Understanding the product

Loco is a live-game streaming platform with over 60 Million registered users. Loco started as a live quiz show app, then pivoted into a live-game streaming company in 2019. Loco is available in an app and web version. Its platforms are iOS & Android. Loco hosts a range of UGC content - from esports to casual gaming streams by popular and micro-streamers. Loco is pioneering the gaming ecosystem in the country and aims to be the home of Indian Gaming, with over 45 different games and 4,000+ streamers. In its last funding round, ie Series A, Loco raised $42 Million from crypto major Hashed, with participation from Makers Fund, Catamaran Ventures, and Korea Investment Partners. The round also saw participation from Krafton, Lumikai, and Hiro Capital.

The premise of their last funding was to scale through ads, launch a crypto platform called Loco Legends, and double down on game publisher partnerships. Through the years, basis how the market evolved, Loco realized that the business model would change to a transaction-based model >>> ad revenue-based model. The north star metric that drove this thought process is that our user retention of our loyalty program/reward users is on par with mammoth marketplaces such as Amazon.

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To enhance the viewer experience, boost engagement, and help streamers monetize, Loco recently launched a VIP subscription service that enabled users to avail of different perks.

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This is what the web & app versions look like -

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Web:

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App:

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Upon looking up the platform on the App Store, and Play Store, there are mixed reviews that pop up:

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Basis the distribution of the ratings, the pattern suggests that the reviews are polarised - suggests that the users are quite invested in the product itself to feel so strongly - whether negatively or positively.

The latest IP was a tournament on LOCO featuring India's biggest game, BGMI. These were the ads that were floating around via Google/Meta ads:

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Loco is a streaming platform, hence users are of two key sub-categories representing supply & demand - viewers and streamers. Sometimes these user personals overlap, and sometimes they don't.

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Following are the different consumer personas that Loco has:

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Basis the following ICP framework, we will figure out which of these Streamer ICPs to target/solve for:

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Next, we'll deep-dive into the Viewer personas and figure out whom to target/solve for:

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The highlighted ICPs are the ones with which we will be working, for this project.

Next, we'll do a deep dive into the market in which Loco functions, identify the top competitors, and double-click on the TAM.

The Indian gaming market is expected to more than triple to USD 7 billion by 2026 from USD 2.2 billion in 2021 as per a recent report by Lumikai.

• Revenue in India's Games Live Streaming market is forecasted to reach US$194.70m in 2024.
• Within the Games Live Streaming market in India, the number of users is expected to reach 124.6m by 2029.
• The average revenue per user (ARPU) in India's Games Live Streaming market is estimated to be US$1.89 (₹157.85) in 2024.
• India's growing interest in Games Live Streaming is driving a surge in viewership and engagement across various online platforms.

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Around 20% of gamers in India are paying users, with pay-to-play, casual, and core games being the most popular among the paying user base. So the TAM we're dealing with currently will roughly be equal to 20% * 100Mn = 20Mn | Source

To note: even though Loco has 60Mn registered users, these are not all paying users.

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Viewership of eSports across India from financial year 2019 to 2021, with estimates up till 2025 (in millions): -

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In the financial year 2021, there were around 17 million viewers of eSports in India. The number of viewers was almost double that of 2019. It was estimated that in 2025, there would be around 85 million viewers of eSports events on 20 different platforms making India one of the fastest-growing markets for eSports viewership. This fact highlights the viewership potential that a live-game streaming platform has in India.

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To signal the consumer behavior of watching content on live stream and the joy of watching a sport Live, here's a snippet:

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Since Hotstar started streaming the Indian Premier League live, views increased from 41 million in 2015 to 110 million in 2016, then from 130 million in 2017 to 202 million in 2018. This shows that there was a 55.3 % increase between 2017 and 2018 alone. Hotstar had a record 10.3 million concurrent viewers during the Chennai Super Kings vs Sunrisers Hyderabad final.

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The largest LAN tournament hosted in India to date (November 2023) clocked in 20 Million views and a peak concurrency of 200,000 users on Loco. This goes to show that we haven't even scratched the surface and there is a long way to go, as far as viewership goes.

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To estimate the upper cap of streamers, let's look at the total number of gamers (inclusive of mobile gamers) we have in India:

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To note: Average time spent per user per week has increased compared to last year, pointing towards a growing propensity to play games. With 15.4 billion downloads, India is among the top countries in the world for total mobile game downloads. Over 50% of India’s internet users are gamers. - 1️⃣

The exact number can vary, but considering all platforms (YouTube gaming, Rooter, Loco), it is reasonable to estimate that there are at least 20,000 to 50,000 active game streamers in India, if not more. - 2️⃣

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Considering points 1 & 2, ie the overlap between the number of mobile gamers & active game streamers - a hypothesis I have is that there is a large opportunity for potential streamers - given the kind of viewership/fame (as seen above), they can achieve.

