#PRAwards 2021 spills: Twitch shares successes of 2020 and plans for 2021

Twitch enables the creation of multiplayer entertainment, through the gathering of its global community. It recently secured a finalist position for Best Use of Virtual Platforms (B2B) at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's PR Awards 2021. The team wanted to demonstrate the magic of its platform by streaming a virtual live event encompassing its values in a two-hour event across key Asia Pacific markets. According to Twitch, the live element of its platform brings another level of immersion and interactivity to the stream. The first is that the content is authentic, which is exactly what its audiences are after. Through its event, Twitch saw a 15% lift in its brand familiarity. 

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, director of sales marketing of Twitch, APAC, Cheeri Leo, shared some of her proudest achievements for Twitch in 2020, and some of the trends she sees being carried on post-pandemic.

This interview is done as part of MARKETING-INTERACTIVE’s winners and finalists’ interview series for PR Awards 2021. To find out more about the awards, click here.

What would you say was your proudest achievement of the year?  

Leo: With Twitch expanding its sphere of operations and business to Asia Pacific at the beginning of 2020, there was a need to introduce the unique Twitch live streaming entertainment experience to brands and businesses who are unaware and unfamiliar with Twitch. The challenge for Twitch was identifying how we could launch and introduce the Twitch experience to brands and business in a fresh and engaging manner, demonstrating how this is a new way for brands to foster collaboration and community between content creator and audience and support this consumer-led revolution of how content is delivered.

Coupled with the fatigue of virtual events, we needed to demonstrate how Twitch is a multiplayer entertainment and is unparalleled as the live streaming service of the future. Being nominated for “PR Awards for Best Use of Virtual Platform (B2B)” was really the biggest win and it showed that we were successful in our launch.

What are some communications trends you see carrying on post-pandemic?  

Leo: Let me break it down.

A. The livestreaming industry has grown by 78.5% from 15.6 billion hours of content in 2019 to 27.9 billion hours in 2020. This was a record breaking number in which the global lockdown accelerated the world’s appetite for live streamed content as the value of live streaming was thrust front and center where people joined communities to connect and interact with others.

*Source: Streamlabs

B. Consistent with the trends shared, Twitch also saw unprecedented growth in 2020.

• On average, over 2.5 million people are tuning in to Twitch at any given moment.
• The Twitch community watched over 1 trillion minutes in 2020 (this is up from 600 billion minutes in 2019). 
• The number of hours watched on Twitch grew significantly in 2020. December 2020 recorded the most hours watched in Twitch history. 

* Source: Twitch, 2021

C. Emerging Lifestyle Streamers

Historically, live streaming has been synonymous with gaming. However, a new surge of streaming audiences has emerged – one that is hungry for non-gaming content. You may have recognised that lifestyle vlogs are rapidly gaining its momentum on several social media services, and this trend continues on live. On Twitch, we’ve seen the growth of live streaming categories beyond gaming. Notably, one of the fuels of Twitch’s growth is the steady rise of the “Just Chatting” category. Just Chatting is Twitch’s most popular non-gaming category with broadcasts growing 171% YoY where the community just chats and spends time with each other.

D. Live Music Streaming: New Way to Experience Music

With gigs cancelled in person last year, Twitch gave artists and music enthusiasts a place to listen and perform. Hours watched for the Music category has increased year on year as more and more musicians find a home and discover the power of multiplayer entertainment on Twitch.

What can we expect from your company in 2021?

Leo: In APAC, and really globally, we’ve learned that people are looking for entertainment online and ways to connect with broader communities. At Twitch, all of the new creators and people that we’ve welcomed over the past year are going to find their communities and form lasting bonds - and we look forward to them maintaining these relationships, even after social distancing subsides.

The communities formed on Twitch can be just as impactful as those we have offline, and we’re excited to continue fostering these connections.