Against this difficult backdrop of what was a growing gaming sector but one that was becoming ever more resistant to new players, EE decided to launch the EE Game Store in the UK. An online destination which would be open to anyone, on any network, and which would sell everything from the latest in devices, games and accessories, to Nvidia cloud gaming solutions, and broadband and mobile packages designed for gamers.

The brief was to launch EE’s Game store to gamers across the UK, with three objectives:

(1) Make gamers across the UK aware of the new EE Game store, starting with hardcore games, then casual gamers, and lastly parents.

(2) Convince the 92% of gamers who believed EE isn’t a leading brand in gaming to reappraise EE’s role (Gaming Research 2021).

(3) Get gamers to consider buying from EE next time they’re in market for gaming gear.

We built an EE game store in Fortnite. But this was no ordinary in game activation. Where other brands rolled out the red carpet, we fought to keep players out. Hiring some of the world’s top streamers as guards to create ‘one of the most heavily guarded locations in Fortnite’.

This was a gauntlet open to any player in the UK who thought they had what it took to capture the store. Beat the odds and they not only got the kudos of defeating one of the best, but also win real-life gaming gear.

The prevalence of ‘stream sniping’ (illegally hijacking a live streamers broadcast) told us we were creating a challenge that gamers wanted. A value exchange that went beyond interacting with another brand. While also giving the long-suffering streamers some payback too.

The battles played out live on Twitch to huge audiences, creating four ‘matchday moments’. GG’s EE.

To build credibility in this space, we needed to win over the hardcore players by adopting a classic ‘in-group’ strategy.

Harley became synonymous with the best of biking, because Hell’s Angels rode Harleys. Apple became synonymous with the best of creativity, because David Bowie used a Mac.

If EE wanted to become synonymous with the best of gaming, gamers across the UK would need to see the players & streamers they looked up to most using EE.

We identified four of the UK’s best Fortnite gamers & most popular streamers - Nick Eh 30, Chica, Jalen, Merl - and invited them to become the face of our campaign. To really get gamers to notice, we took it one step further and gave players the chance to battle it out with Nick Eh 30, Chica, Jalen and Merl 1v1, live on their streams, and in front of their fellow gamers.

There were four phases:

(1) Build: With Creative 2.0 just released, we were one of the first to use this mode to create our map in Epic games. We paid homage to London’s West End skyline & the BT tower, placing the store at the top of it, nodding to the brand’s UK heritage.

(2) Recruit: We recruited gamers where they were – IGN, TikTok, Fandom, YouTube, Reddit and Twitch.

(3) Play: Launching Capture the Store over the weekend of 25th August, the chosen few battled it out with Nick Eh 30, Chica, Merl and Jalen live on the front page of Twitch, for their fellow gamers to see.

(4) Amplify: We opened up Capture the Store to all gamers, hosted 1v1 sessions in EE stores - live-streamed in the OOHs of the UK’s largest malls. We created native social gaming content, promoting the gaming gear in the new store.

For the launch of the EE Game store, we needed to win gamers over and convince them that EE was credible. The reaction from gamers…

“W to EE”. “That’s sick”. “yooooo I’m staff from zb elite your maps banging”

Gamers’ attention was captured & they spent quality time with EE…. EE had 56% SOV in gaming (Playstation – 30%), 532m impressions, 139m video views, and gamers streamed 2.2 million minutes across Twitch/ .

As a result, gamers’ perception shifted of EE…. Gamers said this was “Not what you would expect of EE”, and 77% of social gamers said they saw EE as a credible EE Gaming retailer and were more likely to consider EE.

And most importantly, gamers started visiting and buying from EE for their gaming needs… + 400% in searches for 'EE Game store’, 1.6m hits to the Game Store and +70% in EE gaming sales yoy.