By Season 3 of its wildly popular League of Legends e-sports championship, the event’s stature had grown to the point where it now regularly sells out arenas and draws a larger worldwide viewing audience than the NBA Finals.
To capitalize on the event’s soaring popularity, Riot required a first-class digital platform capable of live-streaming the event — one that would also serve as the official source for tournament news and commentary. In essence, it needed the equivalent of SportsCenter for e-sports.
Here’s how we helped Riot amplify customer engagement and drive purchase with the first e-sports viewing platform of its kind.
As worldwide viewership for Riot’s League of Legends e-sports competition skyrocketed into the millions, the publisher’s digital platform strained to keep up with demand. Unofficial fan sites threatened to compete with Riot’s own online destination for breaking news and information. Riot needed a platform that could serve as a worldwide hub for both event streaming and news and analysis.
E-sports fans are a lot like traditional sports fans — they have an insatiable thirst for stats, details and inside information about the players, strategies and personalities of the event participants. In order to succeed, an e-sports platform would have to prove beyond any doubt to be the most comprehensive and relevant resource for fans.
Amp developed a strategy that focuses on driving fan engagement beyond championship tournaments – one that keeps fans connected and playing the game all year round. The platform we designed serves as the primary source, not only for event broadcast streams, but for VOD content and editorial news, in addition to player and team information.
The comprehensive platform overhaul gives fans access to streaming tournament video, keeping them on the site and engaged with the brand longer.
Additionally, a robust publishing plan keeps the site content fresh, conveying a sense of timeliness and urgency to spur frequent repeat visits.
Individual profile pages for popular teams and players offer fans frequent updates of relevant content, while extensive stats and ranking data offer the potential for endless “who’s better” debates among obsessive hardcore fans.
+32MM
Viewers Supported During LoL Season 3 Championship
+18MM
Increase LoL Monthly Active users 2014-2015
+80%
Growth in LoL Monthly Active Users 2013-2015