The pandemic saw a huge growth in the popularity of gaming, with more people spending more time at home and looking for ways to keep themselves connected and entertained. But this presented people with greater risks; 7/10 gamers experience online toxicity - sexual harassment, threats, hate speech. And what’s more, studies show their mental health is seriously affected as a result.

As a major, long-term player in the gamer community, they wanted to demonstrate that they support gamers and can be a force for good, doing something meaningful, that would be genuinely welcomed and appreciated by the gaming community at large.

This would feed into Intel’s objective of accelerating their journey towards acceptance and authenticity within the gamer community, further shedding their corporate image and connecting to gamers in ways that truly resonate with them.

With credibility central to the strategy, we created a ‘special’ ambassador program that was more than a tactical PR piece. In May 2022 the Intel Gaming Alliance launched, an all-star global family of 15 well-known and respected gaming personalities hailing from 12 countries across 5 continents. All were held in high esteem by their ever-loyal communities for their differing contributions to gaming - some mainstream entertainers, some professionals. We then set them a mission - to help eliminate online toxicity one game, one comment and one positive, entertaining and inclusive livestream at a time. Where their fans were encouraged to watch, participate, play, chat, support each other, be themselves and belong, without fear of being harassed. A place for positivity, in a safe place. Where inclusivity was a given. Therefore, uniting a global community, encouraging positive self-expression and pushing gaming for good. Helping to break the negative cycle of negativity.

We know that when it comes to gaming influencers, fans are drawn to their personalities more than anything else (more than necessarily the game that they play). It’s what makes them tune into their livestreams on streaming platforms like Twitch and YouTube and why they dedicate huge amounts of time playing an active part of the influencers’ community; because it’s where they can watch the entertainment unfold and feel connected to like-minded people, with the chance to get close to the influencer and community members through ongoing chat, interaction and participation. Importantly, fans are there because they want to be, and its where negativity is called out because the community naturally ‘self-polices’ itself. On a human level, these positive spaces were precisely what we wanted to harness and help flourish on a global scale – to create a gaming alliance united in helping to help reduce online toxicity.

Without doubt, Intel’s ambition to engage more deeply with the gaming community through meaningful activations has played out. Global audiences have expressed a huge amount of positive sentiment towards both the IGA members and Intel - pretty amazing for this highly cynical audience.

Not only that, the impact that the IGA have had on Intel’s core KPI metrics has been amazing. In a survey posted from our IGA members channels, the followings results apply to those who were exposed to IGA activity vs. those who have not. In all instances, people exposed to the IGA activities all now have a more positive association with Intel:

• Brand affinity > 93% vs. 86%

• Brand net promoter score > +52 vs. +23

• Positive sentiment > +76% vs. +63%

• Intel understands the gaming community > 70% vs. 52%

• Intel partners with gaming brands I trust > 78% vs. 63%