Let’s get ready to rumble!
Harry Plester, senior content and innovation manager at Essence, tells how Love Island’s Iain Stirling bridged the gap between ITV entertainment and gaming with a fight-night campaign on Twitch
Attention grabbing ideas and innovative approaches to media is something we do every day. Our approach to ITV’s ‘Fighting for your Attention’ campaign, which ran yesterday (2 September) was no different.
The challenge accepted was to find new ways to showcase the wealth of content across ITV Hub, drive brand affinity, and confirm ITV Hub’s position as a destination for entertainment.
To create buzz and excitement around the brand, the media activity needed to tap into viewer interests and passions, while leveraging partner credibility and developing a creative concept that builds on the content available from the broadcaster.
So, who could help us in ITV Hub’s ultimate battle for viewer attention? The obvious choice was the leading live streaming service for gamers, Twitch.
Making an innovative move in the category, we brokered the first ever live gaming media partnership for the broadcaster – giving gamers the chance to go head-to-head on popular video games via a two-hour live and interactive Twitch stream.
Two teams ‘drama vs. reality’ pitted their gaming skills against each other, and in true fight-night style, we had a larger-than-life commentator.
The two-hour event was hosted by Twitch streamer and popular voice of Love Island, Iain Stirling.
Iain has run his own successful Twitch channel for several years, and even hosted a series of stand-up gigs on Twitch last year, which shows he’s the perfect bridge between the two services.
Sharing their favourite shows and why they’re ‘Team Reality’ or ‘Team Drama’, the teams took part in a variety of TV-themed gaming challenges.
These included ‘An act of True Crime’ where gamers must successfully pull off the perfect heist (Monaco: What’s Yours is Mine), to ‘I’m a Celebrity…get me out of here’ obstacle courses (Fall Guys), and specially created ITV retro arcade game, to ‘Race to Love Island’ (Forza 4).
Ahead of two of the challenges, viewers were able to unlock exclusive content through voting mechanics on the service.
So why is this industry-first media partnership a match made in heaven? In my view, there are three key reasons, which include:
- Cutting edge innovation
Working with innovative partners like ITV and Twitch ensures both brands are able to bring to life the passions of their viewers and community to provide truly authentic, unique and conversation leading to unmissable moments.
The live event combined quality content, great talent and compelling drama to showcase everything that both brands embody on a daily basis.
The commitment to the collaboration went to a new level with a custom-built ITV branded retro arcade game, brainchild of creative agency, Uncommon.
Not only has gaming long been far more mainstream than many may realise, but gamers have hugely diverse interests.
Ofcom found that 62% of UK adults played some form of video game in 2020. This campaign taps into both the popularity of gaming but also uniquely recognises the intersection of gaming and popular culture. As this activation proves, there are no limits to how brands can engage with this audience.
- Live and interactive
This live gaming collaboration – which is the first of its kind in the UK for a premium broadcaster – combines everything viewers and gamers love in one perfect package.
Getting involved, commenting, judging, and enjoying the once in a lifetime FOMO moment creates a shareable and interactive experience.
A gaming night to remember – the ‘drama vs. reality’ fight really has never been so exciting. In fact, the live event had over 3,500 viewers consistently throughout the event – with many of them interacting via the stream chat, voting and cheering on their favourite players.
- Pushing boundaries
This partnership was formed by our team, but it was brought to life by the ITV ‘drama vs. reality’ content and popular games on Twitch.
It was a true meeting of minds and combined all the popular elements of TV and gaming with key messaging woven naturally into the event.
Trailers for ITV Hub content were also shown throughout. True collaboration from everyone involved resulted in a unique partnership and experience.
The media activation also ran in UK-wide outdoor sites and across Twitch digital inventory. We wanted to emulate a true ‘fight night’ themed campaign, building anticipation ahead of the event through other media channels. No one wanted to miss out!
Thinking outside-the-box, has ensured we created an industry-first media partnership and winning results for both ITV audiences and Twitch’s community.
We’ve found that taking an innovative and creative approach to media can help brands win the fight for attention in unexpected and new ways.