Winning Esports Influencer Marketing with AI

Earlier this summer, Netflix sponsored a competitive APEX event to promote a new movie title on its streaming service. The Old Guard Invitational was an all-female tournament featuring streamers and aspiring pro players, hosted by esports casters. It was also an example of how to reach esports and gaming audiences.  

The revolution will be streamed

Video game live streaming is a digital version of the highly social experiences of yesteryear’s arcade games. The growing popularity of this medium has elevated a new generation of creators on platforms like Twitch and YouTube. Likewise, it allows brands to enter the games-based media space by providing value and exclusive experiences – with or without esports sponsorship.  

The challenge, especially for marketers outside gaming, is identifying which streaming communities are a good fit for campaign goals. The traditional approach is manually searching for streamers, then researching which games they play. However, this is time consuming and lacks quality data.

In that light, let’s investigate how eSports iQ audience analytics – powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) – can discover relevant influencers

Why it matters

While content creators aren’t officially affiliated with competitive gaming – they are strong influencers for hard-to-reach esports audiences. 
 

To determine audience relevance, eSports iQ uses IBM Watson AI to predict consumer tastes and preferences. This technology-driven approach processes publicly available social data to produce tailored insights for more meaningful brand partnerships.  

For instance, predictive analytics can identify the likelihood of affinity within consumer categories (click image above). These insights help align influencer reach with a brand’s (e.g. Netflix) target audience (e.g. viewers interested in certain types of movies).  

Looking ahead

The continued rise in ad blocker use indicates that consumers are leaning towards trusted influencers when making purchase decisions. A reality which highlights the importance of creators who share their gaming experiences with millions across the world. See: Twitch reported 1.8+ billion peak hours watched in Q2 2020 alone.  

Additionally, streaming offers more opportunity to resonate with wider (including non-esports) audiences. However, these partnerships are challenging without quality data. Mostly because interactive media doesn’t have the same sponsorable assets as esports – e.g. teams, leagues, events, etc. 

eSports iQ helps navigate this fast-growing ecosystem by streamlining influencer discovery and enabling authentic partnerships based on audience interests and affinities


Join the eSports iQ community TODAY! https://esportsiq.com

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