Riot Games, the developer behind League of Legends and Valorant, ran a 45-day performance campaign on NEXUS to expand its competitive gaming community. The campaign focused on attracting serious esports players and tournament participants, driving engagement across ranked systems and competitive play.
Campaign Objective and Setup
The objective was to acquire high-quality esports players and increase tournament participation while maintaining cost efficiency.
Over 45 days, Riot Games allocated $487,500 in ad spend, targeting competitive gamers across PC, console, and mobile platforms with behavior-based segmentation.
Audience Targeting Across Competitive Gaming Communities
The campaign targeted mobile and PC/console gamers engaged with esports, ranked play, and competitive tournaments. By reaching players already active in competitive ecosystems, the campaign ensured high-intent engagement and participation in Riot’s tournaments.
Multi-Platform Campaign Execution
Sequential ad delivery spanned multiple gaming communities and platforms, optimizing for platform-specific messaging and engagement. This approach maintained consistency while adapting creative to the unique expectations of mobile and PC/console audiences.
Creative Testing and Immersive Messaging
Character-driven advertisements featuring League of Legends champions created immersive experiences that resonated with target audiences. Creative testing identified the most engaging messaging, maximizing registration and tournament participation.
Campaign Results
Over the 45-day campaign period, the following results were recorded:
- 250,000 esports players acquired
- 48,500 tournament participants
- $1.95 cost per acquisition
- 45.2 million qualified impressions across behaviorally targeted gaming segments
- 4.8% click-through rate
- 6.3% conversion rate from impression to completed game registration
These results demonstrated both scale and high engagement within the competitive gaming ecosystem.
Observations
The campaign showed that precise targeting of competitive gaming communities combined with character-driven, immersive creatives drives strong registration and tournament participation. By leveraging behavioral insights and multi-platform sequencing, Riot Games reduced acquisition costs while achieving exceptional conversion rates.
