How did this Peruvian beer brand give deaf gamers a VOICE in the video game world?

Thursday: Gorillas of Guerilla Marketing FROM THE DESK OF MILES EVERSON: I love guerrilla marketing! For those of you who aren’t familiar with this concept, allow me to explain it briefly: Guerrilla marketing is an unconventional strategy that is simple to appreciate, easy to execute, and sometimes, inexpensive. I am personally fond of this strategy because it has the ability to provide fresh and captivating ideas on how businesses and marketers can get their target audience hooked. I believe professionals in this field should utilize such a strategy. Do you want to know more about guerrilla marketing through a concrete example? Keep reading the article below. CEO, MBO Partners Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute

How did this Peruvian beer brand give deaf gamers a VOICE in the video game world? Throughout the years, there have been plenty of solutions for those whose hearing is impaired. These include hearing aid, cochlear implant, assistive listening devices, alerting devices, implantable hearing devices, and more. There's just one problem… In the video game industry, there are very few experiences that take into account the necessities and difficulties of deaf gamers. The “Game” of Friendship One of the best parts about gaming with friends is the non-stop smack talk... but for the estimated 300 million deaf gamers worldwide, engaging in such a pastime is complicated. Sure, some of them can talk via chat yet they can't hear what the others are saying. This leaves them unable to communicate and feeling excluded in the world of video games. In the words of one deaf gamer: “When I play with my friends and we talk, I chat with them. But you can’t stop all the games to do that. So, they send me voice notes, but I can’t hear anything. I’d rather play alone.” In light of this, Peruvian beer brand Pilsen Callao, a.k.a. “The Beer of Friendship,” partnered with DDB Latina’s Peruvian agencies, Fahrenheit DDB and FTW DDB Peru, in 2022. Their solution to deaf gamers’ concern? The “E-nterpreters!” The “E-nterpreters” is artificial intelligence (AI) bots programmed to translate in-game conversations into real-time gamer sign language. Since people with hearing impairments can’t hear or reply to other players’ verbal speeches, these AI bots serve to enable deaf gamers to join video game conversations by giving them a “voice.” Woah… isn’t that amazing? Using AI technology, Pilsen Callao’s campaign team developed a bot programmed to listen to every voice call taking place on Discord gamer servers. These messages were then converted real-time into sign language conveyed through an on-screen avatar. There’s more! The bot could recognize different voices, with every player’s chat represented by a distinct named avatar. The result of this? Deaf gamers were able to follow the conversation held by their fellow gamers! *Claps* The campaign was 10 months in the making, and Pilsen Callao worked with different American sign language (ASL) groups and deaf gamers to make the translations precise and create a universal language that integrates the native gaming vocabulary. Hosted on Discord, the “E-nterpreters” could link to any video game (Fortnite, Call of Duty, and DOTA, to name a few), running automatically when Discord was open during game time. Once the “E-nterpreters” was fully functional, the campaign team launched it in Peru on March 22, 2022. Was Pilsen Callao’s “E-nterpreters” effective? According to Sergio Franco Tosso, Fahrenheit DDB Peru’s Executive Creative Director, the acceptance of the deaf gamer community was tremendous. The AI bots became a helpful tool for meeting new friends and strengthening bonds among gamers. Below are the results of the campaign: The “E-nterpreters” was immediately used in 120 servers in Peru 24 hours after launch. Within one week, 75% of the deaf gamer community in Peru had downloaded the AI bots. A total of 453,000 words were translated for deaf gamers, equating to 35 words per minute on each server and 260,000 minutes of bot learning. The “E-nterpreters” was also made easily usable on YouTube, Twitch, and other Metaverse platforms. Kudos to this, Pilsen Callao, Fahrenheit DDB and FTW DDB Peru! The campaign is truly another BIG step in the mission of contributing to a better and more equal world. What can we learn from this guerrilla marketing tactic? The Idea of Friendship - Pilsen Callao isn’t the only beer brand championing friendship. However, while celebrating socializing and drinking with friends isn’t exactly a new concept for beer brands, it’s refreshing to see Pilsen bringing this trope to another arena. According to Tosso, gaming platforms are prominent social spaces in the last 20 years, where millions of people have fun and gain new experiences. For Pilsen, this was an opportunity to get closer to customers. By taking its message of ‘friendship without differences’ and creating something powerful with it, the brand stood out from other beer brands also championing the idea of friendship. Empowerment - One of the golden rules of gaming activations is “add value.” Brands need to have a clear value-adding proposition and ask themselves, “How is my being here going to add value to the overall experience of those either gaming or streaming?” “E-nterpreters” is an evocation of this, leveling up hearing-impaired people rather than trying to change the behavior of other gamers. With more than 300 million deaf gamers worldwide, this initiative is an empowering move and a superb show of inclusivity. Impactful Inclusivity - It is becoming increasingly important that brands take direct action rather than simply speak out on issues affecting their target audiences. By taking concrete action to minimize the disparity between gamers, Pilsen Callao stood true to its promise of “friendship without differences.” There you have it—Pilsen Callao’s “game-changing” guerrilla marketing strategy in 2022! Always remember that as a marketer or business owner, you have to be aware of your target market’s felt need/s. The more your promotional tactics serve to not only entertain or advertise but also address a need, the more your customers will appreciate your brand. Eventually, that could result in higher engagement rates, sales, positivity rates, etc. Hope you’ve found this week’s guerrilla marketing insight interesting and helpful.     Do you want to know how one beauty brand painted Paris red in September 2023? See it in next week’s article!