This is the flywheel that I have envisioned: More streamers -> more communities -> more loyalty -> more viewership -> more revenue ​

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The direct home-grown competitor of Loco in the market is Rooter, and a moon-shot competitor is YouTube Gaming. The business models of Loco and Rooter have been in sync since inception. Wherein YouTube Gaming has been the top streaming service due to the scale and viewership it offers.

Now let's double-click on the search intent that users (streamers/viewers):

Questions that a potential Loco streamer would ask:

One:

Loco was seen on the second scroll

Two:

Loco was seen on the second scroll

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Three:

Loco was not visible on the first page

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Questions that a potential Loco viewer would ask:

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One:

Loco was seen on the second scroll

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​Two:

Loco was seen on the second scroll​

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Three:

Loco was seen on the second scroll

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SEO optimization based on a few more prompts suggests that Loco focuses more on pulling in viewers > streamers via search engines such as Google. The gaming community is a tight-knit one, and streamers particularly don't have a habit of googling their concerns, they ask the telegram/discord groups where the gamer friends hang out and trust their opinions > google results.

Marketing props of selected ICPs

For the eSports enthusiasts, the marketing core prop is:

Watch BGMI eSports tournaments exclusively on Loco.

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For incentive/reward users, the marketing core prop is:

BGMI UC, Google Play vouchers, and Amazon vouchers are just a click away! Download now!

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For aspiring streamers, the marketing core prop is:

Dream karo. Stream karo. Just like XX (top streamer) on Loco.

The AHA moment for aspiring streamers comes a lot later in their streaming journey since it's a long and arduous journey to build a community and generate revenue for streams. Hence the pull on creative ad assets will come from featuring top streamers who have 'made it' -> build aspiration. The secondary prop will be the ease of streaming/$$ from streaming/ fame.

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Despite Loco being around for a couple of years (inception 2019), the business model has been evolving based on what is working for us, and what isn't. We recently pivoted from a goal of doubling down on ad revenue to one where we focus solely on bringing in transacting users. There are a few trends that have worked well for us in terms of roping in viewership, based on those learnings I will flesh out the different experiments we can run to capture users and scale them.

Now let's double-click on how to scale users:

Referral programs:

I will be running two experiments - one where the referral program will be for the viewer persona, and the second - streamer persona. The objective is to figure out whether these users can be scaled using this mechanism.

Out of the three core ICPs mentioned above - the incentives I have detailed ensure an appeal to all three ICPs - eSports Enthusiast, Reward-Based Viewer and Aspiring Streamer.

Who will you ask for a referral?​

Cohort: The focus will be active users. What do we mean by 'active'?

We will target two kinds of active users: viewers and streamers.

• Viewers:
• • How will we define active viewer persona ie users who have hit their 'AHA' moment?
  • • Has watched a stream for longer than 30 minutes twice every week in the last 30 days
    • Purchased a VIP (loyalty program) pack more than four times in the last 30 days
    • Interacted (sent stickers in chat) in 10 unique streams at least in the last 30 days
    • If the viewer has earned >₹1000 through VIP (loyalty program) in <2 months

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• • How will we reach out to these users in-app?
  • • Via pop-ups (using MoEngage) as and when the user qualifies for at least one of the conditions mentioned above.
    • On the e-commerce page where users go to buy the VIP pack >4 time within a month.
    • And besides that, the referral will be present passively, in the side banner of the app.

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• Streamers: ​
• • How will we define active streamer persona ie users who have hit their 'AHA' moment?
  • • Has streamed at least twice every week for two months straight
    • Has streamed >30 hours within two weeks

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• • How will we reach out to those users in-app?
  • • Via pop-ups in-app (using MoEngage) as and when the user qualifies for at least one of the conditions mentioned above
    • And besides that, the referral will be present passively, in the side navigation banner of the app

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How will users share the referral link?

• Streamers/Viewers are often part of WhatsApp, discord & telegram groups (micro-communities) where scrims and upcoming tournaments ++ are discussed & they follow top streamers/eSports organization on IG. Hence a 1 - many referral program would make sense given where these users spend the most time.

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How will the flow work?

• • Users will get access to a unique referral link -> they will share via their social apps of preference -> referee downloads app -> incentives/rewards are credited to them within 48 hours of them buying their first VIP pack OR within 48 hours of the user successfully finishing their first live stream (which will have to be a minimum of 30 minutes).

