional wresting company, received a boost in its effort to engage fans in new ways as its SuperCard collectible mobile card game received more than 1.5 million downloads during its first week of release.

In the game, players assemble a deck of cards composed of the Stamford, CT-based promoter’s real-life superstars, managers and other figures, then take on other players in exhibition matches and King of the Ring tournaments. The surging number of downloads shows how mobile can be used effectively for brand-entertainment engagement when it is combined with gaming.

“We’re really excited about the performance of WWE SuperCard from both a downloads and engagement perspective,” said Casey Collins, WWE’s executive vice president for consumer products.

“We recently developed a new mobile gaming strategy working with best-in-class publishers and developers to bring WWE’s larger-than-life superstars to mobile devices through a variety of game genres, including puzzles and games, trivia, hand-to-hand combat and resource management/builder,” he said.

“These resonate specifically with mobile gamers and capture WWE’s global appeal through action-packed entertainment.”

Unprecedented success
Published by 2K, SuperCard can be downloaded for free at Apple’s app store for iOS devices, the Google Play Store and Amazon’s app store for Android devices.

The game features more than 400 cards in active play, with each card representing one of seven different rarity levels. Players can purchase individual card packs.

With an average rating of 4.5 out of five stars on the Apple app store and four out of five stars on Google Play, WWE SuperCard is the most successful WWE-branded casual game to have ever been launched by 2K or WWE for mobile devices, according to the company.

Formerly known as World Wrestling Entertainment, WWE has gained a reputation as an effective marketer of its brand as it continues to leverage mobile to engage fans.

WWE has prioritized offering the most interactive and engaging experience possible, whether fans are watching WWE TV broadcasts, a pay-per-view event or attending a live show.

By the start of this year, the company’s flagship WWE App had received more than 10 million downloads in 220 countries since launching in August 2012.

Two years ago, when WWE ran a text-to-win campaign to support its annual Wrestlemania event, it generated participation from more than 900,000 fans, with more than 500,000 choosing to opt-in to receive ongoing communications from the brand.

Perfect complement
The program was developed with Chicago-based Vibes, which worked with WWE to build a multi-pronged SMS program for WWE.

“Our research shows that WWE fans over-index in mobile gaming and card battle is the perfect complement to WWE 2K15, our annual console franchise with 2K,” Mr. Collins said.

“When we see 1.5 million downloads in less than a week, a 4.5 star average rating and reviews from fans saying how they would never have thought to play a card battle game, but have been glued to our game since it launched, it helps validate that our new mobile gaming strategy is helping us to engage fans in new ways.”

Final Take
Michael Barris is staff reporter with Mobile Commerce Daily, New York.