#PRAwards 2021 highlight: Twitch brings service to life for brands via 2-hour virtual event

Twitch is a global community that comes together to create multiplayer entertainment. Founded in 2011, it has experiences from casual gaming and esports to anime marathons, music, and art streams. It also hosts a community event named TwitchCon, bringing users together to celebrate and connect with others who share their interests and passions. While it might be popular among consumers, Twitch wanted to engage brands and let them experience the service. As such, it created Twitch: Live from APAC! to show brands how they can leverage the service to connect with consumers in Asia Pacific.

This team's efforts saw them become a finalist for Best Use of Virtual Platforms (B2B) at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's PR Awards 2021. Find out how Twitch caught the attention of brands and businesses.

Challenge

Twitch wanted to introduce the Twitch experience to brands and businesses in a fresh and engaging manner to solve the need for new ways to connect with their consumers during challenging times in Asia Pacific. The company also wanted to demonstrate that this is a new way for brands to foster collaboration and community between content creator and audience, and support this consumer-led revolution of how content is delivered.

At the same time, it also wanted to demonstrate that it is the service of the future. Coupled with the fatigue of virtual events, it needed to demonstrate how Twitch is a multiplayer entertainment and is unparalleled as the live streaming service of the future.

Overall, Twitch wanted to showcase that it is a highly interactive digital streaming service for various categories of interest aside from gaming and to also position Twitch as an alternative digital service of choice for marketing to Millennials and Gen Zs.

Strategy

Twitch's game plan was to demonstrate the magic of its service by streaming a virtual live event encompassing its values in a two-hour event across key Asia Pacific markets. According to Twitch, the live element of its service brings another level of immersion and interactivity to the stream. The first is that the content is authentic, which is exactly what its audiences are after.

Its content for the two-hour event, in particular, included "LIVE from APAC! Keynote", Twitch lockdown trends, creative best practices, and a panel on brand storytelling through community-created content.

The company mainly used LinkedIn as its main audience development channel, and also leveraged the reach of its main Twitch page, employee word of mouth, and its Twitch newsletter.

When it comes to the immersive experience of the stream, Twitch allows viewers to express reactions and feelings as the action unfolds through the chatbox. The reactions are watched and responded to in real-time by the streamer and when a goal happens in real life, the crowd is able to go wild in the chatbox.

Ultimately, Twitch aims to create a space where creators are supported and can make a living by streaming content.

Execution

Presenters for the two-hour live stream were in the thick of the action. They were either present on-site at the studios across Singapore and Sydney or remotely dialled in from various locations including Taiwan and the US. During the event, there was an exchange of pro tips and best practices to enable brands and businesses to improve their marketing game and grab the attention of the adblock generation.

At the same time, the presenters were encouraged to ad-lib, monitor the chat, and answer the questions to maintain a more organic flow during the stream. Also, speakers were constantly engaging with the live chat to encourage an ongoing conversation among the viewing community while sharing content.

Several channels were activated - the Twitch channel, live chat, extensions, and streamer engagement. The mainstream channel is where invited brands and businesses can stream to watch the virtual event hosted by Twitch.

Twitch made use of its key feature, the live chat, and drove chat interaction with informal quiz sessions and prize giveaways. This way, attendees were encouraged to interact with one another and also with presenters on chat throughout the sessions. Chat moderators were also assigned to ensure a safe chat environment amongst the viewers, and also to help facilitate any questions that were missed out by the presenters.

Extensions were also made available to amuse audiences. On-screen extensions enabled viewers to click and initiate an action, forming an interactive element of the session.

On the streamer engagement front, the company partnered with a Taiwan streamer where she shared her streaming journey and what live streaming on Twitch and the community meant to her. During the session, the streamer also elaborated more on Twitch's features, how chat is a large component of this, along with a short tour of her studio set-up.

Results

Twitch: Live from APAC! was a success for the team, with over 800 live views and more than 600 interactions over a two-hour stream. Twitch also had a 15% lift in brand familiarity post-event.