Not only did we partner with popular gaming influencers to reach the gaming community, but we also created our very own by hiring the world’s first Gaming Relations Specialist, a new full-time position at the bank. To fill this role, we searched BMO’s 50,000+ employee base to find the charismatic gamer among them to entertain, engage, and educate gaming audiences on weekly live Twitch streams. Enter Sean Frame, a die-hard gamer with six years of banking experience working at a branch in Windsor, Canada. This commitment to authenticity was key to entering the gaming space.

BMO (Bank of Montreal) is the 8th largest bank in North America, but our customer base was aging and we needed to connect with a younger demographic. However, young adults hate traditional banks. New online options and the desire for personalization have driven many younger millennial and Gen Z customers to turn to fintech and non-banks.

Traditional banks, like BMO, were getting left behind and actively ignored by younger consumers. To reverse this trend and connect with younger customers, BMO needed an initiative to stimulate authentic and active engagement. We needed to do something a bank had never done before.

The primary objective was to find a new channel where the bank could connect with younger audiences to provide a level of personalized service and banking capabilities. This new channel needed to drive engagement, elevate brand perception, and ultimately lead non-customers to consider BMO and open new accounts.

FIRST BRANCH ON TWITCH

In partnership with Twitch, BMO created this first-of-its-kind communications platform that authentically connected with gamers while they played, explored, and connected in their natural environment. Gamers tuned in to BMO’s 50+ live streams in large numbers, including unplanned visits from famous esports personalities.

NEW BREED OF BANKER

A bank branch on Twitch required a special kind of banker to host it, someone who understands gaming. We found a BMO employee, Sean Frame, who was a Personal Banker at a local branch and devoted gamer. BMO created a new full-time position for him, called the Gaming Relations Specialist (GRS).

ENGAGEMENT BEYOND EDUCATION

BMO had proven it can authentically live within gaming, and now needed to drive business results through new banking account sign-ups. By providing direct access to account registrations in a live gaming environment, BMO was successful in driving a massive uptick in new account sign-ups.

With younger customers ignoring banks, BMO needed to meet them where they are. Gaming, with a global revenue of $220B, is replacing traditional advertising channels and becoming a significant part of daily life for our target audience.

Some brands enter the gaming space through one-time activations, but we knew in order to meet our objectives that we had to plan for the long-term. Part of the challenge included first building trust with the gaming community to prove that a bank can authentically exist in their space. Gaming is a high-risk, high-reward space, as gamers demand authenticity from brands who dare enter.

It was clear to us that we couldn’t speak to gamers as “the bank”, but instead needed someone in the middle who understood both worlds of gaming and finance. Secondly, we understood that in order to grow in that space, we needed to openly engage gamers in two-way conversations.

With a whole generation of consumers actively avoiding banks, BMO decided to enter a space with 100 million monthly visitors: Twitch. Twitch is known for its massive gaming community and entertaining content. We threw out everything we knew about traditional bank marketing and paved a new path with a first-of-its-kind platform that educated gamers and helped them level up in their financial progress the same way they level up in game whether that’s on Twitch with streams or on Discord with office hours.

NXT LVL started with promoting the program to gamers while they played, explored, and connected in their natural environment. Gaming, tech media relations, and influencer partnerships exposed the campaign to savvy and passionate gamers early in the journey. Paid units on Twitch, including a training montage of Sean Frame, BMO Gaming Relations Specialist (GRS), intercepted Twitch users, drove awareness of BMO’s GRS and promoted upcoming episodes.

BMO changed the gaming community's opinion of what a bank can be. All this despite the objections of Twitch, who recommended against a bank creating a Twitch channel.

BRAND BUILDING

40% improvement in unaided awareness.

100+ hours of searchable Twitch clips developed for Discord.

CHANGING PERCEPTION

30% improvement in gaming association.

15% improvement in perception of innovativeness.

DRIVING DESIRE

13% increase in new Everyday Banking accounts.

24% increase in student account openings.

4% improvement in consideration/purchase intent.

CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT

15,000+ hours spent watching BMO live content on Twitch.

123,245 unique views.

8.5 million video views.

PR

“BMO becomes the first bank in the world to open a branch on Twitch.” - Bloomberg

“I never thought I’d write this, but BMO now has a Twitch channel.” - MobileSyrup

“A global first for any financial institution.” - ConsoleCreatures