Verizon

Wild Rift Invitational

Project Tags:

Telecommunications
Virtual Events
E-Sports Activations
Media Events

No Live
Audience?
No Problem.

To build anticipation of the new iPhone with 5G, Verizon partnered with Momentum and Pinnacle to create a buzz-worthy experience that showcased the power of gaming on-the-go and built awareness of the new mobile game League of Legends: Wild Rift. Ten celebrities, influencers and pro gamers were selected to compete in an invitational tournament. While the players would compete together live, the audience got to join the action through live-stream by choosing the champions, picking the match-ups and watching them battle it out. Though the event was broadcast, even without a live audience, the production of such an event during the COVID-19 pandemic required additional planning and on site precautions including: broadcast testing, an expanded safety plan, a COVID-19 compliance crew and defined team “bubble”. Over 1.1 million viewers joined to watch the tournament on Twitch, and the expanded precautions were successful in keeping our team of 150 people healthy and safe. 2020 and 2021 are presenting us all with new challenges, but our purpose as marketers remains the same—to connect brands with people in meaningful ways.

Project Description

To build anticipation of the new iPhone with 5G, Verizon partnered with Momentum and Pinnacle to create a buzz-worthy experience that showcased the power of gaming on-the-go and built awareness of the new mobile game League of Legends: Wild Rift. Ten celebrities, influencers and pro gamers were selected to compete in an invitational tournament. While the players would compete together live, the audience got to join the action through live-stream by choosing the champions, picking the match-ups and watching them battle it out. Though the event was broadcast, even without a live audience, the production of such an event during the COVID-19 pandemic required additional planning and on site precautions including: broadcast testing, an expanded safety plan, a COVID-19 compliance crew and defined team “bubble”. Over 1.1 million viewers joined to watch the tournament on Twitch, and the expanded precautions were successful in keeping our team of 150 people healthy and safe. 2020 and 2021 are presenting us all with new challenges, but our purpose as marketers remains the same—to connect brands with people in meaningful ways.