BMO was among the cosplayers at Fan Expo in Toronto last weekend, putting two of its financial experts in costume as League of Legends characters in its latest effort to authentically engage with gamers.

“BMO Cosplay Bankers,” was an immersive brand activation created by FCB Canada, featuring two of League of Legends‘ most popular characters, Trundle and Poppy. In partnership with Hacksmith Industries, costumes were hand-crafted by professional cosplay costume designers in Italy and Washington, D.C., specifically tailored for Sean Frame, BMO’s gaming relations specialist and the host of BMO’s NXT LVL Twitch channel.

QR codes were also integrated into the costume designs. When scanned, they revealed a key for a Hextech Chest (an in-game item), which they could take to BMO’s Fan Expo booth to open the chest and claim a prize. While at the booth, they could also hear about a special Mastercard offer developed specifically for gamers.

“It was speaking their language,” explains FCB associate creative director Caleb McMullen. “[Fan Expo goers] loved the costumes, a testament to the success of being authentic and that you can do something that’s kinda out there and people accept it.”

NXT LVL was created last year, pairing live streamed gameplay with financial advice that might be relevant to the audience. According to McMullen, bringing BMO to a place where video games, anime and horror movies are so enthusiastically celebrated was a natural extension of that work.

He tells strategy that with big names like PlayStation and Xbox appearing at Fan Expo, the bank had strong competition to try and win over attendees who may have been less receptive to a financial institution appearing on their turf. Many booths offered freebies and demos with QR codes, but McMullen says BMO’s stood out by being a “living breathing thing.”

Picking League of Legends for the activation was a strategic choice on two levels. For one, Mastercard has a deep relationship with developer Riot Games, having been a global sponsor of the League of Legends esports tournaments since 2018. But also, despite being nearly 14 years old, League of Legends continues to be one of the most popular online games, with well-developed lore and characters that have generated a highly dedicated fandom. It had over 180 million monthly players last year, and is among the most popular games for esports leagues.

According to FCB associate creative director, Hussein Rumaithi, the gaming audience can smell inauthenticity and pandering from a mile away. Brands fear doing harm when engaging with gamers, he says, who can be protective of their passion and resistant to those they see as “outsiders.” This was something he and McMullen, as devoted gamers themselves, understood.

Reactions to BMO’s activation, Rumaithi says “were better than expected,” and despite a sensory overload experience at Fan Expo, people were seeking out BMO officials to engage with the cosplayers. People were also recognizing Frame as “the BMO guy on Twitch.”

“BMO Cosplay Bankers” was amplified by social, digital and OOH media, as well as a two-hour co-stream with League of Legends esports personality LL Stylish. Garnering an audience of over 58,000 unique viewers, the Twitch stream was ranked second globally in the multiplayer online battle arena category and number one in finance on the day it ran.