Watch to PLAY! Find out how this game developer used Twitch to promote its esports title!
For today’s issue, we’re thrilled to talk about a brilliant marketing strategy by a prominent video game publisher. Read on to know how this company took advantage of the popularity of video game streaming to market one of its products.
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Watch to PLAY! Find out how this game developer used Twitch to promote its esports title! The COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to stay at home for months. Since everyone was stuck at home, there was an increase in media consumption worldwide. In particular, live streaming became a popular form of entertainment during the peak of the health crisis. Video sharing platforms like YouTube Live, Facebook Live, and Twitch saw massive gains in viewership in this period. According to Streamlabs, a software company, viewers spent a total of 28 billion hours watching different types of content on these platforms in 2020, with Twitch as the go-to platform for viewers and content creators alike. Twitch’s massive viewership makes it an attractive platform for companies that want to advertise their product offerings. Usually, brands would offer sponsorships and other forms of compensation to streamers. In exchange for this, content creators would promote the companies’ products in their live broadcasts. Here’s the thing: While this tactic yields good results, it's expensive nonetheless. So, instead of taking the sponsorship route, one game publisher came up with a cost-effective method to promote its new esports title. The name of this company? Riot Games, Inc.
Riot Games, a.k.a. Riot, is a video game developer founded in 2006. The company is known for developing and publishing “League of Legends,” a critically-acclaimed esports title released in 2009. According to entertainment magazine Polygon, the game was instrumental in the development and popularization of the esports industry. Five years after the release of “League of Legends,” Riot began working on another exciting game—“VALORANT.”
“VALORANT” is a five-versus-five tactical shooter with a unique twist. Players have the freedom to pick between different characters with unique abilities. During matches, participants are divided between attackers and defenders. The goal of the attacking team is to plant the “spike” in the bombsite defended by the opposing team. A round win is awarded to the team that successfully detonates or defuses the spike. The team that wins 13 rounds is the winner of a match. In 2019, Riot unveiled “VALORANT” to the public. The game’s unique take on tactical shooters made it an intriguing title for fans of the genre. A year after, Riot announced it was allowing individuals to play the game’s closed beta. To become eligible, players had to link their Riot account to their Twitch account. Then, they had to watch selected streamers play the game on Twitch. In these streams, content creators provided access keys to viewers. [Closed beta - A stage in game development where a developer allows a select number of people to test a game to gather feedback and identify technical limitations or problems.].
Did Riot’s streaming-oriented digital guerrilla marketing strategy work? YES! The tactic contributed heavily to the closed beta’s success. According to Riot, viewership hours hovered at around 470 million during the two-month closed beta period. In addition, an average of around 3 million users logged in to play the game daily! … and the best part? Riot didn’t pay anyone to stream the game during its closed beta stage! The developer effectively pulled this off because of the following reasons:
By capitalizing on the viewership of Twitch and its streamers, Riot was able to market its new game at minimal cost! … and because of this clever marketing tactic, “VALORANT’s” official launch was successful. An average of nearly 2 million people were playing the game on a daily basis after its official release. Additionally, over 70,000 viewers watched the game on Twitch every day. What made Riot’s digital guerrilla marketing campaign stand out? The strategy of promoting games through live streaming services isn’t new—game developers have been doing this for years. As part of their marketing strategy for a new game, companies pay content creators to play the game in their broadcasts. Aside from paying gamers, game developers reward viewers for watching live broadcasts in the form of exclusive in-game items, in-game currency, in-game progress, or a combination of the three. Riot’s digital guerrilla marketing strategy for “VALORANT” was a departure from what other game developers have done in the past. Instead of paying for product exposure, Riot offered content creators the privilege to play an eye-catching game that lots of people could enjoy. Viewership matters a lot, so streamers jumped at the opportunity presented to them. What’s more? Riot made sure these streamers could attract audiences by rewarding viewers with full access to the game as long as they watched live broadcasts. This strategy—offering complete access to a game as a reward—has never been done by other video game developers before. Live streaming services are one of powerful tools in reaching your target market. Not only are they suitable for fun and memorable campaigns but they’ll also allow you to interact with your target audience directly. Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful. Follow us on LinkedIn. Stay tuned for next Thursday’s Gorillas of Guerrilla Marketing! |
