Pro-gaming, pro-communication?

by Louis "Guichex" Lemeillet

There is a lot to say about how communication is handled by professional gaming structures, and it is so because those companies are still in their early stages of development, and so are eSports as a whole. Everybody is trying things to improve their overall image and ultimately try to get on the “mainstream” stage where sponsors and popularity will help them become very profitable companies.

I see two sides inside this industry's communication: the gaming or sportive one, and the brand one. They are of course inseparable and must be run hand in hand, but I separate the two of them because one is actually run flawlessly while the other one depends on which structure you're looking at.

The eSports Titans are One Step Ahead.

Whether you're looking at Fnatic, SK, Na'vi, or some other great multi-gaming structures, you can see that communication regarding gaming performances and merchandising are almost flawless : they update every time it's necessary to inform when each team will be performing, where they are in their respective standings, or to present post-game interviews with the players. All the same, they jump on any occasion to highlight their online store, new branded products (when they have some), their own YouTube videos or even interviews made by other organizations. The timing of such communications is very often related to news regarding one of its team, and help nurture their image. Or they also communicate for the online store when they have a “hole” in their communication schedule, to never let their fans/followers without news more than a few hours.

Those structures do a better job running their gaming & merchandising communication because they have existed a long time and learned from their past experiences. Also, they'll have an easier time publishing various news about their pro-gaming teams because they have so many players! Supa Hot Crew, for example, will face more trouble finding interesting things to tweet about than Evil Geniuses, because they only have an LCS team while the other has multiple gaming factions. It's important to communicate news throughout each day because it'll help your gaming structure nurture and develop its image as a whole. It keeps people interested. It's kind of like advertising : the more you publish, the more people you can touch, then you can sell more products/have more fans/etc. No company has a better communication than the other, but if you don't have it at all, you won't be seen as good as the others.

You have many solutions to fill the gap between a young pro-gaming structures and an older one, but it implies you'll have to talk about less interesting things, but you have to do it if you want to keep people interested in your brand. For eSports, everything is going through social media. You have to keep being seen by your followers and potentially others. The more you communicate, the more you have a chance of a post being shared/re-tweeted and you'll maybe gain one more follower. “Less interesting things” can include: open questions, photos of pro-players performing daily tasks (playing, coaching reunion, eating, whatever), or sharing images sent to your team (fan art, merchandising pictures, etc.) or articles about your team/gaming news. Nevertheless, this job is quite time-consuming and requires a bit of communication knowledge (to know what you can share, communicate, take for yourself, etc.) and I have the feeling that younger gaming structures don't have a specific person related to that task. It's just someone who has another main function (like manager, coach, business analyst), who is running it on the side. It's not THAT important but still has some meaning if you don't want to create an immense gap between bigger structures and yours.

Still, Everyone is Making Mistakes.

All gaming structures made mistakes in their choices, in their communication, and still, younger structures seems to not understand everything from that. Pro-gaming is no different than other industries on that regard: communication is really important if you want to secure a real fanbase and a real merchandising income. Advertising can be considered as important as communication, but it is working with sponsors and will rely on a good campaign.

And here, you have so much room to make the difference. North American structures like TSM, Cloud 9 and Dignitas, are making great moves possible by creating extremely fun and creative sponsor films/web shows. And they decided to do it not only because it was fun, but because consumers want that. On the other side, you have Fnatic making a razor ad that appears to have been shot and edited by your average 13 year-old; or that ugly ad from Razer showing a 14 year-old Snoopeh with a...special facial expression.

The "Hyperglide with Fnatic" campaign may be a bit old, but that Razer ad is extremely recent and was aired on the Twitch channel of Riot Games during the LCS, so more than 200k people could have seen it. After asking Snoopeh directly on Twitter (that's the beauty of eSports), he answered me that he didn't know about this and didn't approve of anything. I think it's safe to assume that Evil Geniuses, as a company, also didn't approve of it. Whether it was an intern at Razer who created this and everyone validated it, it is quite frightening to see this as it may ruin the player's image, but also the gaming structure he belongs too. Moreover, it's a bit of a shame to publish this when you already heard rumors of this gamer being replaced as a starter in his team.

