Category: Esports

The Intersection of Esports Tournaments and Traditional Sports

Posted on by KemperLesnik

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Esports tournaments, and the larger gaming community, continue to present brands with a significant opportunity to reach, engage, and create a sustainable relationship with an otherwise hard to reach audience. We are witnessing a significant increase in sponsorship spending and we are welcoming more non-endemic brands into the esports ecosystem.

But will this shift come at the expense of traditional sports spending? Or will esports continue to gain share as a crucial component of a brand’s sports sponsorship portfolio? Whatever the outcome, we as an agency are excited to see the line between the two continue to blur.

The Production of Esports Events

I recently spoke at the Inven Global Esports Conference on the intersection of esports and traditional sports. Having come up in the world of sports marketing and broadcast production and recently helped launch KemperLesnik’s esports practice, I noted the high quality of esports tournaments. Producers have combined the very best elements of sports productions with big show entertainment value that captivates audiences both online and onsite.

Impressive as well has been the ability of esports tournament organizers to produce multiple game titles at a consistently high level. Companies such as Estars Studios have built their expertise in esports production through Emmy award-winning sports producers working side by side with a team of game specific experts which has proven to be a winning combination.

While esports tournaments have borrowed several best practices from sports broadcasts even in their infancy, esports has a huge head start on the sports world in one key area: audience. Born in the digital age and raised by a cord-cutting generation, esports has proven that linear TV is not necessary for their growth.

Reaching the Esports Audience

Even with the recent ABC/ESPN agreement with OWL, national broadcast and cable distribution will help build awareness and gain mainstream acceptance for esports but it is not critical for their success. Eighty percent of esports is watched digitally as opposed to only 20% of traditional sports (Goldman Sachs).

The vast majority of esports fans do not watch TV and they represent the youngest audience in all of sports. This not only creates a great opportunity for brands that want to reach a younger audience but for sports properties which want to groom and engage the next generation of their fans.

Whether it’s NBA 2K or other league or established sports properties creating esports partnerships, gaming will become a major tactic for traditional sports to reach and engage this young, digitally savvy consumer.

 

Esports Tournaments and the Fight Card System

Posted on by KemperLesnik

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Esports tournament organizers and brands are scrambling to find the best way to monetize and broadcast esports competition. Some tournaments, such as the League of Legends LCS and Overwatch’s Overwatch League (OWL) used a franchised system of competition. This creates consistent, predictable matches every week, culminating in playoffs that will see an uptick in viewership.

Other games, most notably Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO), and DOTA 2, use a circuit point system similar to that seen in tennis, where smaller tournaments give teams a chance to accrue enough points to get invited to large, global events. Since these competitions happen less often, this provides an opportunity for brands to hit a larger audience over a few specific events, as opposed to smaller, albeit more consistent, viewership in franchised leagues.

A more unique system of competition popularized by professional wrestling is known as the fight card system, where tournaments revolve around the winner of the previous tournament returning to defend their title against a new set of challengers. Not typically seen in esports tournaments, this fight card competition is being used by WSOE, otherwise known as the World Showdown of Esports.

Benefits of the Fight Card System

A returning esports tournament champion defending their title provides an inherent storyline to a competition. As an example, at WSOE 5, Hearthstone player Jia returned to Las Vegas at a chance to earn $15,000 and preserve her reputation as one of the best Hearthstone players in the world.

As many of the players competing at WSOE 5 also competed in WSOE 2, the previous Hearthstone tournament organized by WSOE, this also offers the opportunity for redemption arcs for players. Fight card competition in esports tournaments creates inherent storylines as strong as those in professional wrestling and is an opportunity for brands to get involved with engaging esports storylines.

WSOE’s fight card system also provides them with competitive flexibility. Not only can WSOE decide which game will be the focus of each tournament (they’ve hosted tournaments in Fortnite, Rocket League, DOTA 2, and Hearthstone), but the competitors of each tournament can be selected based on availability and popularity. Thanks to the transient nature of esports, certain games, players, and esports teams may be popular one month, but be old news the next. Flexibility in esports tournaments allows WSOE to stay on the cutting edge of esports, and provide partners with the most current esports experiences.

Esports Tournaments in the Years Ahead

As money pours into esports, some companies and brands are doubling down on certain esports, such as League of Legends and Overwatch. These franchised leagues surely bring great value to their partners, but come at a great cost – buying into the latest season of the Overwatch League was rumored to cost as high as $60 million. Such a high cost would suggest it’s also quite expensive to partner with a team.

Considering how transient esports viewership is, with many spectators quickly jumping to different flavor of the month titles, makes it hard for brands to take the plunge into esports partnerships, despite viewership for some events reaching as high as 200 million viewers.

 

There is an opportunity for brands that want more flexibility in their partnerships, and the fight card format allows for this flexibility, along with an opportunity for more storylines. WSOE 6, which was held this past April, focused on DOTA 2, and hit over 50,000 viewers during key matches.

(Source: SullyGnome.com)

In the future, we will likely see more esports tournaments adopt the fight card system, as it allows the flexibility and storylines that viewers, brands, and tournament organizers all want, without the steep investment of other esports events.

Three reasons PR and sports marketing can drive the esports industry

Posted on by KemperLesnik

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Esports has gained recognition in the media and in the public over the past few years. As awareness grows, so does the need for public relations and sports marketing professionals to use their unique skills to help bring esports into the mainstream.

KemperLesnik’s expertise in promoting and building experiences for high-profile sports clients such as the PGA, NFL, NBA and CBS Sports created a natural foundation for entry into the esports industry in public relations and sports marketing. The agency’s esports team sat down to discuss how these two disciplines are impacting the esports industry.

  1. What sets the esports industry apart from other current trends?

The esports industry is at a unique turning point. It embodies the next era of sports, technology, fandom and global engagement all in one. Viewership numbers will soon grow to more than one billion globally. And, most of those viewers are between ages 18-35. Similar to the sport of soccer (“football”), the esports fan base is global. It has a deep passion for the games, the teams and the athletes. In addition, with cosplay – short for costume play – the fandom around esports events is highly engaging, creative and energetic – very similar to the fandom in traditional sports.

  1. Where do public relations and sports marketing fit in the esports conversation?

While there is a passionate fan base among gaming enthusiasts, the general public still knows very little about esports. This is where public relations and sports marketing come in. These disciplines can bridge the gap between traditional sports fans and esports fans. They can help to take esports to the mainstream.

The PR and content divisions at KemperLesnik are working right now to bring esports to the masses. They are creating deep and meaningful story angles about esports, the athletes, teams, strategies, investors, trends, competitions and more. They are driving interest in esports among sports media, business press, consumer news and local market media, and using content marketing to spark conversations nationally and globally. These strategies are opening new doors to new audiences for the esports industry.

  1. From a public relations perspective, what is your advice for those in the esports industry?

Remain authentic, not insular. Those not directly involved in the esports industry may not understand the larger vision or what drives the passion behind game developers, leagues, team organizations, owners, coaches, players and fans. And, that’s ok. It’s time to show them. Open what has been a niche industry to people of many different walks of life. Shake off old stereotypes and welcome newbies. The more we can create emotional connections to esports, the more opportunity will be created for everyone – from developers and players to sponsors and fans.

It is an exciting time to be in esports. Public relations and sports marketing professionals are helping to engage new audiences and spread the esports fever. It’s time we all catch it.