I recently attended ICE to do a talk and felt it appropriate to do a recap here. I was addressing an audience of operators and iGaming specialists aiming to get into the esports space. Looking at the current state of the industry, we have seen a huge influx of operators offering esports, but volumes have remained low across the board. Even recently, we are seeing more operators leaving the space. My take on this is simple: nobody is approaching the occasion in the right way - there is a lack of understanding of how to market, and nobody has approached how to serve the experience correctly. We have to go back to basics and truly understand our audience.
So, I felt this was a relevant moment to review the core principles of what success could look like for operators. I decided to present a high-level evaluation of the key principles of a successful marketing approach, and subsequent product development, that operators should consider prior to offering esports on their esports books. Now, each one of these points is an article in itself, but is good to remind ourselves of the fundamentals.
An example of advertising in gaming
I love this example, as it truly outlines the key points in this article. I would genuinely be interested to know how many people recognize this image, as it is from a global campaign of a major brand. In fact, this was from Coke.
I think Coke is a fantastic brand, and from my FMCG background are often looked to as the paradigm of marketing. This campaign, however, was awful. It looked fantastic, the quality of production rivals that of a Hollywood movie, but the impact was largely negative. This comes down to the fact that Coke had no clear strategy, and lacked an understanding of the nuances of the esports industry.
The ad aims to engage a global esports audience, attempting to create global reach across the industry. In order to hit this mainstream audience, Coke created a fantasy universe. This depicts a ‘fake game,’ a ‘fake esports event,’ and a ‘fake protagonist.’ The aim here was to create resonance across games and audiences, however, by doing so they actually alienated much of the audience, since there was no direct relatability. The main issue is that Coke confuses gaming and esports; if this was a pure gaming ad, certainly the story would have been more powerful; however, that lack of nuance completely undermines the proposition of the ad. By emphasizing esports, Coke lacks authenticity. They depict esports has this 'global phenomenon,' with all parties being captivated by this event. This is not what esports is and we need not pretend it. Then, it gets worse. The main protagonist dies in the esport event, which should lead to the end of the competition. No, not here. Instead, the protagonist drinks Coke, and the hero comes back to life. OK? It gets even worse. The in-game hero then has a moment of realization, downs tools, and decides to help the enemies. Coke has given him magic and the power of friendship. The event ends without a winner, all as friends. How awful. It not only misrepresents esports, but also presents the assumption that gamers are disconnected. The result is that in spite of the Hollywood level production, it is effectively the most cliche and generic pile of garbage that Coke could have possibly created, completely misrepresenting and misunderstanding what esports is about. It might have been well received by the global audience, but it missed the mark with the key audience it was attempting to communicate to.
Look, I get why Coke approached the ad in this way. It brings to life their core proposition of 'real magic' and felt it was fitting because of the fantasy world of gaming, whilst it also encapsulated the idea of Coke bringing together people and forging friendship. That does not excuse the result that is terribly misguided, because of that lack of real strategy. All they knew is that they wanted to target “the esports industry” and “have mass reach.” It clearly shows they did not do the necessary research into the industry or its audiences, and so the product lacks authenticity.
Have a strategy for the esports audience
Firstly, have a strategy. This might sound obvious, but it is amazing how many marketers have communications and tactical plans, but no strategy.
Strategy starts with diagnosis. This is the process of research, understanding the audience, industry, and how your product fits into that. Each operator will have to appreciate their own strengths and weaknesses, as well as capacity, in order to appropriately identify their respective target segments.
Following this, I advise you to follow the standard process of STP: segment, target, position. Based on your brand and product fit, balanced against your objectives; segment your core audience into segments with meaningful differences between consumers. Then, focus your efforts with relevant targeting based on your primary segments and available resources; before finally establishing your position to that audience, relative to competitors.
What is vital is that esports is not a bolt-on. COVID caused a surge in operators offering esports, as many tried to capitalize on the growing trend of the esports wave, coupled with the fact that esports was one of the only opportunities for betting. However, what became clear is that virtually none of these operators had a strategy, it was offered but was never actually tailored to the audience. Building an individualized approach will go a long way to seperate the brand and product from competitors, and it is more than apparent in the industry as to who has approached the industry in this manner, and the success validates that.
