With the numbers being touted by the likes of Newzoo about the current worth, and growth trajectory, of the esports industry it’s unsurprising that every man and his dog are looking to get involved and take their slice of the pie.
As an industry it’s expected to be worth over one billion dollars by 2019, and in the past year alone it has exceeded expectations and grown 7% from Newzoo’s initial predictions at the beginning of 2016.
This marks a staggering year on year growth of 51.7%. With new tournaments popping up left, right and centre and sponsorship deals with non-endemic companies becoming ever more frequent the meeting of, or surpassing of, Newzoo’s 2019 target seems highly likely.
When big money enters a new sport though it pays to be wary. When it’s something like esports, which has many different facets and whole factions which are far more disparate than they may appear to an outsider, wariness is of even more importance.
The case of Bud Light and its esports ‘All Stars’ campaign is a prime example. With players ranked 192nd and 216th in Street Fighter at the time of their choosing, to many who were just plain retired (in Halo) it did not appear that Bud Light had done its homework.
It has been reported that it was not perhaps the ineptitude of the company however but more that other contractual deals in place with then current major teams and players prohibited a deal with Bud Light.
Surely then the sensible move would have been to move away from the loaded ‘All Stars’ claim? Instead the firm opted to push on, and in doing so immediately alienated many and much of the fan bases they were trying to get on side.
Understanding an audience to which you’re trying to market is important, understanding an esports audience to which you’re trying to market is life or death. At the Betting on Sports Conference in London on September 16th SBC has gathered together some esports aficionados to share their expertise on this very point.
ESL UK’s Managing Director James Dean, Esports News UK Founder Dominic Sacco and esports consultant, GamerGo Founder and VATIC Gaming Founder Matt Litherland will come together to analyse and assess the pitfalls to avoid when entering esports.
Attendees will receive an education on the numerous unique esports communities, the demographics of esports fans and how this affects marketing strategy, women in esports and how to encourage this trend, whether esports are better off in a traditional sportsbook or a standalone site and more.
The three of them will also be available for any questions thereafter.
If you’re thinking of entering esports commercially, or have started out but could do with some pointers, this is the place to be.
Check out the events site for more information about the conference and to register. You can use the code SAM33 for a 33% discount.
Questions? Contact:-