Adobe XD | Master's Research

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The recent growth in Twitch’s platform use has made the streaming market more competitive. While advancing technology has lowered the threshold for entering the content creation profession, the migration of streamers to Twitch has created internal competition making it more difficult for channels to stand out. With no established standardized practice on the platform, creators are left on the luck of virality to gain audience interest. Current top streamers on the site have begun to solidify streaming approaches to regulate live stream structure to optimize the interactive elements offered on the platform. As these community norms appear, they become replicated trends amongst the trailblazers for the site. These trends encourage audience engagement, solidify brand identity, and build front-of-mind awareness. This research studies how to take advantage of Twitch’s interactivity as a platform and combine it with streaming norms that have been appearing throughout the site’s community to better the practices of pre-professional and professional streamers. The project will design, prototype, and evaluate a novel approach to implementing a stream campaign strategy to help Twitch creators solidify their brand and grow their community.

Research Questions

Methods


A campaign strategy was created that highlights the needs and opportunities for a streamer to improve their channel. Target audiences were selected for the streamer’s unique community. Strategic approaches were laid out emphasizing key tools Twitch offers to benefit brand reach, professionalism, and engagement. This tool list is standardized between each test but is implemented to attract the selected target audiences. A campaign calendar was created to guide a creator’s incorporation of streaming approaches into daily practices. A calendar was structured to ensure the foundation of the channel’s practices were prioritized over external events or new stream innovations. A series of interviews were structured to measure streamer attitude throughout the process to allow for a more customized weekly approach. An audience survey was formed to gather qualitative data that would be measured alongside Twitch’s provided site analytics. Traction on complementary sites such as Twitter, Youtube, and Instagram was also tracked to understand community reach and effectiveness to engage audience stream participation and support.

Results

71%

Subscribers Increase

122%

Average Viewership Increase

14%

Followers Increase

The Campaign

Interested in finding out more about the campaign strategy used in this research? Click below to walk through the interactive campaign guide and create your own program for your Twitch channel.