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Twitch x Lexus: The Ultimate Gamers’ IS

Twitch & Lexus put gamers in the
driver's seat

Lexus vehicle
Remote control sitting in the seat of Lexus car

Interior of the back of lexus car
Seats inside the Lexus car

Background

Lexus’ broader “All In” campaign surrounding the 2021 IS celebrated those who “fully embrace their passions” and unapologetically pursue their interests, whether that be related to cars, fashion, music, or even gaming. The luxury auto brand sought to reach and connect with audiences going “all in'' for their obsessions, so to connect with gamers, they knew teaming up with Twitch would be the perfect “all in” solution.

Goal

With a wider stance, lower center of gravity, and more dynamic suspension, the 2021 Lexus IS offers gamers something they crave: complete control. 

With control in mind, the goal was  to drive awareness of the 2021 Lexus IS and build brand affinity by putting the Twitch community in the driver’s seat with a chance to transform the most responsive IS to date into the ultimate gamers’ IS.

Strategy

Leverage the power of Twitch influencers and their communities to lead an upbeat, audience-powered brand experience. Driven by the power of interactivity and customization, Twitch set out to build excitement and consideration for the 2021 Lexus IS and the brand as a whole.

Start Your Engines: Execution

Concept:

The campaign included a two-part bespoke influencer activation in which Lexus enthusiast and popular Twitch streamer, Fuslie, custom built and revealed the ultimate, gaming-themed IS vehicle with her audience. Accompanied by social posts from Fuslie and a robust video and display media package, Lexus reached Fuslie’s viewers beyond, amplifying their messaging to the entire Twitch community.

Fuslie in the homepage headliner on twitch.tv

Stream One: Gamers’ IS Design - January 13th, 2021

  • During Fuslie’s first stream, she introduced her community to the 2021 Lexus IS by walking her viewers through the IS’ design features. After her walkthrough, she posed a question to her audience: what could the ultimate Gamers’ IS look like? Through the utilization of an in-stream poll extension exclusive to Twitch, her community voted on various customizations for an IS made for gaming, including the exterior wrap, interior theme, monitor integration, ceiling lighting, even down to which beverage would go in the armrest fridge! At the end of the stream, Fuslie reviewed every decision that was crowdsourced during the stream and as a thank you for their participation, Lexus surprised the Chat with gifted channel subs to keep them coming back to Fuslie’s content. Once the votes were officially tallied, Lexus got to work on bringing the Gamers’ IS to life.

Stream Two: IRL Reveal - February 17th, 2021

  • With all hands on deck, concept artists, designers, 3D modelers, electrical and structural engineers, metal fabricators, craftsmen, artists, custom upholsterers, and computer technicians at fabrication expert SCPS spent weeks building out the Gamers’ IS designed for and by Fuslie’s community. When the car was finally ready for its grand debut, Fuslie’s second stream revealed the car in an luxe, industrial warehouse in Los Angeles featuring Fuslie and the fabrication experts at SCPS. Chat's mind was just as blown as Fuslie’s as each feature of the car was unveiled - including a surprise laser/fog machine with a CPU in the trunk (because you never know when lasers and fog might come in handy!)

The Finish Line: Results

The campaign exceeded benchmarks across the board, and effortlessly spoke the language of gamers, who were highly receptive to Lexus’ messaging. The Gamers’ IS campaign boosted brand favorability to position Lexus as the #1 automotive brand for gamers worldwide. 

 

Chat reactions to Lexus campaign

Total Campaign Metrics:

  • 56,700,000 impressions
  • 1,100,000 total views
  • 36,000 peak concurrent viewers
  • 863,900 total unique viewers
  • 4,800,000 total minutes watched
  • 85% video completion rate

Chat Sentiment:

  • Fuslie’s audience was highly captivated by the Gamers IS’ design and reveal process from start to finish, eliciting positive reaction from viewers in Chat for both streams. The audience’s involvement in the design and build of the vehicle fostered a genuine connection between Lexus and Fuslie’s viewers, which showcased just how powerful branded moments can be when online communities are offered the opportunity to experience a highly anticipated brand moment, all together in real-time.

Key Learnings

Fuslie's channel on twitch.tv with an image of the Lexus IS car

Non-gaming brands are welcome

  • Lexus is the prime example of a non-endemic client that is willing to go above and beyond to walk the walk with gamers. Lexus connected with our audiences big time by tapping into their creative side as well as deeply honing in on their technology, auto, and gaming interests.

Empower fans to create

  • By taking advantage of next generation live engagement in the form of crowdsourcing tactics to get Twitch viewers active and involved, Lexus authentically joined our viewers’ worlds. By creating a sense of ownership and influence, the luxury auto brand fostered an exciting dialogue around the Lexus IS model and expanded their reach and awareness on Twitch.

​​Two streams are better than one

  • Activating the campaign over two separate streams not only kept the audience highly engaged and connected to Lexus IS messaging throughout the campaign flight, but the reveal stream helped solidify Lexus’ “right to play” in the gaming space. Lexus was able to build anticipation and reward streamers with an impressive and tangible reveal in the form of the exclusive Gamers’ IS model.

“The Twitch community dives headfirst into their passion of gaming, just as we did in designing the new 2021 Lexus IS as a pure expression of a sports sedan. We asked for their help designing their dream gaming space, and they answered in spades. Together, we created the ultimate fusion of design and performance in automotive and gaming." 

- Vinay Shahani, Vice President of Marketing at Lexus

Press Coverage

  • Trend Hunter
  • Marketing Dive
  • Ad Age
  • Ad Age Wake Up Call
  • Auto Blog
  • Auto Evolution
  • Car and Driver
  • CNet RoadShow
  • CarScoops
  • DuPpoint Registry
  • The Drive
  • Hypebeast
  • Luxury Daily
  • Marketing Dive
  • Motor 1
  • SlashGear

Production Notes

Keeping the impacts of COVID-19 in mind, safety was a top priority with twenty staff and crew on set. Our production team mandated 2 negative COVID-19 tests including a same-day rapid test and had air filtration systems installed on set. 

Additionally, the entire stage was mapped with the intent to establish designated areas for every member of the crew to decrease waves of foot traffic.

To stay connected but socially distanced, teams utilized nine different communication services to communicate between client, talent, steadicams, chat, control room, and broadcast.

Credits

 

  • Stephen Huskins, Director, Client Strategy

  • Aaron Phan, Client Success Manager

  • Rob Stowe, Manager, Client Strategy

  • Grazina Snipas, Sr. Creative Strategist

  • Karen Chiang, Sr. Program Activation Manager

  • James Davidson, Influencer Relations Manager

  • Mackenzie Portfolio, Creative Producer

  • Mark Gillis, Head of Interactive Studio

  • Khiem Lu, Product Owner @ Grab, Interactive Studio

  • Patrick Moses, Production Lead, Americas

  • MALKA Media, Production Company

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