Profile
Raiders E-Sports Centre is a 7,000 square foot venue for gaming, dining, and events. Aiming to revolutionize the e-sports experience, they boast more than 20 PC gaming stations, 2 projectors, 2 bars, a dj booth, and blazing fast internet to connect players across the world.
Challenge
Raiders opened their doors in 2016. At that time, the e-sports community in Toronto was not used to meeting in a physical space. People organizing local e-sports events were treading new ground and booking physical events required a small leap of faith. Can the venue really create a rich social environment for a group of gamers that have never met in person? Is the space really worth the cost? It was hard to understand the concept or appeal without seeing it.
Business: Retail / Athletics
Solution
We reflected on the best way to achieve results for Raiders. We felt it was most beneficial to speak directly to the individual gamers. This is because event organizers are typically gamers at heart and they just want to create a great time for the love of the community. We also knew they’d use the Raiders video to advertise their own events (an example of the great venue they booked). And we were aiming to create a sense of community for ALL gamers. Even if they came across the video because of a specific game event they love, we wanted them to know they would have a great time at any event happening at Raiders.
In our research with the marketing team, we found out Raiders had a very large event coming up. Instead of attempting to capture staged shots with perfect lighting for a polished video advertisement, we opted to capture the raw feel and excitement of a live event. We wanted the audience to see an authentic event and know it’s not just a concept. We worked with the organization team to understand each element of the event, and they allowed us to work in tandem to modify the schedule. We had a team of three roaming camera operators, a separate plan for each operator to capture key moments, and management instructed staff to seek our confirmation so we could be in place before they happened. This allowed us to get cinematic capture of incredible moments like the arrival of the world-famous gamers, extra long lineups to get in, celebrity selfies, and champagne celebration shots. We also encouraged patrons to pack into the front room to great the VIP gamers with the verbal announcement over the PA, to increase density and make the lively venue look absolutely electric.
Results
The video has been a “huge success exceeding all my best expectations”. Years later Daniel Hu (the owner of Raiders), still uses the same method to book events. He explained his two-step process with a smile: “I set up a meeting with the event organizer in the building, and then I play the video on our projector — they book on the spot every time”. The video also helped to bring in a lot of patrons, “almost everyone that comes in the door has seen it and the video just made the concept click for a lot of people”. Now they have a community of regulars that come in from as far as Barrie. It doesn’t matter which game or event brought them in, “people come in, make new friends, and keep coming back…our video really helped set the stage and bring out concept to life”.
Services
Colour grading
Concept development
Creative Strategy
Delivery strategy
Directing
Editing
Glide camera
On Location Production
Scriptwriting
Sourcing & Licensing
VFX & graphics
Voiceovers
Industry
Event & Restaurant
Video type
Company Profile
Event Video
Social Media Video
Production
One-day shoot
"I set up a meeting with the event organizer in the building, and then I play the video on our projector — they book on the spot every time."
Daniel Hu
Owner & Operator
Raiders E-Sports Centre
