It is expected that the global gaming market is going to surpass $180 billion in revenue by 2021 which means a 30.6% increase from $137.9 billion in 2018. In the last few years, gaming has grown more significant on existing platforms like YouTube and Facebook, but it has also spurred the creation of live stream gaming platforms, like Twitch and Caffeine.tv. As these gaming platforms are in competition, most gamers are maximizing their presence across multiple gaming platforms. The gaming industry is diversifying rapidly, so brands interested in collaborating with the leading gaming influencers need to keep up with the changing tides.

This is where the gaming influencers shine. To elaborate we’ve collected a few examples of influencer marketing campaigns on gaming channels in Turkey.  Influencer campaigns entertain, inform and reward applications and strengthen the ability to establish an emotional connection to the brand while providing product experience. 

Influencer ads:

– Have a viral effect

– Strengthens the brand message

– It allows you to be noticed in digital clutter.

– Provides positive product/brand experience.

– Strengthens brand awareness, and engagement.

– Creates loyal customer communities.

How can gaming influencers help brands?

Numerous gamers have started live streaming their game performances and have garnered millions of followers. These gamers have massive reach and engaged audiences who are interested in gaming. Which makes them the ideal target market for gaming companies. And these influencers can help you reach that market.

A lot of gaming brands are now collaborating with influencers to promote their products, but not everyone is doing it right. Not every campaign gets the desired results. Here are some successful influencer marketing campaigns in Turkey that were on point.

Burger King’s campaign with gamers

One of the world’s biggest fast-food hamburger chain Burger King operates in Turkey since 1995 and has more than 650 restaurants. Adopting the strategy of “We should be there where our target audience is”, Burger King embraced the e-sport which is increasingly popular in recent years to target the younger generations and developed a Pro-gamer menu for gamers. 

TrueView for Action and Bumper video formats were used on YouTube with the collaboration with Digital Media Agency SEM. For the campaign, there was created an entertaining commercial in the concept of a challenge with the participation of Batuhan Sergen (Quincy10) who is a well-known gamer in Twitch. 

All communication of the campaign was supported only through digital channels in collaboration with professional e-sports players. YouTube was chosen as the main channel for the promotion of the Pro-Gamer menu. By positioning YouTube in this audience-specific targeting, the campaign achieved a high performance of 616% ROAS.

The brand achieved a 153% increase in website traffic and a 19% growth in online sales after the campaign started. Compared to the previous period, sales revenue increased by 84% in the TrueView For Action campaign in comparison to the same product performance.

Gilette’s collaboration with gamers

Gillette is increasing the support for e-sport, which has been a rising trend in recent years and is becoming increasingly popular, especially among young people. 

In 2018, Gilette has gathered 5 gaming influencers together and formed “the most popular e-sports team of Turkey”. For the campaign with Gilette, one of the biggest sponsors of sport and e-sports categories,  YouTube gamers Tuna Akshen (Pintipanda), Mete Ozbey (Easter Gamers TV), Tolgahan Turkben (Oyunbros), Dora Ozsoy (Stratera), Serdar Mercan (Oyun Konsolu) came together and took part in 25 videos during the 6 month with the hashtag #Gilettegibi. The Campaign achieved 11M impressions, allowing the brand to reach the right target audience. 

Casper Excalibur Series commercial 

Casper has released a new commercial for the Excalibur Series, which promises gaming enthusiasts maximum performance and uninterrupted gaming pleasure.

The company shot a commercial of the G670 model of the Excalibur Series featuring a renowned by the game enthusiasts, Bogac Soydemir (aka EducatedEar) from the Post42 team. By making Bogac Soydemir the face of the commercial was a strategic step to speak to not only the gamers but also huge auditorium of over millions of fans on YouTube. 

Bogac Soydemir gained fame for his editing skills and the YouTube show, “funny videos” which became a famous show through his ideas and creativity. Although he is a gamer and commentator best known for his Twitch live streams, he is also famous for a rock band named “Yok oyle kararli sheyler”.