Why is this work relevant for Brand Experience & Activation?

Global Pride Crossing exemplified the power of gaming, which today reaches beyond play. Social gaming, as we like to coin it, has the ability to generate conversations based on how people connect, discuss and create - inside and outside of games - breaking new ground for brand experiences and activation. The unifying power of social gaming also makes it incredibly impactful for non-profit causes as the gaming ecosystem is structured to support goodwill efforts. Creators on Twitch, for example, raised over $83+ million for charity in 2020. So of course, we chose to ‘game for good’ with Global Pride Crossing.

Background

Pride events are statements of equality, dignity and acceptance for the LGBTQI+ community. Every year, over 500 events are organised during Pride month (June) all around the world. However, in 2020, COVID crashed the party: IRL celebrations were cancelled, and millions of LGBTQI+ people lost their most cherished opportunity to come together and celebrate whoever they are and what they stand for. A year without Pride was inconceivable, so Pride organisations banded together to form Global Pride 2020: bringing the festivities online with a 24-hour stream of LGBTQI+ content. However, we quickly identified that the social aspect of in-person events would be missed and that we needed to find a supporting experience to achieve two key objectives: re-engage the community and generate earned media to further the LGBTQI+ movement, all with the challenge of $0 media spend.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

We were inspired by the thriving LGBTQI+ conversations (over 20,000 mentions) around Animal Crossing: New Horizons (ACNH) since its launch in March 2020. The game happened to be what the world needed during a period of turbulence and fear: a creative outlet where users could pour in hours and hours to build their own idyll. This wholesome corner of the Internet was the perfect solution to our problem: turning prominent IRL activities into a virtual celebration. Meet Global Pride Crossing — a social activation not just free from the borders and barriers of the outside world, but a place where self-expression is integrated by design. Utilising ACNH’s incredible customisation features, we built a world (or ‘island’) of our own, providing a space for celebration and empowerment for the community to learn, connect with, and express their identity. The campaign became the perfect complement to Global Pride 2020’s otherwise one-day-only broadcast.

Describe the strategy (20% of vote)

From conversations with the LGBTQI+ community, we learned that the social aspect of Pride was not just a “good to have,’ but the primary reason people participated. Hence we designed an ecosystem where interactivity and engagement were the driving forces. For avid ACNH ‘Gaymers’, we brought signature activities online through our Pride-themed ACNH island to emulate the lost culture, fun and sparkle of physical Pride events. It served as an inspiration for players to replicate and host their own mini pride events within ACNH. We started conversations with users on Twitter, providing real-time updates and news of Global Pride island outside of the game. We also wanted more people to experience the joy and the community of Pride, which meant looking beyond players that already had access to ACNH. To target the community at large, we made an active effort for the campaign to be streamer-friendly as well.

Describe the execution (30% of vote)

The 24-hour broadcast for Global Pride 2020 was set on June 27. To build momentum towards the day, we unveiled our ACNH Pride-themed island on Twitter two weeks prior. We continued to provide valuable resources like tutorial videos and design codes, for players to begin organising their very own in-game Pride parades through our creations. Twitter was also a fantastic primary channel for us to share ongoing UGC through #GlobalPrideCrossing, feeding the activation with positive energy, conversation and fun - all trademarks of physical Pride events and the LGBTQI+ community at large. A week before Global Pride Day, we invited pro-LGBTQI+ Twitch streamers to live-stream a Pride Island tour, exciting a wider queer audience who did not have access to ACNH to join forces with us and reimagine Pride. Our streamers then went live again on event day, hosting their own Pride activities on their own ACNH islands.

List the results (30% of vote)

Global Pride Crossing thrived with $0 media spend. Our campaign hashtag garnered over 25.2 million organic impressions within a fortnight, even Nike used our hashtag for their ACNH Pride apparel collection drop. ACNH islands exploded in a flurry of rainbows with users actively sharing and using our design codes, in turn, they were just as enthusiastic about sharing their own. Our Twitter channel was buzzing with over 93,000 engagements. The gamer community tuned in to our influencers’ live streams, reaching over 1.07 million minutes watched across Twitch, Facebook and YouTube; that’s 24 months of non-stop Pride celebration packed in less than two weeks. The media fell in love with our idea and further spread our call. The campaign was featured in 89 publications, reaching an estimated 3.86 million readers. Global Pride Crossing kept the Pride flag flying high, making a positive social impact beyond the screens.