Yes, I have said this for a while now, but I have never taken the time to put my feelings on paper for all to read. Most of you who know me know I am very passionate when it comes to esports, and I have a burning passion for seeing and helping it continue to grow.
Esports at its core is about competition right? Human nature is to compete, compete for food, compete for land, compete for a better job, compete for a better car, better house, competing is something we do and don’t even think about it.
I have seen 70yr old women competing on Bejeweled on Facebook and talking smack to each other based on who has the highest score or have reached the highest level. I have coached young men in football and watched them compete during a football game, then watched them compete after the game at my house playing Madden. Competition is in our DNA and esports allows anyone to scratch their competitive itch regardless of how fast he or she can run, or high they can jump, how much they weigh or how tall they are.
Content is king! How many times have you heard that before? If you follow me or know me, then you will know I say this all the time. Content is king, and we need to take care of our king at all costs. Without written and video content then all of the competition that I have talked would be almost meaningless from a value proposition.
Good content that is engaging and draws in views and traffic is valuable to esports, it allows us, marketers, to be storytellers for our products and services. As traditional media keeps declining, you will see more and more non-endemic brands turn their marketing budgets to gaming and more importantly esports. When these brands turn to esports, we need to be ready to serve them and help them integrate their campaigns seamlessly into our ecosystem.
Within esports, there are a few types of vehicles that are driving and delivering content.
1. Dev’s/Publishers:
2. Org’s/Teams:
3. Media Companies:
4. Independent Content Creators/Players:
If you have been around long enough, then you have seen first hand how meaningful content from Devs/Publishers has grown over the years. I mean, some of the content that is being created around the Overwatch World League is some of the best I have seen.
I love content from Orgs and Teams when I can get it, sadly not many of them are producing good and regular content, this needs to change asap. People want to connect with their favorite players and who better to quench that thirst than the teams that they play for. Behind the scenes, please, let me connect with my favorite player… People know Player B is impressive at his job, but they want to know the real Player B, what makes Player B tick? What does Player B do daily, how does Player B live? It is all about the players. As more investment takes place into other Orgs, you will see the content efforts pick up.
The big one for me here is Media Companies… running a media company is very tough these days and is NOT a short-term play in my opinion. I do feel that the best esports focused media companies that are left standing within the next 12 to 36 months will do very well. I am confident you will see a few of them get acquired by larger brands that are forced to move into the esports space for impressions/views/users.
Number four on my list is so significant to me that I am going to take the time to write another blog post that only covers that topic. Look for it to go up next month.
If the content is King, who is trying to own esports?
Gaming and Esports 