The UN stated that “the coronavirus outbreak is an effect of environmental degradation.” Diseases transmitted from animals to humans are on the rise and get worse as wild habitats have been destroyed by human activity. Scientists suggest that degraded habitats can drive diseases. Therefore, not only is taking care of the environment essential for the health of the planet but it is also necessary for preventing a new pandemic.

The degradation in the Amazon has been increasing at an alarming rate. In 2020, there was a 196% increase in fires, and 265 species are now threatened with extinction.

The goals were to present about the current environmental scenario in the Amazon, to open a dialogue with young people who will suffer even more from this terrible reality in the future, and to create a new form of fundraising to fight for the conservation of the world's largest tropical forest.

The gaming industry is 2x the size of the film and music industries combined. Streamers are celebrities, real idols. And when an idol talks, their fans listen. Greenpeace infiltrated this hard-to-reach audience by turning gamers into endangered animals.

For the first time, endangered animals became nature's social influencers by taking over the voice and the audience of 11 superstar gamers, including Gaulês (the world's most-watched streamer on Twitch), Nobru (the world’s most-watched steamer on Youtube), and FalleN (13x World Champion).

For 10 days, they became spokespeople for Greenpeace, chatting and interacting with their fans through their animal avatars. All the donations they received went to projects for the Amazon’s preservation.

Yes, donations!

In the gaming world, fans usually donate to their favorite streamers so that they can continue to entertain. Taking advantage of this platform, Endangered Streamers created a new way of raising funds for Greenpeace using Twitch and Youtube.

First, Greenpeace started an extremely significant partnership with Gamers Club - the largest gaming and media platform in Latin America with almost 2MM players and 29MM page views per month. It’s also part of the world-renowned IGC (Immortals Gaming Club).

Second, due to the pandemic, the time that young people spend playing games has increased. It’s relevant to mention that Brazil has 81.2 million players of video games and 21.1 million spectators of e-sports. Greenpeace saw this as an opportunity to send an important message through some of the biggest streamers in the world. During the streamings, relevant information about the Amazon was talked about in the gamers’ own speaking styles.

The day chosen for the launch was International Biodiversity Day - a meaningful date for Greenpeace. We started with full force, showing the streamings of Gaulês, TheDarkness and Takeshi; in turn, spectators actively participated by talking and donating.

Four animals at risk of extinction in the Amazon were digitally created. While the avatars kept the aesthetics from the original games, they were faithful to the colors, textures and shapes from the real animals. Then, a specifically developed software synchronized and face mapped the streamers’ expressions in real-time.

For 10 days, 11 superstar gamers turned into endangered animals. While playing, they chatted with the audience. All donations received by them during this period were passed on to Greenpeace to continue fighting for the preservation of the Amazon.

Using the streamers’ personal channels on Twitch and Youtube, 10 of the most hyped games were played, such as Fortnite, CS:Go, League of Legends, Free Fire, Minecraft, and Call of Duty.

As 6 gamers played twice, on different days, we aired 17 streamings. There were 78 hours of broadcast, which meant 78 hours of environmental content.

Endangered Streamers reached 34 million fans using the gamers’ channels on Twitch, Youtube, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and through the social networks of Greenpeace Brazil, Greenpeace International, and Gamers Club.

The engagement on social media had another extremely important addition - the chat between gamers and fans during the 78 hours of streaming achieved more than 417k social interactions.

During the campaign time, Greenpeace had a 60% increase in online donations. With just one donation, Greenpeace raised a value 166 times larger than an average one from its website.

Greenpeace does not take donations from companies, governments, or political parties. That’s why individual support is fundamental. The total amount raised by this initiative was donated to preserve biodiversity in the Amazon.