But basically, it means that nobody on Evil Geniuses actively control what is done with their players image. Even if you have a contract saying Razer can use Snoopeh's image for advertising their products since they are the official sponsor of Evil Geniuses, you can't do whatever you want and Evil Geniuses could ask for repairs for this crappy ad (if Razer never sent them anything of course). Conclusion: Something is really wrong somewhere, and it's more probable that it comes from Evil Geniuses not having a proper communication team (which would be really frightening if you consider the size of this company in eSports), or does not have properly educated people in charge of their player's communication. I am not here to blame anyone, but some people are specifically going through many years of studies to handle communication, press relations, sponsorships, etc. And I feel like even older structures are failing to develop such a team of skilled people, relying on people they know in the eSports world.

On the other hand, one of the recent hot topics on Reddit was the possible acquisition of XJ9 by Supa Hot Crew as a coach/analyst. I don't know if what he's done in the past is true or not, I don't know if he's surrounded of hate because of misunderstandings or whatever, and I don't care one bit: what's important is that people are aware of it, and that it creates an ugly controversy. I don't care if he's the best player in the world: controversy is bad for your brand's image and Supa Hot Crew has gone back in time towards global acknowledgment by simply not speaking about this rumor. If those things are true regarding XJ9 (if you're not aware of who he is or what he done, look it up on the interweb), there is a risk that a similar story might break inside SHC and do long-term damage to the teams reputation, at least on the brand side.

Gaming Structures Have to Make the First Step.

I talked in a earlier article about what could become of eSports when it goes mainstream, and when technology companies will come to be personal sponsors of star players. I still think, at this point, that it's up to gaming structures to move forward, and they can't wait to be seen by those mainstream companies hoping money will rain on them. The one with the best communication, around its brand and its players is the one who will get the juicy sponsorship contracts. Actually, in my opinion, the most “valuable” team right now is TSM, as they have really passionate fans, are getting quite good results, and never fail to appear in some epic commercials (like that last HyperX one,) and they've managed to make it into some mainstream news websites like The Hollywood Reporter. Plus, their players come from various countries and have different personalities. TSM is “bankable." Cloud 9 is too.

I think CLG could be one too, but clearly they don't appear in as much mainstream news as TSM or even Curse, who's using its business/company side to get fame. Teams are apparently investing different amounts of times in the search of business partners, as some mainly focus on the game. It's not something to blame, but in the end, some of the teams will get bigger financial means than others and will develop even further with staff, facilities, and financial means to recruit rising star players. In the end, for the long-term, maybe TSM will be the greatest winner of all this.

The point is: gaming is still just a "game" for some gaming structures. They want their players to perform well, and don't think about the rest. But it doesn't mean you should totally exclude this part and never seek potential partners. With the rise of eSports, it's first come, first serve, and some teams might actually focus too much on their performances. Cash prizes won't pay everything at some point. Moreover, it's not like they are alone in this since many eSports marketing agencies are popping up on the market - it's just they don't believe it's necessary or they think they can manage it themselves while doing some work for teams at the same time. Pro-gaming structures might need to trust a bit more in the external world and not focus so much on “gamers are the only ones that can help us.” It's good to get old players into the eSports world, but most of them will lack the expertise needed to successfully market their team's brand and image for the future.

Marketing & Esports : A Future Fairy Tale?

by Louis "Guichex" Lemeillet

Esports teams do basic marketing, but do they have the future in mind? Esports is gaining in popularity, with a viewership boasting over 70 million people. Gaming structures are faced with a swiftly-growing market and need to adapt very quickly, and that requires planning out their future.

Esports has huge potential because it represents a bridge between traditional sports and high technology. Moreover, a new game-breaking technology is on the verge of being achieved and commercialized and it brings new stakes both for high-tech industries and Esports.

To Infinity and Beyond

Across social media, we've seen teams offer merchandise like clothing and accessories, do giveaways for sponsors, and even participate in commercials. Tech companies and electronics conventions like CES are showing the world what could be the next big step concerning technology and computers. After bringing smartphones and tablets, it is time to bring something which could revolutionize our habits once again: flexible computers.

You can see manufacturers such as Samsung and LG talking about flexible phones like this one and praising their merits. It is a cool innovation, but the best part will come just a bit later. What can you do with a flexible screen and components? You can twist it at will and include it in objects you couldn't before like glasses, clothing and wristbands. With it, you reach the full potential of this new technology. Wearable computers. If you're curious enough, you can see plenty of stuff about Apple having some “secret facility” working on the new iWatch which will basically do what your smartphone is doing: email, music, agenda, etc. You also have Google Glass which does the same but with a little bit more virtual reality included. Maybe the next step is a Wi-Fi hat with a screen inside it. The possibilities are infinite.

