Perfect is boring on live TV… and livestreams are no exception.
Case in point: After Twitch made a donation in support of /herokerrey’s live charity stream, she decided to write the platform’s name on her forehead. A silly move that became even sillier when, seconds later, she realized she’d left out the “C.”
As a platform with a strong community known for its unique sense of humor, we helped Twitch—or, in this case, “TWITH”—embrace this on-stream, single-letter spelling mistake and transform it into a spectacular, brand-building social moment.
The day after her livestream, /herokerrey recapped the “TWITH” blooper on X. Twitch joined in on the joke by retweeting her post, adding “Just be glad it’s not a permanent tattoo. I have ‘amason’ tattooed on my leg.”
This response started gaining traction quickly, earning thousands of likes as well as hundreds of comments and retweets in a matter of hours.
Seeing an opportunity, we decided to lean into the moment further. Authentically participating at the right moment is crucial to successfully engage the Twitch community, which has a well-known knack for spotting outsiders and razzing marketing campaigns that don’t fit their vibe. We knew that successfully connecting with this audience meant we had to think quickly and creatively to ensure Twitch’s response didn’t come across as forced.
Ultimately, we decided on something deceptively simple and perfectly subtle: We designed an alternative logo with the typo in /herokerrey’s handwriting. Then we updated Twitch’s profile picture on X and waited.
It didn’t take long for our audience to notice that, suddenly, Twitch had become “TWITH.” More people started joining our conversation. The original /herokerrey post surpassed 8k likes, quadruple her follower count on X!
Our simple, subtle approach may have seemed counterintuitive, but the reaction from our audience demonstrated how important it is never to underestimate a “less is more” approach. Sometimes, it’s the small things that people notice and appreciate the most.
Of course, another huge reason why “TWITH” worked so well was because people respond well to a good sense of humor. At the time, Twitch’s X profile had become a place for folks to air their less-than-positive reactions to a recent mobile update. The silliness of “TWITH” allowed us to step in and change the energy of the room with a Twitch-centric moment that everyone could laugh about.
Finally, “TWITH” demonstrated how timing is the number one rule of social, just as it is for comedy. If we hadn’t caught onto the moment when it happened, it wouldn’t have had such an impact. And the joke itself wouldn’t have the legs for us to keep it going effectively.
In the end, our “TWITH”-centric moment drove so much organic, positive conversation amongst fans and brands that the Twitch repost alone gained 700K impressions, more than 155% over benchmarks.
Even at TwitchCon, the moment continued when /herokerrey and Twitch handed out “TWITH” pins and temporary tattoos. As a result, “TWITH” accompanied attendees everywhere at TwitchCon!
The moment’s success translated into some significant earned media wins as well, including features on premier gaming and entertainment news sites like Dexerto, Spilled.gg, and EarlyGame as well as the #2 spot for trending topics among the 3.6 million members of Reddit’s /LivestreamFails.
“Twitch’s lighthearted response to the typo shows how dedicated they are to staying connected with their users,” the Spilled.gg coverage read. “By joining in on the joke, they demonstrate their respect for the community and prove that they’re more than just a big company.”
The most meaningful win of all, however, came when our “TWITH” design became an official Global Emote and “TWITH” officially entered the Twitch canon—proving the lasting power of certain moments, no matter how silly
