The PC builders from “Artesian Builds” are facing a major shitstorm. Many of their partners have distanced themselves from the company that builds custom gaming PCs. The reason is a giveaway that went awry. The company’s CEO behaved quite improperly towards a small streamer – the backlash is enormous.
Who are the DIY nerds?
- ArtesianBuilds is a company that builds highly specialized gaming PCs and does so publicly on Twitch. The channel has about 270,000 followers: When streaming, an average of 550 people watch the company.
- Until recently, ArtesianBuilds was associated with some high-profile Twitch streamers through partnerships: CoD expert Nickmercs was a partner, as was the “Escape from Tarkov” strategist Pestily. These are some of the biggest names among shooter streamers that one can have as partners.
- Many gamers have a fondness for “self-built, high-quality PCs” and until a few days ago, it seemed that ArtesianBuilds’ business was going really well.
CEO Enjoys Kicking Small Streamer Out of the Giveaway
What went wrong? The company hosted a giveaway for a gaming PC live on Twitch, and the Twitch streamer Kiapiaa (2,000 followers) was drawn as the winner.
However, live on Twitch, the company’s CEO, Noah Katz, examined Kiapiaa’s account and then deemed her too small to be considered for the prize she had justfully won:
- It was said that despite several social channels, the streamer had fewer than 5,000 followers – they might want to be “generous”.
- But upon closer inspection, it was found that the streamer had been an ambassador for ArtesianBuilds for 3 months, yet had not generated any clicks.
Katz gleefully celebrated in the stream that they were removing the streamer from the giveaway and would redraw the winner. He acted as if he had caught a fraudster and publicly exposed her.
This was the streamer’s reaction: She felt “put down” and humiliated. She said she had met all the requirements for the contest. Now she was being thrown out just because none of her followers had spent that much money on an expensive gaming PC.
Kiapiaa expressed her outrage on Twitter. She said she had won the PC fairly. And now she had to be belittled by that guy on Twitch. He would insult her and defame her as a person and her stream.
Streamer Gains 11,000 Followers – PC Building Company Loses 5,000
So was the reaction: They were really bad for ArtesianBuilds and really good for the streamer:
- The streamer gained 11,000 new followers and a lot of support in the comments.
- For ArtesianBuilds, things went really badly. They lost 5,000 followers and important partners distanced themselves from them.
Thus, CoD guru Nickmercs publicly distanced himself from the PC company. He said the behavior of the “homie on Twitch” was very, very odd. He simply did not like it and wanted nothing more to do with it.
Pestily is also gone. The Australian does not want to work with the brand anymore (via twitter).
PC Company Eventually Offers Streamer the PC – She Declines
How is ArtesianBuilds reacting? They apparently wanted to smooth things over and offered the streamer to send her the PC after all. However, she proved to be proud and declined the offer, as she announced on Wednesday, March 2.
She said she did not want to support a company that does not care about small streamers, as they are the backbone of the company.
Meanwhile, there seems to be a code red at ArtesianBuilds. The company issued a public statement on March 2, taking full responsibility and apologizing to the streamer.
There was also a personal video from Katz, in which he repeatedly apologizes and vows to improve. But currently, there is a lot of mockery and derision directed at the company. They would only support people who could also “do something for the company” as promoters. Gamers apparently have little understanding for this.
What’s behind it: The “giveaway” from ArtesianBuilds was apparently not intended as a “real raffle” that anyone could participate in, but more as a “goodie” for business partners helping the company promote their PCs.
When a streamer was drawn who was too small to actually generate revenue, the CEO reacted very strangely. The consequences are catastrophic.
If the image you want to build and convey does not match the reality of the business at all, it can go badly. For the PC builders, one can only hope they learn lessons from this unfortunate incident.
People seem to appreciate mocking live much better when they “hit up”:
Tech YouTuber mocks PC setup of Twitch star in front of 1.3 million people
