LOL ESPORTS
A launch plan to bring LoL Esports to TikTok, ahead of Worlds 2023.
LoL Esports is the competitive world of League of Legends, from the regional leagues to international events like Worlds. Its social presence leaned on platforms where younger fans were spending less of their time, while TikTok had become where culture breaks and where Gen Z goes first to search.
The plan set out how LoL Esports would show up on TikTok: who to reach, what to say, how to sound and how to measure it. It was built in three phases, crawl, walk and run, starting with a lean first phase designed to get the channel live before Worlds 2023.
My Contribution
As Sr. Director Marketing at SubnationThe Work
Chapter by chapter. Click an image to enlarge.Audiences and goals
The plan started from the 2023 strategy: reach current fans and potential fans, then grow viewership, deepen fandom and fortify leadership.
- Current fans: core and casual LoL Esports fans
- Potential fans: active or lapsed players new to the esports ecosystem
- Six content buckets, from awareness and interest to cross promotion
- Where TikTok plays in each bucket, phase by phase
Why TikTok
TikTok was where cultural moments break, where younger audiences spend their time and where they search first. It also reached fans the brand was not reaching anywhere else.
- It’s where culture lives
- The platform of choice for Gen Z and younger audiences
- A search engine for a new generation
- Untapped fans who are not on Twitter
Persona, voice and content
The channel would entertain the playerbase by showing that LoL Esports is the insider to the pros. No other outlet has the same access to the players, the teams and the game.
- Get players and fans to follow and engage
- Amplify the lighter side of the pros, casters and teams
- A lighthearted, conversational and spicy voice
- A content mix that grows from personality and gameplay into news, behind the scenes and education
Community and search
On TikTok, a community is worth more than a following. The plan designed every post to start a conversation and to be found.
- Comment first on every post to spark debate
- Replies that invite more replies
- TikTok search: keywords, audio and on screen text
- Designing for entertainment, collaboration and community
Measuring success
Before any content went live, the plan set clear KPIs tied to industry benchmarks and LoL Esports goals, with reporting that scaled with each phase.
- Primary KPIs for channel success
- Secondary KPIs for creative effectiveness
- Monthly, quarterly and ad hoc reporting
Credits
- Client
- Riot Games
- Property
- LoL Esports
- Agency
- Subnation
- Platform
- TikTok
- Deliverable
- TikTok launch plan, 35 slides