Ignacio Estanga, Director of Content & Partnerships, Latin America, Twitch • Interview

How many users does Twitch have in Mexico?

At present, we have between 5 and 6 million users. Now that everyone is in lockdown, we have noticed a lot of changes in how people consume content. We are noticing a big surge in growth but we do not have any numbers yet because it is still ongoing. I can say with confidence that 20-30% growth is doable. Our main demographic is people aged between 18 and 24 but that varies heavily depending on the channel. There are some channels that attract a much older audience. Similarly, some channels target teenagers with more stories and fast-paced content. We also have channels that target different age groups, such as fitness channels and cooking channels.

What opportunities does Twitch offer to companies regarding brand promotion?

The best way I try to describe it to people is that we are not here just to complete your KPIs because you can probably do that with a lot of other platforms. We provide more of a creative solution. For us, everything is centered around content and being creative about the way we solve things. We did a campaign with Papa John’s where people could participate in a contest and win a free pizza. It became wildly popular because it gave people the chance to win a pizza in real time.

What challenges did Twitch face when entering the Latam market?

In the beginning, everything was US centric. All our servers were there and there were no localized payment solutions. Slowly, we started taking different business development initiatives to integrate with what works here. Nowadays, if you want to subscribe to a channel on Twitch, you can just go to OXXO or 7-Eleven.

Twitch to interact with people. Twitch was a new platform back then and he did not know how to set up his stream, so we started offering tools and apps to let people use Twitch more easily. More and more important business and companies are going digital and we are telling them exactly what will work and what will not work. So, raising awareness is going to be the focus for the rest of the year because there has been a surge in the number of people trying the platform out.

How are you helping companies learn how to use Twitch it for brand promotion?

We recently hired someone who helped us understand how companies that are not tech savvy look at the digital world. We created presentations, frameworks, and tutorials to deal with the needs and challenges of new users. We try to offer a 360-degree solution and help people produce quality content. We also assist people in choosing the best way to advertise. It is all about being patient and explaining that this is a completely different world and that they need to look at it with a fresh mindset. Once companies realize this, they understand the potential of what they can do on Twitch.

What is your business model and in what ways do you monetize the platform?

We monetize the platform in many ways. We have the user generation monetization, which is basically when people buy a subscription or one of our digital products to interact with the broadcaster. Then, there is Twitch Prime, which is a joint product in partnership with Amazon, our parent company. In Mexico, we are working with our regional partner IMS. We are also building our own media team and advertising team. We are not just a media platform; we are a content platform, so we always try to work with influencers and content creators on new formats. It has to be creative because people can advertise anywhere on the internet. What we offer is unique content. ✖