MTN DEW has a long-standing relationship with gamers. But how do you improve this existing relationship and create a lasting impact that demonstrates you understand the gaming community better than any other brand out there?

We needed to dial up the love for MTN DEW and be seen as a true partner, not just an advertiser that plasters its logo across gaming platforms while paying influencers to talk about their product.

We were tasked with challenging expectations and finding new, innovative, never-before-seen ways to engage with gamers. All while being 100% authentic to the community.

In other words, an idea targeted to gamers, that promoted our brand and products, and got gamers to willingly talk about us.

Easy right?

To gain the awareness of the gaming community, brands focus on the most famous Twitch influencers. This means thousands of streamers go neglected and never reap the benefits of brand partnerships, ultimately splitting the community into haves and have-nots.

We decided to spotlight all gamers, regardless of views and subscribers. And to show our love, we helped them realize their biggest dream: get featured on the Twitch home page.

To achieve this, we trained AI to scan hundreds of thousands of live Twitch streams daily to find MTN DEW bottles and logos. The algorithm’s code only scanned non-top-tier streamers. If gamers showed a MTN DEW logo or products in their live stream they’d be selected, vetted, and featured on the Twitch home page.

By doing this, MTN DEW created a partnership with the entire streaming community (not just a few famous streamers) and rewarded them with 15 minutes of fame.

To help MTN DEW deepen its relationship with the gaming community, you need to understand the gaming community.

We made a concerted effort to align with their passion points and figure out what truly makes them tick and what gaming/streaming represents in their lives.

By interviewing smaller Twitch streamers, we noticed that, yes they love to game and that it brings them an incredible amount of emotional and mental benefits. But it was also associated with a more meaningful dream, ‘what if I could do what I love for a living’.

This statement was such a deep representation of people’s relationship with work culture and how the idea of ‘making a living’ is being challenged in American society.

This triggered the following thought: ‘Why do only a few get to make a living from gaming? How can we help all gamers become more noticed and famous?

We developed an AI capable of accurately identifying MTN DEW branding using a combination of game screenshots, product images, and branding variations to detect MTN DEW logos accurately. Unlike traditional sponsorships that reward based on streaming figures, we rewarded small streamers for their brand loyalty by placing them on the coveted homepage of Twitch and the MTN DEW gaming channel.

Using a smart crawler, we scanned all active Twitch gaming streams, seeking out one specific element on camera feeds: the presence of a MTN DEW logo. Streamers with MTN DEW logos visible on camera were invited to opt into a program that gave them the tools to grow their Twitch audience.

To scan all of Twitch every 15 minutes, we distributed the load across a robust machine network, enabling logo detection within two minutes with minimal false positives. The machines constantly monitored 10,000 streams, rotating “DEW-less” streams for fresh data.

Through this campaign, MTN DEW showcased an impressive use of tech, generated unprecedented community engagement, and established a revolutionary platform first.

The MTN DEW RAID AI successfully scanned 83 million live streams but even more important were the results:

20 million homepage views for smaller streamers who otherwise would have never made the front page.

25 million minutes of MTN DEW product placement organically streamed by real gamers.

We’ll say that again - 25 million minutes of homemade MTN DEW dresses, MTN DEW signs, MTN DEW tattoos, MTN DEW product towers, and yes, even MTN DEW baths.