Title	THE ESPORTS JOURNEY BY EDF
Brand	EDF
Product/Service	TEAM EDF
Category	A08. Excellence in Brand Integration & Sponsorships / Partnerships for Branded Content
Entrant	HAVAS NATIVE Paris, FRANCE
Idea Creation	HAVAS NATIVE Paris, FRANCE
Idea Creation 2	HAVAS MEDIA Paris, FRANCE
Idea Creation 3	HAVAS NATIVE Paris, FRANCE
Media Placement	HAVAS NATIVE Paris, FRANCE
Media Placement 2	HAVAS NATIVE Paris, FRANCE
Production	HAVAS NATIVE Paris, FRANCE
Production 2	HAVAS SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT Paris, FRANCE
Production 3	HAVAS PRODUCTIONS Paris, FRANCE
Production 4	CANAL+ GROUPE Issy-les-Moulineaux, FRANCE

Name	Company	Position
Floris YVINOU	Havas Native	Consultant OPS & brand content
Théophile TEURCQ	Havas Media	Account manager
Estelle DEMENIER	Havas Native	Senior manager OPS & brand content
Alexia KOURILENKO	Havas Sports & Entertainment	Content manager
Théo BOISSY	Havas Native	Media buying supervisor
Fanny MAESTRI	Havas Production	Production supervisor
Cédric LEPRETTRE	Canal +	Film director
Anne-Sophie NECTOUX	Canal Brand Factory	Deputy general director

Why is this work relevant for Entertainment?

The whole idea behind this campaign was to raise awareness on what eSports really is, and why EDF is a great partner to this discipline. However, stating it was not sufficient for our goal. That is why we’ve created content that would both entertain the public to catch their attention, but also inform them once they pay attention. Therefore, we chose to do a live on Twitch where users could participate during the 2 hours, interviews that included lifestyle and funny questions, but also a 26 min documentary filled with jokes, comparison, and spectacular shot of eSports World Finals.

Background

EDF just got into the eSports world by bringing 2 eSports figures to its team, composed essentially by top athletes. A famous French player, Steeelback, and one of the most respected manager, Fabien ‘Neo’ Devide. By partnering with this new discipline, and choosing to link eSports with its sports association, EDF is making a clear statement: just like Olympic gold medalist, eSports players are hardworking, preparing themselves, and deserve the same spotlight. That is what this campaign was all about: tell French people that EDF was entering the eSports world annd show them the mysteries about this trending topic. Everybody has already heard about eSports, but a lot of people still picture it as “geeks on their couch”. EDF needed to show the truth about the discipline and how close it is to regular athletes! French people could then assimilate EDF as a legitimate partner and actor of this domain.

Describe the creative idea

Because everybody has already heard about eSports, but a lot of people still picture it as “geeks on their couch”! EDF needed to show the truth about this discipline and how close it is to regular athletes! That way, French people could understand a bit more about this phenomenon and assimilate EDF as a legitimate partner and actor of this field. We decided to pair two Olympic gold medalists from the TEAM EDF to the two new eSports members. Because the only way to truly realize and trust the fact that athletes and pro gamers are similar in many ways, is to simply put them together and let them exchange and discover each other world. If a gold medalist and a pro gamer could come to the realization that he can see himself in a pro gamer, then we were convinced that the audience would too.

Describe the strategy

EDF sent Alain Bernard to Berlin, to visit the Vitality gaming house (Steeelback’s team), to witness Steeelback typical day and training. They did a 2 hours live broadcast on Twitch where Steeelback explained League of Legends to Alain, trained him, and talk about the everyday life of a pro gamer vs. an athlete like him. Arnaud Assoumani flew to Beijing with Fabien ‘Neo Devide to attend the Wolrds of League of Legends (annual World Cup) that was taking place at the Beijing National Stadium where in won he’s gold medal in 2008. An experience that was captured in a 26 minutes documentary directed by Cedric Leprettre, and aired on Natonal TV by Canal + and its digital streaming plateform. A trip ended by 4 interviews back in France where they could go back to their experience, and share a bit more about what they have learned from each others world.

Describe the execution

1 Berlin trip of 2 days to produce the live and extra content: - Teasing on October 9th and 10th on social networks of Team Vitality, Steeelback and Eclypsia (gaming media) - 2-hour long live in the Gaming House of Vitality, broadcasted by Twitch, with Steeelback and Alain Bernard - 4 Q&A video capsules with Alain Bernard and Steeelback, shared by Millenium (gaming Media) 1 Beijing trip of 3 days to produce the documentary: - Teasing from the 5th to the 20th of November, with 3 invitations on TV news channels for Arnaud Assoumani and Neo, to talk about their upcoming documentary - Airing of the 26-minute long documentary on Canal + TV channels + streaming and social networks from Novembre 26th - 4 interviews in "La Boite à Questions" by Canal +, posted on Canal and EDF social networks.

Describe the outcome

In total, that’s more than 2 000 000 persons that have witness that eSports journey: 5 700 hours watched on Twitch and 3 500+ live chat discussions 1 000 000 people touched by Canal + content 3 National TV News invitations for Arnaud and Neo. A BVA study conducted after the campaign showed that: 44% of French people think that EDF is a legitimate eSports partner 67% of regular French gamers think so too