Turning a console launch into a talent hunt that fueled buzz and boosted Xbox sales
The challenge
Xbox Series X was about to land - but stock was tight and attention was scarce in a crowded launch. At the same time the Playstation5 was launching, which in fact another team within Rise at Seven was running, and Xbox wanted a creative way to stand out. GAME and Xbox needed a story that stood out from mere product hype and engaged with their community. They wanted excitement, engagement, and buzz - fast.
Betting big on a “next-gen” creator with a content-first campaign
What we did
To both drive awareness of the product launch and give back to those who have supported GAME and Xbox in the past, we decided to create a competition to find the best new Gaming Influencer. The winner would receive a three-month paid opportunity to live the life of an influencer, and create amazing gaming content for GAME and Microsoft:
- 🎮 Launched a competition: fans submitted videos pitching their influencer persona to become Xbox’s paid face for three months
- 📺 Deployed a hero video + social cuts: crafted for wider digital traction
- 🌐 Built a hub on Dexerto: the landing page focused on influencer discovery drove both traffic and authority
- 🔴 Live-streamed the finale: final showdown aired on Dexerto/Twitch - capturing the attention of gamers worldwide
- 📈 SEO cross-pulse: used campaign terms + creator branding to support Xbox and GAME search visibility
This wasn’t just about winning a console — it was about building a tidal wave of content, talkability, and authority around Game, Xbox, and emerging creators.
Creating a content-led engine that fueled launch sales - and search presence
The results
Our campaign efforts picked up 30 pieces of coverage from highly authoritative, highly relevant gaming sites.
The campaign drew 15,346 page views, with 34% of the traffic from brand new users, and generated £75,345 in revenue from assisted sales.
By being talked about in headlines, creating a bespoke hub for the competition on Dexerto.com, and earning a total of 1.4M impressions on this, the Xbox console got its buzz, and the competition found its winner: Tazziii.
There were 160,000 views of our livestream, breaking Twitch records and earning hundreds of new followers for the Belong account.
Our hero video achieved over 100,000 views across social media, while the video on the Dexerto landing page hit 247,000 views and 502,000 impressions. This all added up to 1.4 million social impressions, leading to us winning Video Campaign of the Year at the UK Content Awards.
