A new entertainment channel and new frontiers
The possibility for streamers to adapt classic entertainment (series, movies…) to the virtual world is something that has not stopped growing since the appearance of Twitch.
The Twitch series consists of grouping many content creators in a specific game. Once in the game, streamers generally follow a roll. Some are heroes, others villains, and others are. The game and the roles create a scenario where various plots occur, as diverse as the series’ participants or the game’s possibilities and new frontiers.
What kind of entertainment?
Although the concept of “series” is not new, you can find examples of this on Youtube (see the different chapters of Rubius in Skyrim 13 years ago). The new direct format that Twitch has made it more difficult for streamers to capture the attention of the public, who can now accompany them for hours.
Series such as Egoland, for the survival type game Rust, promoted by Alexby, Marbella Vice for GTA and 14 days in DayZ (also survival) created by IlloJuan or Tortillaland in Minecraft; have shown that the narrative format proposed by the series is very successful on Twitch. The public waits week after week for their favourite streamers to broadcast the series. Here we have an excellent example of these new communicators’ influence capacity and a new possibility for influencer marketing in the audiovisual world.
Streamers manage to adapt real-world series to virtual ones, and the best example is what happened with The Squid Game in Roblox, thanks to Rubius. Rubius announced that he and 122 other YouTubers would compete for a $100,000 prize. The scenario, the tests and the feeling of tension were identical to the show. During the event’s day, some participants, such as Auronplay or Ibai, entertained more than 100,000 spectators.
What opportunities are there for the entertainment platforms?
Big production companies should start thinking of reproducing the content they intend to release on sandbox-type platforms. Create a series for these platforms with the most successful streamers, as in the Game of Squid case, and create sequels to their greatest hits on Twitch formats. The idea of opening their world to the Twitch streaming world strengthens the relationship with their public and gives a new life to their products.
Imagine creating special series of Game of Thrones on Twitch, of The Power of the Rings or even a reshoot of Harry Potter.
As a marketer, how could we adopt this opportunity for our brand?
Now that audiovisual products have a better adaptation to the format of the Twitch series, advertisers need to follow this new way of entertainment closely. Since some of the Twitch series could be the right place to create brand entertainment, add value to the brand, and above all, reinforce the most outstanding attributes of the brand.
This year, parts of the famous hit Egoland 2 are being adapted to the platform so streamers can enjoy the adventure live and try and survive the whole game. Think of how as a marketer, you could enter these live “games”; how for example, a sports brand or a nature brand could create valuable and enjoyable experiences for their audience and new frontiers.