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How to get the users to keep referring/what's in it for the referrers?​

• There will be a tier system for the referrers:
• • Viewers
  • • 1 referral - One week free VIP
    • 5 referrals - 60 UC + 10 diamonds
    • 15 referrals - 1 month free VIP + 75 UC
    • 30 referrals - 325 UC + one week free VIP + Swiggy coupon worth 1500
    • 50 referrals - Loco merchandise + amazon/google pay coupons worth 2000 + 50 diamonds

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• • Streamers
  • • 1 referral - Streamer earnings boost by 5% for a month
    • 5 referrals - 60 UC + 10 diamonds
    • 15 referrals - Streamer earnings boost by 10% for a month + featured as 'emerging streamer' in the discovery tab
    • 30 referrals - 325 UC + Swiggy coupon worth 1500
    • 50 referrals - Loco merchandise + 600 UC + amazon/google pay coupons worth 2000 + jump a tier in the SIP.

What's in it for the referees?

• Viewers: They will get 60 UC + 10 diamonds (platform currency) + one week free of the loyalty program (VIP)
• • Condition for qualifying for incentive: The viewer has to download the app + buy a VIP pack.

The target viewer ICP

• Streamers: They will get 150 UC + 10 diamonds (platform currency) + Streamer earnings boost by 5% for a month.
• • Condition for qualifying for incentive: The viewer has to download the app + stream for a minimum of 30 minutes straight.

How will they track progress?

• • Both the viewers & streamers will be able to track via the app itself (UI below) - who clicked on the link & who successfully fulfilled the conditions of the referral
  • Every time a referral goes through, they will be notified via an automated notification via MoEngage (pop-up/push-notification)

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Referral screens (UI):

How will we reach out to those users?​

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In the VIP purchase screen:

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In the side navigation bar:

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MoE banner will pop up in this manner 5-6 seconds after the user opens the app:

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Now when they click on 'refer and earn', this is what they will see:

The following screen solves for: What's in it for the users? How will they track the referrals? What will keep the referrers keep referring?

To note: this is the viewer UI, the streamer UI will be similar, but the content under 'what's in it for you' will change)

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Pls ignore the 'TIER 3' text placed in front of '1 month...' typo and consider the text '15 referrals:...' (as seen in the incentive copy shared above.

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Under the 'share link in a group' box outlined above; the following icons will be present, including IG:

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For the 'what's in it for you' section, the UI should ideally be as follows - to show progress and clarity in what's being offered:

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As and when a user goes from one tier to another, they will be notified via an in-app notification ie pop up (via MoEngage):

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How will the referrals be shared?

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Upon sharing the link on socials, the messaging is key.

Taking inspo from Airbnb's messaging:

This is the kind of WA messaging we will go for:

Hi Ragini!

Your friend Shreya has given you 60 BGMI UC, 10 diamonds, and a one-week free membership of our loyalty program! All you have to do is download Loco and join the home of Indian Gaming. Thank her by using this link: xxxx

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To note: The creative in the WhatsApp blast will have the referee incentives written.

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Content loops:

I've mentioned around 6 experiments we can run using this mechanism and highlighted ones we should prioritize based on effort/impact.

• Step one: Understanding where your users spend time
• • Users spend time watching gameplay on YouTube, interacting with streamers on their live streams, watching their streamer's favorite reels on Instagram, follow esports organizations and teams on Twitter (X) and IG to get the latest news, discord channels for macro gaming communities + remain up to date with the latest tournaments +, micro-communities on telegram
• Step two: Understanding what your users are speaking about
• • Gossip around their favorite streamers/teams, interactive gameplay/clutches, and latest BGMI tournaments - so folks are talking about who's banned/who will qualify for finals
• Step three: Build content that helps users consume it + share it with others
• • Loco as the content generator:
  • • Gossip reels - on socials with the hook of 'Watch first only on loco'
    • Live esports gameplay & ranking posts of big tournament IPs
    • Host LAN tournaments (eSports), stream exclusively on Loco + publish exclusive content around players -> users create content around best moments
  • UGC:
  • • Incentivise TOs to host scrims/small-scale tournaments exclusively on Loco -> Users will see Loco as a platform actively investing in the growth of esports -> grassroots level activation
    • Top streamers host watch parties of big tournaments -> top streamers amplify on social media about their streams -> users enjoy watching their favorite streamers + engage with them
    • Clips feature reiterate -> nudge folks to create/share easily on socials -> build awareness

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TLDR:​

• Esports tournaments (go up) -> community is energized -> viewership goes up; watch parties (goes up), UGC generated content (goes up) -> app awareness (goes up)
• Top streamer watch parties/chill streams (go up) -> push on socials (streamer puts up story online) -> viewers are keen to watch -> download app

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Breaking this down into hook | generator | distributor framework

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The ones that I think can be put into use at the earliest wrt effort/impact are below:

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Content loop ONE/TWO flow:

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Content loop THREE flow:

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The flow for clips feature in-app should ideally flow in this manner to minimize barriers to creating clips:

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Thank you!

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