{"id":1013,"date":"2017-10-04T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-04T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/sport-business\/reports\/4-things-we-learned-at-esports-live\/"},"modified":"2022-03-18T16:17:41","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T16:17:41","slug":"4-things-learned-esports-live","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/leadersinsport.com\/sport-business\/articles\/4-things-learned-esports-live\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Things We Learned at Esports Live"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\n Oct 04, 2017 <\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>Articles<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

4 Things We Learned at Esports Live<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n \n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Category<\/div>\n Investment & Ownership<\/a>, Leadership & Culture<\/a> <\/div>\n
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Trolls, outsiders, diversification and more.<\/p>\n \n \n \n

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Day two of Leaders Week saw two more sector-specific forums run back-to-back. The second, Esports Live, sought to get inside the emergent competitive gaming sector, revealing the opportunities and the obstacles for a broader sports industry audience. With the help of Leaders\u2019 man on the ground Jeffrey Liang, we bring you some of the standout insights.<\/h4>\n

1. Levelling-up in\u00a0sponsorship<\/strong><\/p>\n

What do you call it when 1+1+1 =\u00a05?\u00a0 If you answered with “synergy,” then\u00a0business schools\u00a0around the world\u00a0are feeling proud.\u00a0 Akshay Khanna, VP of Strategy at the Philadelphia\u00a076ers, revealed\u00a0one\u00a0of his critical learnings\u00a0from observing his organisation\u00a0sell to\u00a0sponsors\u00a0across a variety of sports properties.\u00a0Every\u00a0esports\u00a0title offers access to a\u00a0different\u00a0gaming\u00a0audience,\u00a0so expanding an esports team to compete across multiple titles\u00a0offers brands a critical mass of “coverage” in the world of esports.\u00a0The key to unlocking the next level of sponsorship\u00a0may very well be in diversification.\u00a0Jordi Roig, Chief Commercial Officer of the Astralis team, added that a second key pillar\u00a0to growth will be further professionalisation of the teams. They\u2019ll advance, he said, when they begin to learn how to talk data as well as industry speak.\u00a0Here,\u00a0again, business schools around the world are feeling proud.<\/p>\n

2. Trolls will be trolls<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hewlett Packard\u2019s Consumer Marketing Lead Yvonne Hobden reminded us to always speak authentically\u00a0– lest the trolls on Twitch roast your brand alive. She shared how HP learned this lesson the hard way, by\u00a0originally “putting too much product” in one of their campaigns.\u00a0Today she\u00a0advises brands looking to advertise in\u00a0the space to\u00a0design a campaign that also\u00a0authentically pushes the esports agenda forward.\u00a0Nicolai Sonderby Knudsen, Senior Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft, added\u00a0his own nugget of insight:\u00a0esports has value to brands\u00a0beyond just reaching\u00a0the hardcore gaming audience.\u00a0Just look at\u00a0Microsoft, who adeptly built a content piece\u00a0around a family\u00a0that bonded over esports,\u00a0a message\u00a0which resonated tremendously among mothers who\u00a0yearn for\u00a0a better understanding of “what their child is up to when he’s locked up in his room gaming.”\u00a0\u00a0That’s the\u00a0power of esports to unite!<\/p>\n