The archive · Brand & Identity · Marketing decision · 2022–2023
BMO's NXT LVL becomes the first bank channel on Twitch and wins over young gamers
BMO launched NXT LVL, the first bank channel on Twitch: 8.9M+ video views, a 30% lift in gaming association, 37,000+ engagements.
Bank of Montreal (BMO)
What it had to solve
BMO needed to connect with a generation who actively ignored them. That audience was on Twitch, the world's number one streaming platform, yet no financial institution had a channel there — and Twitch itself recommended against a bank creating one.
How it works
Bank of Montreal (BMO) needed to connect with a generation who actively ignored them. The audience they wanted was on Twitch — the world's number one streaming platform — but no financial institution had ever opened a channel there, and when the idea was raised, Twitch itself recommended against a bank creating one.
BMO launched NXT LVL anyway, becoming the first financial institution with a Twitch channel. The channel was built inside gaming culture rather than around it: money was talked through the formats, language and habits of the platform, so the bank met the audience on the audience's own ground.
The results measured the idea in the audience's own terms: more than 8.9 million video views, a 30% improvement in gaming association among younger customers, and over 37,000 campaign engagements. BMO NXT LVL reimagined what a bank could be, and the case entered the D&AD awards archive as proof that a financial institution can thrive within gaming culture.
Why it lands
- BMO went to the audience instead of asking the audience to come to banking, so the channel lived inside the culture it wanted to reach.
- Being first made the launch newsworthy: the first financial institution on Twitch, opened against the platform's own recommendation.
- Talking money through gaming culture made the association lift a product of participation rather than interruption.
- Twitch's objection framed the bank as bold inside the very space where BMO was unknown, turning a rejection into the story.
What it did
The channel drew over 8.9 million video views, improved gaming association among younger customers by 30% and generated more than 37,000 campaign engagements — proving a financial institution could find room to thrive inside gaming culture.
What you can take
When an audience ignores your category, become native to their world instead of interrupting it: being the first financial brand on the platform set the permission and the proof for everyone after.
Since then
NXT LVL entered the D&AD awards archive as the case that put a bank inside gaming culture, standing as a reference for financial brands trying to reach younger audiences who ignore them. Being first became a durable claim for BMO rather than a one-off campaign moment.
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