Twitch is the best and worst place for advertising.
- Anirudh Shenoy
- Aug 5
- 3 min read
Twitch is a live streaming platform primarily focused on gaming; however, the platform has recently taken a turn towards IRL content. This content consists of a streamer taking their audience throughout their day, whether that be exploring a foreign city, or just doing errands around their hometown. Think of the vlog style content that was popular in the late 2010's, except now they're live and hours worth of unedited content.
Like any other streaming platform, Twitch has a free version with ads, and they have a sitewide subscription for ad-free streaming. Additionally, users are able to choose specific streamers to subscribe to, allowing them to watch ad-free, until their subscription ends. What's unique though, is that on Twitch, affiliated streamers are able to set the frequency of ads that run during their stream.
Often, for streamers to incentivize users to subscribe, they increase the frequency of the ads that they run. This creates a tricky environment for advertisers. On one hand, yes, thousands of more people will see your placement because of this uptick in frequency; however on the other hand, most of these viewers are upset that this ad interrupted their experience, forcing them to sometimes miss out on key moments in the stream. See, ads on Twitch aren't necessarily pre-planned the same way they are on other streaming platforms. Sometimes, ads come at the boring parts of the stream, and other times they come at moments that simply can't be missed. Frustrated unsubscribed users now have to sit through minutes of content that's taking away from something that subscribers are enjoying without them. You can even see this in real time. If you're a subscriber, every now and then you'll see a group of people in the live chat spam, "L ads," which is Twitch slang translating to the users grievance towards getting hit with an ad break. These upset users are now watching your content, and their anger only grows as the ads go on.
Realistically though, Twitch is the perfect place to reach older Gen Z and Millennials, it can't just be avoided because of how it makes unsubscribed users feel. So, how can advertisers get around this obstacle? The key is experiential marketing and sponsored segments.
This July, streaming group 'AMP' (Any Means Possible) teamed up with music technology giant, Bose, to pull off a full month of unique segments and giveaways during each members stream. Anytime music was being played around the house, or during segments, it was always on a Bose speaker. They even erected a massive Bose speaker wall at basketball legend Tony Parker's mansion. This form of marketing is extremely effective on Twitch because it not only takes the interruption aspect out of the equation, but the brand becomes an ally of the streamer, which almost immediately converts to a positive sentiment among the viewers. Even when Bose isn't on the screen, they're able to find a way into the viewers mind. During one stream alone, Bose gifted users with upwards of 500 subscriptions. As each day went on, they continued to gift subscriptions 100 at a time, continuously fostering a strong relationship with the viewers. This can be seen in real time because whenever Bose drops another 100, "W Bose," floods the chat, which is Twitch slang to communicate an extremely positive reaction.
This isn't a new concept either. Back in 2021, Lexus teamed up with popular streamer, Fuslie, to tap into the gaming community. They let Fuslie's live chat determine all the specifications of a custom built Lexus IS 350 F Sport, naming it the Gamers' IS. Lexus went into this campaign understanding that 67% of Twitch users at the time were under the age of 35, and in the market for their first car. At the end of the campaign, they got almost 58 million impressions, and were ranked the #1 automotive brand among gamers that year.
When it comes to Twitch, experiential marketing is the way to go. It's simple: Don't interrupt the stream. Instead, be a part of the stream that people get upset when it's interrupted.
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