Twitch's top-performing APAC campaigns: Q4 2022

For this latest edition of our quarterly review series, we delve into three APAC campaigns which caused a splash towards the end of last year, including: Warner Bros. rolling out the “purple carpet” at the Black Adam premiere in Sydney; video game publisher Nexon relaunching classic beat-em-up game Dungeon & Fighter; and a first-of-its-kind 11/11 shopping extravaganza featuring Coca Cola, Gaming Nation, Prime Video and Lenovo in Thailand. 

Spotlight: Rolling out the ‘Purple Carpet’ at the Black Adam premier (AU)

When you think of the ‘red carpet’, you typically conjure up images of celebrities, critics, the paparazzi and other industry insiders. But while these invite-only events are a great way to drum up excitement for the release of a new film, few are able to enjoy the buzz of the night itself - for the most part, fans are left with mere glimpses of what went on behind the scenes through curated moments on their social media feeds.

For the Black Adam premiere in Sydney, Warner Bros. wanted to do things differently - to capture the attention of Gen-Z and drive awareness by breaking down exclusivity barriers and giving everyone a piece of the action.

Wielding the powers of community, authenticity and spontaneity, Twitch and Warner Bros. joined forces for a two-hour, unscripted live show - turning the red carpet purple, and delivering a larger-than-life premiere experience like no other.

Hosted by fan-favourite streamers /HexSteph and /Reapz, viewers were able to enjoy the glitz and glamour, and ‘rub shoulders’ with the stars from the comfort of their own home - even Dwayne Johnson, Black Adam himself, made a special guest appearance! But of course, the night of fun and festivities came with a big twist - unleashing the ‘chaos’ of Twitch on unsuspecting guests by having viewers vote on superhero-themed dares for the hosts to enact. This led to some decidedly less-than-manicured, authentic moments for all to enjoy, and ensured that our antihero Black Adam would be forever remembered for his unforgettable ‘anti-premiere’.

A first for the Australian market, the Black Adam premiere was live streamed only on Twitch - and provided a prime example of what can be achieved when a brand is willing to ‘glow down’ instead of ‘up’, and embrace the candour and rawness of livestreaming as an engagement channel. Ultimately, the campaign smashed all key benchmark metrics, with the fresh format proving a blockbuster hit among Gen Z viewers.

Results Snapshot:

• More than 67K minutes watched in total
• More than 24K views in total
• Total reach of close to 19K
• More than 1000 messages on Chat

Honorary mention: Nexon scores a perfect KO with relaunch of Dungeon n’ Fighter franchise 

Dungeon & Fighter is a legend in the canon of classic 2D beat-em-up video games. So when Asia-based gaming publisher Nexon decided to resurrect the title as a 2.5D action fighting game - Dungeon n’ Fighter (DNF) Duel - complete with a host of new characters and state-of-the-art graphics, it needed to ensure the global relaunch was fit for the king of fighting games.

However, seventeen years after Dungeon & Fighter first took the gaming world by storm, Nexon faced a challenge - how could they get a whole new community of gamers excited about the reboot of this beloved retro title?

Gamers are - suffice to say - a competitive breed. Recognising this, Nexon enlisted the help of three of Twitch’s top gaming streamers to stoke the flames of (friendly) competition one punch, kick and “biting dragon” at a time. The streamers were carefully chosen to spark authentic conversations and hype among vastly different gaming circles - /Sajam filled the role of a seasoned fighting game expert; legendary gaming host /IFCyipes brought a caster’s perspective to the table; while speedrunner /TriHex offered a hardcore gamer’s take on the new release.

Nexon collaborated with Twitch Brand Partnership Studio to create an exclusive custom extension overlay to guide the streamers through the reimagined DNF universe via a series of in-game challenges. Not only did it up the drama, this also gave the streamers added opportunities to problem-solve with their communities - ultimately allowing for a more interactive and nail-biting experience for all. Of course, for those not satisfied with simply sitting on the sidelines, viewers were also given the chance to play the game themselves and discover DNF alongside the streamers thanks to some added game code giveaways.

Everybody loves a win, and this campaign delivered a perfect KO - with the equivalent of 8.7 years’ racked up in engagement time! By harnessing the gamers’ naturally competitive spirit and encouraging the community to come together as one to ‘beat the game’, Nexon was able to successfully drive awareness and educate a completely new generation of gamers about DNF - sparking conversations the world over.

Results Snapshot:

• Close to 4.6M minutes watched
• More than 1.2M video views in total
• More than 980K unique views
• Close to 14K messages on Chat

Honorary mention: Twitch X 11/11 Would Recommend Thailand’s hottest online brand festival featuring Lenovo, Gaming Nation, Coca Cola and Prime Video

With a plethora of marketplaces, mobile apps and even livestream shopping events, Thailand’s ecommerce industry is booming. According to the Digital 2023:Thailand report, 66.8% of internet users in Thailand purchase goods online every week. And as large marketplaces set up camp, it’s no surprise that they’re bringing along their biggest shopping festivals to capitalise on the opportunity - which in turn is creating a lot of white noise.

But what’s interesting and unique about Thailand’s e-commerce landscape is the role of social commerce, which accounts for over a quarter (26%) of the total e-commerce market according to figures from the Thai E-Commerce Association. Meanwhile, live shopping contributed to 38% of Thai social commerce in 2022. Therein, four enterprising brands saw an opportunity to bring a more ‘real-world’ experience to an otherwise digital affair. 

In the run-up to one of Thailand’s biggest shopping celebrations of the year, Coca Cola, Gaming Nation, Prime Video and Lenovo decided to collaborate with Twitch to launch the 11/11 Would Recommend festival. Hosted by popular Thai variety streamer /fifatargrean, the two-hour live broadcast featured entertainment, games product unboxings and exclusive flash deals from the participating brands, with /fifatargrean acting as a proxy for viewers looking to get a ‘feel’ of the items.

But /fifatargrean, well-known for his candid and blunt humour, ensured that wasn’t all the show had to offer. Challenging his community to share the love by coming up with their own catchy product captions, chaos and comedy ensued in chat as the ‘quirky’ reviews came pouring in. At the end of the show, /fifatargrean shared the co-created brand content on his Facebook page, allowing the community to bask in the glow of their work, while also giving the sponsors an extra nod of approval.

This first-of-its-kind event in Southeast Asia produced some stunning results. By trusting in the Twitch community and embracing user-generated content, this group of forward-thinking brands was not only able to engage with an otherwise hard-to-reach audience on a hard-to-cut-through day in a personal way, they also informed purchase decisions and drove sales in a way that avoided the typical ‘how low can you go’ bandwagon.

Results Snapshot:

• More than 250K minutes watched in total
• Close to 38K video views in total
• More than 21K unique views
• More than 7500 messages on Chat

Shopping Extension Results:

• More than 210K impressions
• More than 110K product views in total

Gemma Battenbough is the head of Brand Partnership Studio, APAC, Twitch.