2022 Winners & Shortlists

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

When the world went on lockdown, simultaneously, simultaneously sparked as consumers of broad demographics sought out a joyous environment to pass time. In turn, this created a greater void for our brand to as we leveraged the lockdowns to unleash joy through passion activities while also encouraging people to stay at home which propelled our entry into the scene. The overall experience entertained core gamers with live-streamed tournaments expanding across blockbuster titles, professional led academies, branded podcasts, and the community games & giveaways with the most recognized gaming influencers in the region.

Background

BMW’s communication is highly dependent on global activity, and our goal is to find a way to resonate local audiences in different ways, including channel diversity. We wanted to take it one step further by creating a new pillar of communication through an exponentially growing scene, Esports. The global pandemic began to plague, changing the way people envisioned life, and impacting industries at scale. The main goal was to position the brand that has no affinity within the local MENA Esports community in the most genuine way possible, while achieving the following objectives to address the bottom line. • Drive mass participation to build an Esports CRM of 17,500 participants. • Become a leader in automotive Esports market share with a target KPI of 60%. • Maximize engagement rate & viewership across of 10% & 20 Million respectively. • Gather 6,000 participants who are in-market to buy a car

Describe the creative idea

The overarching idea was for BMW Middle East to own digital gaming ecosystem over several seasons, each execution being a full-fledged eSports extravaganza. Considering the audience was a potential segment and living in a time of receptivity, it was the perfect time for our entry & to create a platform by focusing on the 3 main desires of audiences within the gaming environment including an outlet to compete, a space to learn, and a platform to discuss the latest news. More importantly, we recognized the growth of Twitch & the appeal that attributed to the growth of the live-streaming platform. The core part of our creative execution was to capture the live streaming audiences through entertaining competitions, interviews, gaming influencer presence, brand integration, and giveaways. All of which will connect to the gamers through genuinely & build brand equity for future conversions.

Describe the strategy

Although a major part of #JoyOfCompeting was to build brand equity & affinity towards core gamers, the secondary objective was to address the brand’s bottom line & drive interest towards the products for potential sales. The strategy to achieve this goal consisted of a full-funnel approach, which all began with an immersive live experience, subtly branded to keep the brand top of mind. The goal was to execute an engaging product full of catchy game highlights, comedic moments between casters, giveaways that kept users returning & anticipating the live stream and bring on-board recognizable figures to join the fun. Influencers were a key part of the engagement, and they not only joined that actual competition, but told their story on stream, led on giveaways, and delivered long, much-anticipated content that their fans wanted to see live on BMW’s stream. All of which drove users down the funnel to convert.

Describe the execution

#JoyOfCompeting consisted of two seasons, spanning over six months of consistent live streams across major platforms. Thirteen of the biggest gaming influencers in the region such as Ahmet Bayati and Ahmed Show to name a few either promoted or joined the streams to create memorable experiences. The most exciting moments included Hulk Clash revealing his face for the first time ever after building a huge fanbase, bringing the much-anticipated moment for his fans to life on the BMW stream, boosting engagement levels significantly. In addition, Ahmet Bayat joined the stream to celebrate his birthday, paving the way for millions of his followers to join in. Fans also had the opportunity to play their favorite games, all being live streamed to showcase their participation. One of the most unique aspect was a collaboration with BMW to create a virtual studio consisting of a 3D model of their newest flagship models.

Describe the outcome

The heart of our activation lived online and relied heavily on exciting content including over 3,600 assets, all of which were showcased across paid, owned & earned touchpoints. Tournaments took place through social media & streaming channels and allowed the brand to resonate on a fan-based perspective. The creatively executed live experience ultimately assisted in driving bottom-line growth & helped achieve our core objectives. The overall activation across both seasons drove 20,485 participants, which is a 17% increase compared to our KPI. We achieved our goal of becoming the dominant automotive Esports player, with an SOV of 63% post our activation, 5% greater than our KPI. We achieved an engagement rate of 13% & over 23 Million Views, far surpassing our KPIs by 30% & 15% respectively. Over the course of two seasons, we gather over 8,700 individuals who are interested in buying a car, surpassing our KPI by 45%.