• by Larissa Faw , May 14, 2020

When the Summer Olympics were postponed due to COVID-19, the Almond Board of California had to pivot from its coordinated and sports-focused campaign to instead capitalize on the only “live” sports programming on air.

The new campaign, developed with Sterling-Rice Group, focuses on esports played on the Twitch platform.  SRG re-planned media and developed this new creative within a few weeks.

The action-oriented banners, digital billboards and digital videos speak to this gaming audience in their own idiomatic way with headlines such as “pwn your everyday,” or promote almonds as “energy-giving fuel for game after game after game.”

Almonds are one of the first healthy snacks to advertise on the channel and the first commodity brand as well, explains Susan Peck, director of media at SRG. “The Twitch channel is mainstream, and interest has grown with people craving competition in their lives.”

The new campaign also includes an influencer partnership with three selected influencers on the channel who were chosen because they lead more active lifestyles. This component launches in mid-May with postings from a professional body builder and avid runner.

“Since a lot of gamers are also into health and fitness, this was a great way to extend almonds advertising in the sports realm,” adds Peck.

Esports have benefited greatly from the pandemic as advertisers seek ways to reach consumers with relevant messages when most are sitting in front of screens. Last month, the Navy announced details of its massive eSports investment to reach young gamers.