Esports The Drum Awards Awards Case Studies

Marriott and One Esports wooed gamers with a chat show

By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

May 30, 2023 | 5 min read

The campaign won in the Travel and Leisure category at The Drum Awards for Marketing APAC 2013.

A pillow fight during Gamer’s Paradise

Esports fans travel, and they need hotels. Enter One Esports and Marriott Bonvoy with a clever campaign.

The Brief

One Esports and Marriott Bonvoy aimed to target Asia’s growing esports fan base and position Marriott Bonvoy as the preferred travel lifestyle brand for esports fans. They created a unique talk show series that combined gaming, esports and travel, showcasing Marriott hotel properties across Asia. The objective was to exceed viewership targets and increase brand awareness and engagement among the esports community.

The Idea

The team recognized that esports fans are avid travelers, willing to spend on gaming experiences and attend live events. To tap into this audience, they created the talk show series called Gamer’s Paradise, featuring 15 episodes aired on platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and AfreecaTV.

The show integrated 50 top esports content creators, professional gamers and influencers. It offered behind-the-scenes footage, player interviews and exclusive content, filling a gap in the market. The show also included segments called Gamer’s Haven, showcasing Marriott hotel properties and highlighting the importance of high-quality accommodation for esports fans. Marriott’s brand messaging was seamlessly integrated throughout the show.

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The Results

Gamer’s Paradise exceeded all objectives, garnering over 13m views, 56m impressions and 768,000 engagements across social media channels. The integration of Marriott Bonvoy’s brand messaging and hotel properties resulted in a significant increase in access and click-throughs to Marriott Bonvoy’s platforms.

The voucher campaigns conducted during the show reached 6.1m impressions and 760,000 engagements, driving fans to the Marriott Bonvoy platform. The fan sentiment surrounding the Marriott Bonvoy brand was highly positive, as evidenced by feedback on Facebook and Twitch. Overall, Gamer’s Paradise successfully celebrated gaming and esports while elevating Marriott Bonvoy’s position as the preferred travel lifestyle brand for esports fans.

This campaign won at The Drum Awards for Marketing APAC 2023. Find out more about The Drum’s Global Awards program or head to our case studies hub to read more award-winning stories.