Sharing the magic of IRL events through social media

In the recent past, Twitch has faced waves of negative sentiment from streamers and their communities amidst service and policy changes, and competitors entering the market. With the bulk of Twitch activity happening online, this IRL (“in real life”) gathering at TwitchCon offered the opportunity to bring to life the culture of Twitch and show how it is still the best place for streamers and their communities.

With that in mind, they came to DEPT®, a long-time Twitch agency partner, to help amplify the conversation and excitement for the event. We recognised that Twitch socials are the first line of communication with users and can shape conversation and perception through a more humanised image of the brand

The organic social media team at Twitch had two major goals during TwitchCon Las Vegas:

• Reinforce @twitch’s reputation as a channel of value and trust for the community, reminding them “Why Twitch” is the best place for streamers
• Take a “Fewer, Bigger, Better” approach featuring a mix of streamers and keeping the focus on relevant topics with bigger swings, not just filling the feed for the sake of content

We accomplished these goals by showcasing exclusive TwitchCon moments like a live proposal, exciting behind-the-scenes events, witty fan interactions, topical prompts, and highlighting exciting product and feature updates in an easy-to-digest thread, all showcasing @twitch as the go-to resource for attendees to share their live con experiences, as well as a source of major FOMO for at-home fans. 

With streamers and users alike making their way to Vegas, we commemorated the event by turning the trek to the venue into a game. We tapped into the weird and whacky on TikTok by designing an AR lens for fans to use on their way to the event, with Twitch’s CEO as the launch post.

Using the beloved Twitch emote CoolCat as our avatar, we created a side-scrolling AR lens game on Meta where CoolCat needs to get to the TwitchCon convention centre by collecting Twitch-related items and avoiding obstacles. The more items collected, the faster you get there.

We paired this with IRL elements around the event, like coasters and floor decals containing QR codes to access the game as they were in line at different booths. We also placed coasters with the QR code in TwitchCon’s food court, Kappa Cabana, so that folks could play the game while waiting for their food or the next act to perform. We captured streamers playing the game throughout the weekend to inspire further use.