The (First) 3 Things You Need to Know About Advertising in eSports

The global esports industry is expected to break $1.1bn in revenue this year, up from under $500m in 2016. This scene is important to set: it signals a growing yet stable industry for advertising agencies and production firms to do their thing and address a global audience of esports enthusiasts.

At Hurrah we’re all esports fans, but we haven’t always been advertisers in esports specifically.

A lot of us come from a more general advertising background. Creating an agency dedicated to the sector has afforded us insight on how the esports audience may differ from others when you’re marketing to them.

Below are the first three things you need to know when taking the plunge.

 

Esports enthusiasts have two pots; one they fill with advertising they consider good, and the other pot they fill with advertising they consider bad. A recurring reason a campaign fails to land in esports is lack of knowledge or respect for the culture and a feeling that someone has not done their homework. Failing to understand behaviour yields advertising that’s simply not relevant to their identity.

In a world where people are increasingly suspicious - or just growing tired - of mainstream social networks, esports is one of the few encompassing universes that provide viable alternatives, for example by way of Discord with its design with gamers in mind. And Twitch, which provides affiliates with the tools and freedom to build a community fit to their individuality.

As young adult gamers spend about 12 hours per week on gaming and esports, they generally have broken free of their ties to traditional media. Simultaneously, anyone who spends a vast amount of time online is constantly consuming media - advertising included.

Whatever you produce has got to stand out from the crowd, which previously was dominated by dubstep-laser product showreels; it can be as irreverent as the Betway Twitch spot, that focuses on an authentic aspect of CS:GO: the chickens that wander, seemingly aimlessly, around the map. Of course, the chickens’ placement in the game means they see all, know all - so their choice of betting platform would have high value.

eSports audiences respect and remember brands that make it their mission to embed themselves within the entertainment or have identified a clear community-originated need to fill; otherwise, you risk bouncing off the surface.

Whatever game/community you choose, you have to think of the community. We can generalise, but more often than not there are extremely specific nuances that are extremely important to understand. Like comparing apples to oranges, or more relevantly football to tennis - CS:GO is an entirely different landscape to DOTA 2.

They find their core demographics in different parts of the world, and production is influenced by the cultures of their communities. They attract people with different identities the same way football or tennis does, or fans of thrillers and fans of comedies - people seek specific, unique, gratification in them.

If the goal is a presence in esports, you’ll have to be fluent in those differences. 70% of esports fans watch only one title and as such, each title has its own culture, attracts a specific crowd and provides a specific type of entertainment. DOTA 2 tournaments see the production staff regularly cosplay, wear costumes of playable characters while cracking jokes between matches; an esports production of CS:GO is more polished and professional, with courteous, tightly-coded post-game interviews from team leaders.

Naturally, different road maps, touchpoints and activations need to be considered for each discipline. (As a special note, CS:GO can be particularly complex for brands. There are no women characters, and its focus on terrorism/counterterrorism can make it a touchy choice, especially in countries like the United States.)

For esports, the community exists above, below and around you and your campaign. Not only this, but long-time esports fans are among the rare types of people that aren't just actively invested in the game, players or teams they love; they are actually following the business of esports. They understand the importance of brands being there but want those interactions to count and not be condescending, one-hit wonders or stupid.

Often, a warm reception is given to brands who enter esports that respect and acknowledge the culture and are willing to join in on the fun.

The key to creating authentic advertising? Be endemic. Take time to learn the industry; simply deciding to enter esports is about as vague as making the choice to advertise within ‘sports’. Choose your market, your game(s), your touchpoints, language, and approach. You must become the beast to know the beast: a tad dramatic, but in an entertainment sector as globally vast as esports, there is a fit for you - it’s just got to be found.