Of course, not all of these technologies are available to the masses yet, but Esports is also not fully developed yet. And we can assume that, in some way, those two worlds will reach a new point at almost the same time, creating so many new possibilities for tech companies to advertise their new products.

One of the most effective marketing techniques at the moment is using brand ambassadors: whether they are movie stars, famous bloggers, or from a rich dynasty. It doesn't matter as long as they can wear or consume your products and give a good review; promoting them in whatever way possible. This kind of marketing relationship can bring very good image to the company if their values and personality are matching those of the ambassador. It is also long-lasting and so can bring a lot of profits to both parts.

A Bridge Between Esports and High-Technology

Where is the link with Esports ? Our favorite e-athletes can't really hope for sports companies to support them since they are not committed to any true physical effort; and they don't really need sportswear. What pro-players use daily is top-notch gaming devices which can help them reach a better performance. Nevertheless, they are considered, at least for the moment in some regions, as professional athletes and bring entertainment to millions of people who are also hardcore users of computers, gaming devices and every kind of technology.

Since that audience is most likely to adopt these new products, we represent, as Esports lovers, a great target for those companies. With the rise of Esports, they might have found the faces of the ones who will represent their company on the field.

If we project ourselves three or four years into the future, I truly believe Esports will have grown a lot more and every company will be taking a closer look at "this new thing.” Also, tech industries will release the first projects of their new “flexible devices” and they will want to boast them as much as possible. Trying to sign sponsorship contracts with some great multi-gaming company can bring fame and profits to both parts.

As a matter of fact, you can see that in Korea, where Esports is kind of a national thing, it is technology companies which sponsor the teams: SK Telecom and Samsung among others. I think at some point in the future, when Esports are acknowledged by everyone, we might see the same deal in our occidental countries. Imagine “Google Solo Mid” vs “Microsoft Cloud 9”. (I really hope we won't have those team names though.)

Whether or not Google and Apple would buy pro-gaming teams is a different matter. But what we can be sure of is: Esports powerhouses will be sponsored by one specific brand and they'll build long-lasting relationships by advertising their new products on the players while obtaining fame from the team results, in exchange for money.

Beware of Fairy Tales

Bringing tech companies, which represent a lot of devices every one of us is using on a daily basis and which represent what kids will consider “normal” in a near future, can bring further fame and importance to the Esports world. If you mix this with the “international future” of Esports, and by that I mean that they are shared worldwide and not only popular in one region, it could become something bigger we could ever imagine.

I may be over-reacting, but I think bringing such companies into the Esports market will at least bring our virtual sports onto the same level as big traditional sports such as soccer, football or baseball. Traditional sports will have sports companies more than Esports, but Esports can claim sponsorships from bigger companies. Such deals would bring further development to the Esports world and help gaming structures improve their infrastructures, their team salaries, their staff and their power.

On the other hand, such deals can bring tons of money to a quite new sector, and with it some disappointments. With an industry growing that fast and that big, everyone is playing with the balance between investments and rewards. For the moment, gaming structures are trying to court any advertising possible to upgrade their financial possibilities, but many problems could come arise from that. For example, you can see with the last Dr. Pepper marketing campaign with the European LCS teams, that they're selecting only one player to represent them, and not the whole team. So where does the money go? Towards the team or towards the player?

Lots of teams might try to take advantage of their players by “selling” them to whichever company offers money while not paying attention to the overall image of the person. Or players' egos might get in the way as they want to claim part of the money for their own personal benefit. Such moves would potentially slow down the industry as a whole and discourage big companies from investing as they could.

Esports is growing at an explosive rate. Technology companies are on the brink of unveiling cool, innovative stuff. This may be destiny. The two industries will find a lot of common interest if they manage to create sponsorship contracts. The most important part of all this being: the first to hit is the first to win. Pro-gaming structures need to be aware of that fact, and need to decide on a precise marketing strategy oriented towards the future.

What are your feelings towards all of this ? Do you also think sponsorships between high-tech industries and pro-gaming structures might exist someday ? Feel free to leave your comments, everything is open to discussion!