Very impressively, Activision won the 2015 Ex Award for Best Proprietary Property (Consumer). The awards are presented by Event Marketer.

Activision won for its 2014 Call of Duty Championship campaign.

Event Marketer explains why Activision won: “The only thing growing faster than live eSports tournaments is the number of consumers tuning in to watch them online. With bridging that gap in mind, Activision crafted an engagement strategy that transformed every corner of its live tournament into a best-in-class broadcast platform that could be seen around the world on practically any type of device. A smart distribution partnership with Microsoft and Major League Gaming ensured eyeballs across multiple platforms for the three-day event, and an even savvier move that had consumers watching the finals exclusively on Xbox Live made it easy for gamers to purchase the latest release.”

The results were outstanding: “The 2014 Call of Duty Championship was the brand’s most successful consumer-facing event in generating social conversation, exceeding its award-winning Call of Duty XP program by 156 percent. The event was the catalyst for multiple global Twitter trends across the U.S., U.K. and France. Instagram generated over 120,000 engagements, the most received from a single event to date, and organic post reach on Facebook exceeded 5.7 million during the championships, up 166 percent from the prior week.”

One trend noticed: “Activision spared no expense to make sure its eSports tournament reflected a premium sporting event and was broadcast ready for live streaming around the world online and across phones, tablets and computers. To encourage content creation among core enthusiasts and influencers, the brand offered exclusive access to studio execs, players and key talent for one-on-one interviews.”