This is the 1st installment of eSports Group’s eSports Marketing Playbook.

A primer 

The eSports landscape is as exciting and fast-changing a place as any other in today’s global marketplace. This is a series of posts distilled from six months of analysis of both eSports and traditional sports business done at eSports Group, LLC. The contents should not be mistaken for marketing research; instead it is a forward-thinking attempt to make sense of the ways fans/viewers, teams, the media, and others interact to make eSports tick. The proposed framework is meant to give structure to thinking and encourage further discussion.

Getting started

Regardless if eSports are ever considered a sport, there are discrete differences between the business of traditional sports and eSports. According to Jonathan Pan’s input,

“The eSports ecosystem needs sustainable businesses and positive returns for investors. Comparing eSports to sports unnecessarily elevates the expectations of investors. “

The same holds for the subject of marketing, where there is some, not total, overlap with traditional sport marketing and management techniques. Applicable areas should be readily integrated, with the rest left as is. Keep in mind that no single perspective can hold for the entire eSports universe. This is a conceptualization of the entire eSports industry, towards the creation of standardized management and marketing practice; a general theory of eSport marketing, not to be confused for a prescriptive set of best practices.

Defining eSports Marketing  

To date, a comprehensive approach to eSports marketing has not been generally defined.  The term connotes a number of meanings, some more confusing than others. The following is standard definition for text:  

eSports marketing is the spectrum of activities designed to meet the needs and wants of its consumers.

The term consumers and consumption encompasses activities, such as playing, wagering, watching, reading, and creating content associated with the eSports domain.

As of writing of this post, eSports are heavily considered a retention marketing vehicle for game publishers like Riot Games or Valve. This notion of eSports as, primarily, a method of attracting and retaining a strong user base, is shared by industry pundits alike. However, there is substantial opportunity in investigating the two themes of:  marketing of eSport events/services and eSports as marketing vehicle, both of which will be the focus of this series.

To clarify, an organization like the Electronic Sports League (ESL) engages in the former while HTC, with sponsorship of eSports teams like Cloud9, the latter. Thus far, the flow of sponsorship dollars has outpaced the marketing of products and services directly to consumers; despite a vibrant community of engaged fans and viewers.

Special considerations for the eSports product 

There can be no marketing without product. Meaning, an eSports product must be defined to address the topic of marketing. Keep in mind, there is no single product; instead the notion will vary across the industry. The focus here is to outline common properties. A standard definition goes:

A product can be described generally as a good or service created to satisfy a need/want. It encapsulates a combination of tangible and intangible attributes (benefits, features, functions).

The granularity of different eSports products will vary, but are all distinguished by the following elements:

• Some form of competition, typically in some game form
• A separation into a “digital” space governed by “actual” world time
• Regulation by rules
• Specific forms of prowess and training to develop skill
• Special equipment

The product is built around properties taken from both gaming and competitive sport. In essence, eSports are games built around video gaming. The eSports product is developed around the fusion of these properties. The following figure demonstrates how these elements blend together:

Additional elements of the eSports Product

• Digital rules – The physical venue is less important than the digital, as most will absorb the eSport experience over the web.
• Authentic sense of ownership and connection – The eSports community is the lifeblood of its current success. Membership is not defined along commercial lines, as in traditional sports.
• Engagement is par the course – Casual viewers are converting to fans/enthusiasts faster than the overall rate of growth. In other words, eSports is a very sticky experience.
• Worldwide scope – eSports aren’t drawn along local or national lines. They are a global experience.
• New forms of social facilitation – Full scale integration with new generation of communication/technology, e.g. streaming and social media

The eSports Marketing Playbook continues with part 2, here.

eSports Group monitors hundreds of trending signals to keep you “in the game” of the global eSports industry.  Join our free mailing list and stay connected to the business side of eSports – http://tinyletter.com/afletcher

Alex Fletcher is founder & president at eSports Group, where he helps customers meet their eSports advisory & consulting needs. When Alex isn’t glued to a screen, he spends time with his wife, their two dogs, and pretends to learn Polish. Feel free to stalk him on Twitter – @FletchUnleashed