Activision – Operation: Streamfest
The German launch campaign for Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War “Operation: Streamfest” combined gaming creator centered content with fictional storytelling in the cold war setting to create a multi-phase campaign across a variety of social, video and livestream channels. INSTINCT3 was responsible for the creative lead, the talent selection and the influencer management.
The Challenge
Accompanying the launch of one of the most renowned gaming franchises through a 360° approach sounds like a great challenge, right?
Our goal was to create a campaign experience with continuous storytelling which features social, VOD and livestream content across the channels of Germany’s biggest gaming creators. The setting of Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War enabled a variety of creative approaches for the shaping of our campaign elements – the addressing of a gaming audience was just as important as the emergence of mainstream appeal for the connected components. Huge thanks to our dear friends at Freaks 4U Gaming who covered the technical and logistical aspects of the campaign.
The Idea
We wanted to offer the involved creators as well as the community a spectacle – so we went all-in.
Alongside HandOfBlood as one of the charismatic leaders, it was clear that we had to build up a fictional conflict that resolves around the presence of Spandau as one of the gaming capitals in Germany. Simon from Rocket Beans TV was identified as the opponent which gave us the foundation for the storyline in the cold war setting: Spandau versus The East. With 10 additional gaming creators on board, we created a plot that stayed close to the Call of Duty theme and offered multiple meme-worthy moments through strong and charming acting performances of our cast.
The Result
Our efforts resulted in behind-the-scenes preview content on social media at the start of the campaign, a high-quality cinematic short film that was celebrated by the community and an innovative live event that combined a cheerful final of our fictional conflict with various Call of Duty matches and amusing show elements. Furthermore, Operation: Streamfest was operated under strict hygiene guidelines.
