Project Information

YouTube Gaming

CHALLENGE

Turn a growing content vertical into a new product for YouTube.

TRANSFORMATION

Brand Transformation

STORY

More people watch video game streams annually than HBO, Netflix, ESPN, and Hulu…combined. Even without an outsized effort into recruiting this audience, gaming became YouTube’s second largest content vertical. YouTube’s community became so big, in fact, it ranked second to Twitch’s total viewership.

YouTube, however, wasn’t originally built for live-streaming. Streamers used the platform as an archive, uploading their edited gameplay recordings. These videos received far less engagement than the live-streams. Seeking more and deeper engagement, YouTube appointed a product team to turn its gaming section into a great, live-streaming product.

But what unique value proposition should drive the product and its marketing? Twitch was the runaway category leader. Copying another playbook was obviously not a good long-term strategy. YouTube needed to play its own game.

The classic playbook? Recruit superstar streamers to pull their fans.

But there was an unguarded gate – and an alternative playbook – that unlocked far more value.

Superstar channels are like a stadium experience. But mid-tier and smaller channels are more like your best friend’s couch: more personal, more engaging. This gives these channels unique business advantages:

• Mid-tier channels convert views into purchases 13x more effectively than top-tier broadcasters.
• Small channels convert views into purchases 1,000x more effectively than top-tier broadcasters.

While other streaming platforms leverage superstars, YouTube Gaming would recruit the smaller broadcaster market. This shaped a new, motivating value proposition: become a gaming creator. This resonated with the gaming audience, 54% of whom report that their #1 career aspiration is to become a creator.

We helped launch the YouTube Gaming brand with a new brand design system that puts the audience in the game – as a creator – broadcasting their play.

IMPACT

• YouTube Gaming has grown by 13% since the product and brand transformation introduction.
• Gaming live-streams now account for 17% of total hours watched.
• New ways to onboard and support aspiring creators continue to be developed and rolled out.

Team

  • COLLINS
  • Kelly Kraft
  • L.A. Corrall
  • Emily Sneddon
  • Sharon Park
  • Farbod Kokabi
  • Tomas Markevicius
  • Daniel Ferro
  • Darius Wang
  • Mariah Bush
  • Sterling Thomas
  • Jade Kuzak
  • Dev Valladares
  • Rejane Dal Bello
  • Michael Di Leo
  • Alex Athanasiou
  • Nick Ace
  • —
  • YouTube Creative Studio
  • YouTube Art Department
  • —
  • Collaborators
  • Michiel Stender
  • Waneella
  • Jeron Braxton
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