Be authentic to engage esports fans
If you have completed the former point, this next step should come easy. It goes without saying that authenticity is critical, but it still remains a point many operators miss.
The screenshot above is a perfect representation of this point. Now, I am not a ‘whiteknight’ of esports, but, I also recognize that the spelling of esports is a representation of how credible, knowledgeable, and engaged you are in the industry. If you are providing esports with the aim of market penetration, attempting to acquire active esports bettors, it is highly likely this spelling alone will undermine many of your efforts. It clearly indicates that there will be a poor product experience, because if you have not even bothered to understand what the common spelling of esports is, why would you have done any bespoke work to enhance the experience.
Just as problematic, I have seen LoL creative be used for DOTA 2 campaigns. These basic, yet fundamental mistakes will inevitably undermine your efforts. Ensure the basics at least are aligned and accurate, and this in itself will enhance any acquisition or marketing. Then, one needs to consider how to actually add value and engagement, which requires a far deeper understanding of the ecosystem and industry.
Improve accessibility for better esports acquisition
I feel this is a factor that is actually recognized in the industry, but perhaps not to the degree that it should be. It is easy to forget the complexities of the betting industry when you work in it. We have to remember that we are acquiring an audience that has no experience with betting. Many will not even watch traditional sport, where they may be exposed to the language of betting, for instance.
To showcase this clearly, I was speaking to an operator recently who has a significant esports cohort. They were undertaking audience research of their consumers and found something fairly startling. Most of the esports bettors did not understand fractional odds. This is a format virtually all operators provide, with many using as the default. We often forget how complicated and inaccessible both our products and the betting experience is as a whole.
We need to do a far better job of providing a structure of educational content and simplifying the experience. Equally, we need a more effective onboarding process to handhold new users through the initial and subsequent journeys. This will inevitably help deepen engagement of users, provide the necessary education around the occasion and responsible gaming, and improve positive brand association and confidence in betting. Finally, we have to ensure there are clear and effective safeguarding protocols in place to support and protect our users. Not only are these necessities, but these measures will also facilitate an improved perception of the industry as more users will be able to understand and experience the betting occasion.
Be content-driven to build reach in gaming
This is certainly not a factor unique to the iGaming space. We are engaging an audience who live on social platforms and consume video content constantly.
If we do an appraisal of our content in the betting space, auditing our social output and wider content strategy, we are boring. Nobody is pushing the boat out and producing entertaining, memorable content. There is a reason we all produce the same content, because there is a need for standard formats that have relevant product-linkage. However, there is also a need for entertaining content to drive shareability, improve our share of voice, and build both audience and brand alike.
A perfect example is Barstool sports. I believe they are the paradigm of betting content, providing high-quality entertainment and storytelling; whilst, balancing that against opinion pieces and product-relevant content. They are even at the point where they are seen as an entertainment brand as much as a betting operator. Their mission is to redefine how live sports are covered, and this is something we need to reflect on in esports. There are certainly some brands that have generated good content, but not to the same level of consistency or quality.
The graphic above represents the challenge and opportunity here. What it shows is that the next generation live on social platforms. In particular, they are natives to platforms where virtually no betting brands have an active presence. We need to not only be present, but credible and relevant; we have to understand what resonates with this audience and make it relevant to betting. We have to put the fun back into betting, and that starts with our content.
Build brand in the esports industry
Whilst building brand certainly isn’t unique to the iGaming space, I feel it is particularly relevant for a few key reasons. Firstly, the esports betting space suffers from a lack of trust. Betting has a stigma and the industry has suffered from a number of malactors over the years, casting a shadow over esports betting. Building brand and positive association will go a long way to creating trust with consumers, and by consequence, increasing the opportunity.
