Spark turned its own gaming festival into a giant co-op boss fight to prove its network

New Zealand's telco market is full of parity products, and premium-priced Spark had to justify why gamers—a famously cynical audience—should choose it. New Zealand gaming was overlooked by the global circuit, so Spark needed to contribute to the culture rather than cash in on it.

At Spark Game Arena Live in September 2024, every attendee's wristband became an EXABAND. Scanning it at booths, vendors, tournaments and talks dealt damage to Byte, a 20-metre digital snake boss trying to send gaming back to the brick-phone era, and players tracked their progress on live leaderboards.

The festival culminated in a final co-op boss fight. Killabyte logged 601,677 game interactions and was voted the most popular game at the festival, ahead of Fortnite, NBA2K and Call of Duty, with over 4.5 million damage points dealt by players.

Make the brand proof the game itself

Gamers received proof, not promises, of network strength

Every festival touchpoint became part of the game

The boss fight gave thousands a shared win

It validated NZ gaming instead of lecturing it

When your product's advantage is hard to feel, build an experience where customers must use it at scale—the proof and the fun become the same thing.

Killabyte won the Gaming Grand Prix at Spikes Asia 2025 and a Bronze Pencil at The One Show 2025. Spark became the #1 'network for gamers', gamers were 77% more likely to consider Spark, and gaming product orders rose 349% with accessory revenue up 212.8%.