The ever-changing media ecosystems and the way audiences interact with media have led brands to constantly find newer ways to communicate with their audience. While digital media inherently involves a two-way communication process, only a few brands leverage the medium to its full capacity and in an interactive form. Intel is a brand that defines what technology means in today’s world and understands how digital media can be leveraged to its maximum capacity.
Continuing to redefine boundaries, Intel in association with Carat & StreamO, India’s biggest Livestream sponsorship platform powered by Uplify, decided to go native to strike a close chord with niche and difficult-to-impress gaming enthusiasts in India for its ‘Gamer Day’ campaign. The brand understood the gaming audience cohort in detail and delivered a media solution in partnership with Carat, the media agency from Dentsu India. The solution defined the limits of what media can do for a brand. It struck a close chord with gamers by appealing to their aspirations and inspiring them at the same time.
Titled, Valorant Invitational, the campaign was a one-of-a-kind tournament, which was created in collaboration with Irony Inc, pioneers of the esports movement in India. The campaign leveraged the two key levers of the gaming media ecosystem i.e., the influencers as well as the professional players. For the record, StreamO automates the process of displaying content on hundreds of streaming channels at once. Brands can measure effectiveness via detailed reports and channel traffic through CTA’s (Call to Action) and links on chat.
Intel Gamer Day Valorant Streamer and Pro Teams Invitational was a tournament with around 30+ hours of Livestream content on YouTube. Valorant being one of the most popular PC games is played by over ten thousand gamers. Therefore, it was the critical centerpiece to creating a tournament based on it. The tournament involved top Streamer-led teams and Professional E-sports-led teams. Top famous influencers who took part in the tournament included PSY, Mizo, Meow16k, Sway, Hydraflick, Bloodline, Toaster Roaster, and Antidote. The Pro Teams contesting were Team69, True Rippers Esports, FS Esports, F1 LS, TeamXO, Reckoning Esports, Team Valor, and Team Cohesion. The tournament was streamed live on Esports XO YouTube (India’s premier Gaming channel) and Intel Gamer Day microsite.
The brand’s social media was painted blue with the streamer event creating buzz about the event and gamer days. Additionally, top gaming influencers and pro teams promoted the tournament on their social media. There was also a commentary section in the stream where Intel’s i9 processor was displayed in the studio while the commentators were discussing the tournament to help promote and create buzz. The campaign stood out for mobilizing the gaming community and enthusiasts in India. The streams were watched by thousands of gaming enthusiasts across the country. Moreover, it also reached the maximum amount of people by using the social media power of gaming influencers as well as e-sports teams.
The campaign has established a touchstone on what brands can do in this thriving media environment. With it, Intel, Carat & StreamO have together set new codes for brands who are working in niche spaces and desire to be a part of GenZ’s world. Speaking on the campaign, Anita Kotwani, CEO, of Carat India said, “Our endeavor is to design media solutions for our clients keeping in mind the constantly evolving use of media and how we can help our partner brands stand out in this ever-changing media ecosystem. At Carat, we design solutions for our client's consumers that are world-class, innovative, and out of the box, solutions that are an industry first, showcasing first mover advantage on the usage of latest trends.”
Tushaar Garg, Founder & CEO - Irony Esports & StreamO Media added, ''The partnership between Carat, Intel, and StreamO by Uplify comes at an opportune time as India is taking center stage in both ‘creation‘ and ‘consumption’ of game live streaming content. According to YouTube, 6 of the top 11 most viewed live-streamers on YouTube in 2020 came from India. Indians also consume 2X of the global watch time of game content. And brands like Intel understood this new opportunity to effectively reach the notoriously hard-to-reach Gen Z audience embraced our platform with an open mindset and a new attitude.’’
Press Contact:
Chris Ramanujam,
Communications Manager,
Irony Inc