Secondly, the iGaming space is notoriously performance driven. Coming from a brand marketing background, the approach to marketing is stark. The extreme focus on data-driven performance marketing and being able to directly track “return on investment” has placed a strong emphasis on direct response, short-term performance initiatives. Whilst this has a critical place in any strategy, they also need to synchronize with a long-term brand development approach. The illustration above is derived from empirical research by Binet and Field (2018) on the long term benefits of brand growth vs short-term performance initiatives. What the research demonstrates is that the two approaches work symbiotically, with a long-term brand strategy enhancing the performance of short-term activation. These insights are furthered elsewhere in the research, for instance Byron Sharp preaches about the benefits of achieving scale through your marketing as the "law of double jeopardy" illustrates that brand market share directly correlates to brand loyalty and customer penetration. What this means for operators is that by growing brand and share of voice, so you will increase in market penetration and loyalty; whilst, it will drive down CPA over the long-run and increase organic growth, definitely something we all want.
Deliver value to communities
For me, this goes hand-in-hand with building brand. My background at Red Bull indoctrinated the principle of adding value through our marketing, and I fully appreciate the effectiveness of doing so. It leaves lasting memories with consumers and truly builds positive association.
Further still, I fundamentally believe this is important when marketing to an esports audience. Firstly, we operate in a fantasy world; a digital world. It is a world of boundless possibility, whereby we can create our own games, universe, and experience. Consumers also expect that. They are constantly consuming ever-changing content, and are surrounded by innovation and change. Our efforts need to reflect that reality.
Not only that, but the esports industry needs our input and our contribution. If you scratch below the surface of tier 1 esports, one can observe the amount of opportunity for operators to make valuable contributions to the ecosystem. There is a distinct lack of organization, structures, and finances, as the scene remains community-driven and under-developed. Here, we can create our own events, tournaments, or activations, that allow the community to engage, grow, and enjoy. My experiecne at Red Bull showed the power brands can have through adding value. Red Bull Kumite, featured above, remains a pillar of the FGC community and has truly impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of players and fans. The opportunity to leave a mark on the industry is very real, and very needed, operators can truly make a difference if they have a strategy and understanding of the ecosystem.
Build Community for your brand
Seth Godin talks about how we are social, community creatures. He references how we need to consider “tribes” as a central feature of marketing. The approach is that we are all humans, who are connected by shared values, interests, and beliefs, whilst possessing a need and desire to form connections with likeminded people. Esports reflects this, in that it has been built from community and is strongly bound by this fact. We are all in various discord servers, in-game friends lists and community features. We have our favorite streamers, and follow various Reddits and forums, all of which have their own communities. Our goal, therefore, is to connect with and form part of this community.
Marketers must focus on building relationships and creating remarkable experiences that people want to be a part of. This is where the essence of adding value comes from. However, we can capture the power of those experiences in creating community structures. The key point of note, however, is that a community requires nurture. Many brands fail at this level by forgetting that the value of the community is only as strong as the value you input into it. Consumers do not join “brand communities” because they love brands, they join communities because there is direct value to them in doing so.
Esports Fantasy
The final points are about product experience. The fact is we have to overhaul our current products, refine the offering, and innovate the experience.
For me, fantasy and prediction is a vital area that nobody has begun to explore. If we consider how current esports fans express themselves, both focussing on personalities and predictions are two central features. The screenshot above is a perfect illustration. Esports fans are already betting without even realizing it. Twitch prediction points has showcased the engaging experience of betting, and it is up to us as operators to build on that model and enhance the experience further. This is why fantasy could be an incredibly powerful tool to improve the accessibility of betting, and create an effective upper funnel acquisition mechanism. It plays on this established norm, but adds an additional layer of engagement for consumers, whilst also lending itself to the personality-focussed nature of the esports audience.
Redefine the betting experience for esports
Ultimately, the former points will ensure you can build your brand in the right way; yet, the true distinguishing factor will be the product experience. If we reflect on our products, nobody is different. We are all using a legacy product, built for a former audience, not even for the sports we are applying it to. We are all using a traditional sports betting product, and wondering why the modern audience does not engage with it.
What needs to happen is that we redefine what esport betting means. We are marketing to a generation of gamers, who expect interactive, gamified, and adventurous experiences. We have to adapt and innovate to tailor our experience to them. We must make our product experience match what they engage with every day of their lives playing games, and deepen our offering. We have to make betting more like a game. It is clear that this audience enjoys what betting has to offer, showcased by Twitch predictions, but they do not have any resonance with what is currently provided. Whoever can achieve this, therefore, will be the ones to capture the industry.
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