Anime Friends 2024 • Leveling-Up Brand Engagement with an Immersive Event Activation
Forging an epic event activation for one of the most passionate esports communities.
Since its inception in 2006, Riot Games has been on a mission to create immersive games that redefine the player experience. With the 2009 launch of League of Legends, Riot didn’t just introduce a game; they sparked a global phenomenon. Today, the impact is staggering—if League of Legends' active players formed a country, it would be the fifth largest in the world. Each month, players collectively spend over 100 million hours diving into its universe.
As the gaming landscape continued to evolve, Riot Games remained committed to pushing boundaries and enhancing player experiences. At Anime Friends 2024, the largest anime and Asian pop culture event in Latin America, Riot Games sought our help in bringing fans into the world of League of Legends in a powerful, captivating and wholly new way. With our event activation strategy and the goal of driving awareness and brand engagement for the title and its new cooperative game mode, we teamed up with the developer to captivate event attendees and deepen the connection between Riot Games and its passionate community of fans.
Meticulous interactive design brings League of Legends’ world to life.
Riot Games kicked off the process by bringing their deep understanding of player expectations to the table, which informed the strategy and creative direction. With that, our experience experts employed meticulous production techniques to translate Riot Games’ vision into a tangible, unforgettable experience with a 152m2 footprint.
Themed around Anima Squad, an in-game event that originally launched in 2022 but returned in 2024 for a limited time, the booth served as a portal into the game’s universe. Attendees had the chance to peek at the latest game mode and newly launched skins (outfits worn by Champions, the game’s player-characters), including a reimagining of classic League of Legends Champions as cybernetic, animal-themed warriors.
Building brand engagement through irresistible, interactive experiences.
The standout experience at the Riot Games booth, and at Anime Friends 2024 overall, was a massive, finely crafted prop: a two-meter-tall replica of the sword wielded by Aatrox, a popular League of Legends Champion. Fabricated by our specialists, the sword was equipped with dynamic LED lighting and special effects, including stage smoke, that instantly transported attendees into the League of Legends universe—and served as a perfect spot for selfies.
Adding to the interactivity, we launched the new cooperative game mode at the event, Swarm, giving visitors the chance to dive into the action firsthand and continue their League of Legends journey long after Anime Friends 2024. From our experiential marketing efforts and interactive design to the sturdy construction of the booth and the lifelike details of the replicas, our team’s commitment to excellence ensured that Riot Games’ creative vision was brought to life with precision and flair.
Results
Our activation at Anime Friends 2024 was a resounding success, creating a vibrant community experience that resonated with League of Legends fans. The results speak for themselves:
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5,000+ people engaged with the activation
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Sold-out sessions for the new PvE game mode
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1,000+ gameplay sign-ups
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1,000+ photos taken daily with Aatrox’s sword