The D5 Project: From the ‘what’ to the ‘how’ in esports

Over the past few weeks, a small Market Gravity team has been spending time thinking about the world of esports. More details on what esports means and what we were up to can be found here, but long story short, we wanted to understand what sport organisations and their partners such as sponsors and broadcasters should do when esports is growing so rapidly.  

Since we started, I don’t think there’s been a day in the press where there hasn’t been some kind of esports related announcement. Long story short, we know it’s a thing and everyone from the NHL to the NFL, Nestle to Shell, Bell to NBC etc. has either dipped their toe in the water or is making significant investment.

That’s why we want to share with you five big ideas based on the most significant opportunities for sport organizations and their partners in esports.

“Tournament in a Box” – integrating esports into the game day experience

Starting with a tournament is one of the easiest routes to wrap your head around what the esports scene looks like, how to learn more, test some ideas out with players and fans as well as build the networks.

We’ve created a tournament blueprint based on insights from Canadian sport franchises that can be customized to enhance the game day experience, create an engaging fan experience and drive commercial impact. For some, this might be a way to get fans into the stadium earlier, leverage facilities such as sports bars before or after the game as well as retain engagement during play stoppages and intermissions. For others, it might be a way to attract a different type of fan that typically doesn't get to the arena as much.

The approach can also be applied to stand-alone esports tournaments, when facilities might have down time between game day or using other locations.

“Player Branding” – leveraging the existing esports avidity amongst athletes

Esports isn’t a totally new thing that has sprung from nowhere. Many professional athletes are big gamers, some you might know better from their public persona like Mitch Marner, Andrea Pirlo or Juju-Smith Schuster, while others use it as a way to be entertained on the road.  

For many athletes, there is a career after their time in the game to think about, maybe on the business, coaching or scouting side. But for others in the future, gaming could become the next step. We believe there’s an opportunity for players to promote their personal brand along with creation of new marketing initiatives and access/engagement opportunities for fans and clubs alike. Who knows, maybe that 4th liner has value beyond bringing identity to the ice and has a fan appeal traditionally reserved for a McDavid or a Crosby?

“Player Development” – create a holistic athlete development pipeline for esports.

Right now, top esports athletes are often found rather than made. They’re passionate about what they’re doing, playing and competing for hours until they get ‘discovered’. In the not so distant past, that’s what it was like in professional sport. Tales of football (soccer for you colonials) players being discovered playing with makeshift goalposts in the back alley with a tatty ball are legendary.

Now we have academies with top coaches, kids being signed early on multi-million dollar deals and not to mention the college systems or the Canadian junior hockey leagues. Right now, that doesn’t really exist in esports, at least not in a formalized or streamlined way. We believe there is an opportunity for esports organisations to create those digital academies, growing the talent pool while engaging future generations in the right way.

“Matchmaking.gg” – a platform/online community to connect this disparate ecosystem and facilitate collaboration on local esports initiatives

Grass roots organizers are critical to the esports community, so something that surprised me was how lean various organisations are being run and how important the human touch is. We’ve met people running significant local tournaments from a combination of Facebook, Gmail and WhatsApp. What they have in hustle, can sometimes not be backed up by resources or commercial support.

We’ve also spoken with big brands looking to enter the space who often find it hard to start. Throw in other stakeholders like players themselves, venues, broadcasters, streamers etc. and there’s a case for some kind of matchmaker to bring the ecosystem together, in local and international markets.

“Next Generation Partnerships” – how brands can build a sustainable presence in the esports community

There are countless brands looking to get involved with esports, many we would call non-endemic such as oil and gas companies, technology firms, even professional services organizations are sponsoring events.

In our concept, we’ve explored how non-endemic brands can enter esports through in-game activations that are intentional, informal and genuine. If we’ve learned anything when it comes to brands and their relationship with esports, authenticity and a desire to enhance the scene are critical!

Now prove it.

For each of the concepts we have also outlined measures of success as it relates to customer engagement and core business objectives. These include: relevance to customer personas, monetization opportunities, and building an actionable customer data asset (through sentiment, engagement and other customer analytics).

For those details, you’ll need to head over to www.d5esports.com and download the full concepts. 

Whether you’re a professional sport organization, an endemic or non-endemic brand, or just an individual who wants to make an impact in the world of esports, get in touch and let’s make it happen.