How an experimental approach to esports worked
By Creative team. Top image: Apex Legends
Esports is full of traps for unwary brands. Nokia succeeded by understanding what they didn’t know
If you’re going to associate your brand with esports then your comms better be credible. Few audiences are as unforgiving of corporate gaucheness as esport fans.
That goes double if you’re trying to achieve something many thought impossible: a pro esports tournament played over WiFi.
With some skeptics predicting it wouldn’t work, our role was to steer Nokia safely through with a campaign strategy plus promotional social assets that fans would embrace.
The campaign strategy equipped Nokia with a comprehensive guide to the quality audience segments they could reach including:
In-depth target group profiles
Underlying consumer drivers and barriers
Messaging objectives and opportunities
Communication approach and guidance
Content strategy and calendar including relevant cultural moments
Audience engagement tactics
Social channel breakdown and content ideas
We identified six distinct segments targetable by Nokia’s campaign.
With Nokia’s comms team empowered, we focused on creating sharable promotional content that would show esports fans that this tournament was the real deal.
The teaser
Because this was an experimental foray into esports, the tournament was designed as a fun pro-am event with all proceeds going to charity. Thus the teaser film needed to set the right expectation level by leaning into the tourney’s playful vibe:
We also needed to land the WiFi powered by Nokia message, too. Hence the narrative hinges on a “let down by the Internet” scenario that everyone can relate to. Luckily, Nokia’s gear arrives to save the day and we’re game on!
Hot drop
The tournament highlights video needed to be even more on point because it’s a pure entertainment package.
Over five hours of tournament was distilled into a compelling narrative that authentically related the action while capturing the plays that count for Apex Legends esport fans.
Esports video production is incredibly specialized work as your editor must understand the game, the relevant game modes, and the viewer’s mindset inside out. Reconstructing the tactical battles and weaving them into scenes of joyous mayhem that accurately portray the event is an art in itself.
Happily, our video production team is the best in the business, and are gamers to their toes. So drop us a line if your brand needs help navigating esports or any other aspect of videogaming.
If you would like to discover more about our integrated approach and work together on a project, get in touch.
