What it had to solve
Celebrate the offering of the Samsung Galaxy S23+ at Verizon with a one-of-a-kind gaming activation. To resonate with gamers, R/GA leaned into gaming culture and worked with in-house gaming experts to create what it called a next-generation experience.
The idea
A cross-reality hunt: the streamer plays from a real campsite while hunting in-game 'campers', with viewers voting on real and in-game scenarios.
How it works
On 4 February 2023, celebrity YouTube gamer DrLupo streamed from a real-life campsite in the great outdoors while he hunted 'campers' online, supported by Verizon's 5G network and coverage. Viewers voted on real-life and in-game scenarios to control the action; the experience drew 40K live viewers and remains viewable on YouTube.
What it did
Verizon hosted 40K live viewers for the experience.
Background
When the Samsung Galaxy S23+ arrived at Verizon — making headlines for its low-light Night Mode and gaming capabilities — Verizon and creative partner R/GA marked the launch with a pop-up, one-of-a-kind gaming activation on 4 February 2023, starring celebrity YouTube gamer DrLupo.
The idea was cross-reality: DrLupo streamed from a real-life campsite in the great outdoors while hunting 'campers' — the gaming term for opponents who wait in one spot — online. The stream rode on Verizon's 5G network and expansive coverage, and viewers could vote on real-life and in-game scenarios to control the action as it unfolded.
R/GA leaned into gaming culture and worked with in-house gaming experts to build the experience for an audience that detects inauthentic brand gaming plays instantly. Verizon hosted 40K live viewers, and the experience was made available for viewing on YouTube.
Why it lands
The campsite/camper wordplay gives the activation a joke gamers own, replacing generic 'gaming is big' brand messaging with an idea native to stream culture.
Audience voting on both real and in-game scenarios made viewers co-authors of the stream rather than an audience for it.
The phone's headline features — camera and gaming — are demonstrated by the stream's very existence: outdoor low light plus live gameplay over 5G.
What you can take
The pun is the concept: hunting 'campers' from an actual campsite fuses the stream's physical location with game culture, so the setting itself does the creative work.
Since then
The source records the 4 February 2023 stream and its 40K live viewers; no further results are mentioned.
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