Situation

Faced with an abundance of choice, and no single destination for all gaming needs, EE launched EE Game Store to win over UK gamers and cement its reputation as a credible brand for the gaming community.

Brief

To position EE Game Store as the No1 destination for any gamer, on any network, by creating an exciting and innovative game-led experience for players all around the country.

Objectives

- Position EE Game Store as the enabler of a “frictionless gaming experience.”

- Drive awareness, affinity, trial, traffic and ultimately sales.

- Build legacy with a repeatable concept.

We brought the excitement of video games to life by transforming 13 locations across the UK into virtual meets physical gaming playgrounds.

Kickstarting EE Game Day was a spectacular mixed-reality gaming stunt in Leeds, featuring an array of cosplay gaming characters.

This was followed by a call to arms by top Twitch streamers, Yogscast Collective, challenging gamers to get involved IRL.

Communicating through Twitch, viewers helped solve in-game puzzles on a custom-built video game which pointed them towards the locations of EE Game Chests containing secret prizes dotted around the UK. Gamers raced to reach the chests first and claim their contents, but not before a final face off with Game Chest guardians, whereby passwords decoded on the live game needed to be revealed to claim the win.

And for everyone else, winning was within reach with an epic three-day promotion with up to 25% off on EE Game Store.

Target audience

To ensure EE Game Store is perceived as a credible solution to all gamers’ needs, we needed to engage audiences with the highest propensity to buy. We found this critical growth market on live streaming services, like Twitch. We also wanted to drive participation from across the UK so we selected the cities we knew had the highest gamer populations for our real-life activations.

Approach

EE’s commitment to an ‘Open to All’ ethos needed to be evidenced in the launch activation for its Game Store.

We also needed a “repeatable” concept that would drive anticipation and positively boost sales, much like a Black Friday.

So, we developed EE Game Day to be an annual celebration of gaming culture that invited everyone to unlock their gamer within.

Implementation

EE Game Day was a UK-wide multi-channel experience that fused virtual and physical worlds, combining influencer-led gaming partnerships, a spectacular live-action stunt, custom-built playable games, and an interactive treasure hunt.

Timeline

The day-long treasure hunt was followed by a 3-day promotion on EE Game Store to reward all gamers.

Placement

Hosted live on Twitch, we kicked off Game Day with a choreographed live-action stunt in cultural gaming-hub Leeds. Combining real-life cosplay characters with bespoke AR graphics to reveal hidden clues for our audience to crack.

Live-streamers then transitioned to a gamified online version – collaborating to solve in-game challenges in our multi-level, multi-world quest.

Scale

Clues revealed 13 hidden ‘treasure’ locations triggering a nationwide treasure hunt– all live-streamed to Twitch. Digital prize drops and Twitch subs rewarded all participating gamers.

1. Business Impact

Visits to Game Store up by 232%.

Sales up 30%+ week on week

2. Engagement

95,000 players got involved, with 3,500 engaging every minute.

Commenting positively 7,632 times in Twitch chats

8m social impressions

3. Awareness: EE x Gaming

Unaided brand awareness - 52% amongst those exposed to the campaign on Twitch vs. 45% base.

4. Affinity: EE x Gaming

‘EE enables the best gaming experience’ - 37% vs. 24%.

5. Consideration: EE x Gaming

Brand consideration – 44% vs. 33%