Why streaming might not be right for your campaign or activation

Over the past few years there has been a growing acceptance around streaming. It crossed over into the mainstream thanks to content creators and streamers like Ninja. When he started playing Fortnite with celebrities from sports and music the world took notice.

Tournaments have also embraced streaming as a way to build viewership around a property. It gives the organisers new inventory to sell as part of sponsorship packages. It also enables them to have some direct connection with the gaming audience. Viewers can be directed to website or landing pages. Data can be captured through Twitch Extensions and other tools.

And while streaming continues to grow in terms of number of channels and viewership it might not be right for you.

The top tournaments generate sizeable viewership for two reasons – strength of brand and expertise of participants. With the top teams or players participating the audience who play and watch the selected game will be interested to watch the outcome. They will want to see the game they love played at the highest level by the very best.

For individual content creators and streamers their audience has been cultivated over time. They’ve spent hours, months and even years building their audience. Through consistency of streaming on certain days and times their audience knows where and when to find them.

If you use influencers or content creators as part of your campaign/activation then streaming can add value. However, if you are creating a campaign or activation from scratch you should pause for a second.

Streaming is expensive. If using a 3^rd party provider, a single-language stream can cost tens of thousands of dollars. This cost is dependent on whether it is a remote or physical event and what level of stage production you desire. Adding extra language streams increases the complexity and the cost.

The key question to be asked is about ROI. Can you guarantee more than a handful of viewers for a new tournament or a game that doesn’t have an existing viewing audience? We regularly get people asking us about broadcasts and streams for FIFA tournaments. FIFA as a game doesn’t have an in-built spectator mode which means specialist equipment is required for a broadcast. This is easier to do with a physical event and more challenging for a remote/online event. Additionally, outside of the major EA SPORTS managed tournaments, there isn’t great viewership for the game.

Creating a broadcast stream of a small local or national FIFA tournament will not generate good ROI. That budget could be better spent on engagement activities with the playing audience.

When considering sponsorship options, or options for creating your own campaigns and activations, you should think hard about streaming. It might not be right for your campaign or activation.