Gamers8 Creates History as Largest Esports Event Ever Held

In a groundbreaking moment for the esports industry, Gamers8, the annual gaming event, has achieved a historic feat by becoming the largest esports gathering to date. The highly anticipated 2023 edition of Gamers8, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, featured a staggering $45 million prize pool and solidified the city’s position as the esports capital of the region.

Organized by the Saudi Esports Federation, the ‘Land of Heroes’ event aimed to surpass its previous iterations in terms of scale and grandeur. This year, Gamers8 successfully brought together the virtual world of esports and gaming, setting a new industry standard.

Leading the charge in marketing and branding was Adel AlMeqren, the Head of Marketing & Branding at the Saudi Esports Federation. Partnering with Smartifai, Extend, the company responsible for strategy, planning, and execution, unveiled an innovative marketing campaign to enhance awareness and engagement for the event.

The campaign focused on integrating ChatGPT, a generative AI tool, with contextual tech to provide users with quick and concise content summaries in both English and Arabic languages. By strategically partnering with gaming, sports, music, and entertainment publishers, Gamers8 aimed to deepen engagement and attract a wider audience.

The campaign’s global launch featured In-Screen and In-Image Ads in international markets, while regional markets such as KSA and UAE utilized ChatGPT Ads, complemented by In-Screen and In-Image Ads. The results were astounding, with the campaign reaching over 4.7 million unique individuals and generating half a million ad interactions. The ChatGPT format boasted an impressive interaction rate of 7%, with over 21,000 unique content summaries. Most notably, nearly 70% of these interactions originated within Saudi Arabia.

As the campaign progressed, interaction rates soared to an astonishing 16.6% in the final week, surpassing regional benchmarks. The natural language processing technique employed by the campaign successfully understood the audience’s reading context, allowing for personalized and compelling content summaries and calls-to-action. The incorporation of Motion Context further personalized communications by leveraging real-time gaming events for a dynamic and engaging experience.

The successful campaign wasn’t limited to the digital realm alone. The Gamers8 event recorded over 3,500 footfalls at its physical location, showcasing its ability to engage both online and offline audiences.

Tareq Al Awar, the Head of Digital Media at Extend, expressed his satisfaction with the campaign’s success and applauded the organization’s commitment to innovation. The unique execution, leveraging advanced technologies like generative AI, exemplifies Gamers8’s readiness to embrace new ideas and establish Saudi Arabia as a global epicenter for esports and gaming.

Herman D’Souza, Co-Founder of Smartifai, credited Extend’s leadership and strategic contributions for shaping the outcome of the campaign. Their involvement from the beginning, along with their understanding of the client’s vision, ensured seamless integration of advanced technology.

The 2023 Gamers8 event has not only broken records but has also set the stage for a future where esports and gaming thrive in Saudi Arabia and beyond. As the gaming world continues to evolve, Gamers8 remains a trailblazer, leading the industry into new horizons of success.