An innovative partnership that marries brand and audience perfectly, showcasing how creativity can help drive engagement and brand uplift. The results really speak to the alignment of the message

IGN and EE joined forces to create the first-ever, multi-title 50-person gaming tournament hosted in a normal home, which was entirely powered by one EE Full Fibre Broadband router. This campaign epitomises the power of showing, not telling, as they proved the router could connect 100 devices in a custom video series strategically optimised for each social platform. Last Player Standing is the quintessential example of how branded content works well -- by bringing a partner's marketing

messaging to life in a way that feels organic to your platform, and inviting your audience to participate and experience that truth for themselves.

EE, part of the BT Group, built its reputation running the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile network. In 2021, EE was set to launch its brand new broadband proposition, Full Fibre (FTTP), to a market that had no knowledge of its broadband credentials, was already cluttered, and extremely competitive.

To stand out, EE appealed to gamers as their target audience with the messaging: ‘EE Full Fibre connects up to 100 devices in one home, with reliable WiFi guaranteed in every room.’ The budget for this campaign was £300k+, and included everything from event production to content creation and promotion.

As a consumer, hearing that a router can connect 100 devices sounds impressive, but it’s difficult to understand the real implications of how that benefits your day-to-day life. When brainstorming for this campaign, the team wanted an idea that kept the audience’s real-life experience at the core (gaming at home) but pushed it to the extreme (hosting a 50-person gaming tournament at home).

The team also knew that IGN’s audience loves the skill and competitive play that esports represents, but they aren’t all core esports fans. So they designed a new type of tournament – one that appeals to a broader audience by breaking from traditional esports conventions. Rather than competing in one game, players were gradually eliminated as they competed in four games, across four genres: party, racing, first-person shooter, and finally a 1v1 fight to be crowned Last Player Standing.

Recruited from IGN’s community, players from across the UK came to Streatham ready to compete for their chance at the £10k prize pool. They kitted out the house with top-of-the-line gaming laptops to ensure the technological quality that players expect at a professional tournament and even had shoutcasters on-site commenting on the game play in real time. An industry-first, this multi-title tournament was designed to find the best all-around player, just as EE Full Fibre Broadband is the best all-around broadband for gamers. After the tournament, they released videos across IGN.com, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat showcasing the tournament highlights and how they managed to pull it all off.

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