Whether it’s running from zombies, playing in e-sports tournaments, taking lessons from a chess Grandmaster, listening to a stand-up comedy set, watching a drag performance or enjoying a concert – 7 million unique streamers go live on Twitch every month to share these experiences with their audiences. On Twitch, audiences watched 1 trillion minutes of content in 2020 and an average of 30 million users visited every day. As the ultimate livestreaming destination, Twitch offers a place for brands, audiences and content creators to connect in real time.
If you’re a brand looking to connect with Twitch viewers, here’s everything you need to know to get started with video ads on Twitch:
How do ads work on Twitch?
Twitch takes a community-first approach to brand collaborations. The most successful advertisers on Twitch first understand its community values and behaviours. When content creators reach the Affiliate or Partner level on Twitch, they can receive revenue from running ads on their channel. These advertisements appear before streams as pre-roll or during streams as mid-roll ad breaks. Running mid-roll ads is entirely up to the streamer. Regularly running ad breaks during a stream can disable pre-rolls, meaning that new viewers will not typically see an ad when they first join a channel. These ad breaks can be between 30 seconds and 3 minutes long.
What are Affiliates or Partners on Twitch?
Anyone can stream on Twitch, but once creators reach certain benchmarks, they can unlock new features as ways to monetise their channel.
At the Affiliate level, creators are able to make money from ad revenue, use custom emotes and offer subscriptions. To reach the Affiliate level, creators must have streamed at least 8 hours, streamed for at least 7 unique days, average 3 viewers per stream and reached at least 50 followers.
At the Partner level, creators also unlock a verified badge and custom Cheermotes (user-generated badges and emoticons, custom-made for streamers). When creators have reached 25 hours of time streamed, 12 unique days streamed and at least 75 average viewers per stream, they can apply for Partner status. This is the minimum criteria Twitch looks for in potential Partners. However, completing these requirements does not guarantee Partnership. Twitch only serves advertising on channels of Partner and Affiliate streamers. These streamers have demonstrated a track record of streaming responsibly, meeting quality standards, and complying with Twitch’s Terms of Service and Community Guidelines.
How much do Twitch creators make for ads?
Partners and Affiliates with any size audience will earn money by running ads. The income creators earn from ad breaks depends on how many viewers see the ads – the more viewers who see the ad, the more money a creator earns.
Where can brands advertise on Twitch?
Twitch offers media products, native site integrations, brand partnerships and sponsorships to connect with millions of streaming audiences. Brands can use display ads throughout the Twitch site on the homepage carousel, homepage headliner and a medium rectangle and super leaderboard placement as viewers scroll through content. Twitch premium video ads allow brands to incorporate advertisements into live broadcasts across desktop, mobile, tablet and connected TV (CTV) devices. Video ads on Twitch are unskippable and always above the fold. Twitch’s proprietary SureStream delivery method stitches video creative directly into the broadcast content, and reaches CTV, console and ad block users on desktop web.
How can brands advertise on Twitch?
With a minimum spend, brands can launch a high-impact video display media campaign. These include advertisements on the Twitch homepage, on discovery pages, and channel pages. Ad creative must incorporate the advertiser’s logo or brand name and must match and be related to the products and/or services being advertised. All information in the creative must be accurate and verifiable. Content must comply with Twitch’s Community Guidelines.
The initial point of entry for brands is video ads created for the community. The next step is integration with streamers where Twitch works with brands to sponsor segments or place products, or otherwise engage with audiences in a way that feels native to the channel. Twitch’s Brand Partnership Studio equips brands to create on Twitch – from custom commercials, to never-been-done activations, to individual stream and event sponsorships. Align your brand with the experiences Twitch users crave through programmes that help take entertainment to the next level. This includes Twitch Rivals, a destination for live, competitive entertainment on Twitch; and /twitchgaming, a dedicated channel on Twitch where the creator community and their viewers delve into what is new, now, and next in gaming.
Are Twitch ads effective?
With users tuning in from around the world from more than 230 countries, Twitch reaches a large global audience. The Twitch community is composed primarily of adult Gen Zers and Millennials. Of all Twitch users, 64% purchase products recommended by influencers. These viewers are also open to advertising, as 56% of users tend to buy brands they see advertised. This goes well beyond just gaming, too. Art, beauty, food and drink, music and Just Chatting content continues to see growing interest from viewers. Over the last three years, non-gaming content on Twitch has quadrupled.
How can brands get started advertising on Twitch?
Once a brand is ready to start advertising on Twitch, they can contact a Twitch representative to find the right way to start connecting with audiences.
All Twitch internal data. Global. January – December 2020
