Every week when I get a new article from Jerry "LordJerith" Prochazka of vVv Gaming, I learn something new. The idea of becoming a professional gamer sounds appealing, but reading through the series he's provided has really opened my eyes to the business of eSports and all the parallels to traditional sports. It's a lot of work! I mean, who knew that in eSports you would benefit from finding a team; or studying your own 'game film'; or that there are ways to train?
Now "LordJerith" takes the world of professional tennis and uses it to give potential recruits from vVv Gaming an idea of what it takes to market themselves and become a part of the vVv Gaming organization. The issue of marketing an image comes into play and I've gotta say, like the articles previous, this one took me by surprise as well:
"What do sponsors want from players?" - By Jerry "LordJerith" Prochazka
Over the past three years, I've noticed a pattern emerging in the requests that I see for sponsorships. This pattern may not surprise many people, but it does reflect one of the knowledge management issues that face the eSports community: understanding what sponsors want.
Read more after the jump!
Becoming a Pro Gamer: What do sponsors look for in Players?
Due to the young age of many players and their lack of legitimate business experience, players often don't have the skills or experience to create a value proposition that is attractive to sponsors. I want to take a moment to explain some of the things that I look for when I receive a sponsorship request and how we evaluate a team's potential to add value to vVv Gaming.
The best way that I can think of explaining what sponsors expect from players is by making sure that everyone reading understands the perspective of vVv Gaming and its partners. To ensure this, watch this video titled: "Luke Jensen on Tennis Sponsorships."
Before capturing some of the important advice in this video, I want to highlight that if tennis players need this knowledge to compete in a well-established sport like tennis, eSports players must be willing to work twice as hard if they want to see sponsorship dollars. Here are key points made in the video and the vVv perspective on those points.
• You can't just be a good tennis player anymore. You can't just be ranked anymore. Be unique. Draw buyers to buy the product. Our perspective: How will you promote the vVv Gaming brand and the vVv Community experience? How will you drive traffic to our website? How will you promote sales of our vVv branded merchandise? How will you promote sales of our sponsor's merchandise and services?
• The difference is being able to promote the brand. As Jensen said, it may be hard to imagine a 16-17 year old player being able to use the word "brand." One novice mistake that players make is they don't do their research. In order to promote the brand, you must know everything about the brand. So when someone wants to apply for a vVv sponsorship, we generally ask: Do you know about our accomplishments? Our culture? The fact that we write articles? Do you listen and follow our podcasts? Are you a fan of our Facebook page? Do you subscribe to our YouTube channel? Do you follow us on Twitter? Do you comment on our Myspace bulletins?
• Presentation is everything. Get the basics right! Your application should be spell-checked, use proper grammar and demonstrate an appropriate vocabulary and business acumen (look up acumen now, if you don't know what it means). When meeting with vVv Staff, be direct and to the point. Prove that you understand the business of vVv Gaming and its sponsors, and then explain how you directly will benefit the business.
• Be marketable. The big elephant in the room - no pun intended - that no one discusses is the obesity crisis that we have in America. Nothing is more disgusting than trying to put a 4XL shirt on a player who, as they talk to you, you can still hear the sound of the last remnants of the hot pocket they've been gnawing on as they wash it down with a sugary Dr Pepper. And you can tell as they talk to you that they're not really interested in your brand, but they're more interested in money so that they can start grilling up the next set of Ballpark franks to stuff in their mouth. If you're not marketable, hit the gym.
These points highlight what a player must do today, in 2010, in the current economic and business climate, to be competitive. Just as previous generations of tennis players, previous generations of eSports players had much easier access to capital. Both the economy and numerous expensive failures, like the Championship Gaming Series, have put a greater responsibility on the player to understand the needs of the sponsors. As the video pointed out, if you are a tennis player, and you have a racket contract, you had best be able to sell the racket. If you are a tennis player and you have a clothing contract, you had best be in highly visible situations to promote that brand. Therefore, if you are a gamer, and you're given merchandise from a sponsor or sponsors, you must promote the sale of that merchandise. I often remind players that for every player who simply rests on their laurels after a tournament win, there are dozens of requests from fresh faces who are willing to prove that they can add value to vVv Gaming.
This holds true for organizations as well. vVv Gaming must add value to its sponsors. When we started vVv Gaming in 2007, organizations like TeamPandemic were well respected. This week marks the end of an eight year run for that organization. What is clear is that they are done with eSports. To be sure that we don't share the same fate as our predecessors, we have been very conscious of measuring everything that we do to make sure it adds value to both our brand and our sponsors' brands. Players must understand the business well enough to do the same.
I personally feel 2010 is a year for humility. Every player must keep in mind that you can't win the tournament if you can't get to the tournament financially. It's not about what your sponsor can do for you, but what you can do for your sponsors. If you take this approach, you will find much greater success in securing a meaningful relationship with sponsors.
The best way that I can think of explaining what sponsors expect from players is by making sure that everyone reading understands the perspective of vVv Gaming and its partners. To ensure this, watch this video titled: "Luke Jensen on Tennis Sponsorships."
Before capturing some of the important advice in this video, I want to highlight that if tennis players need this knowledge to compete in a well-established sport like tennis, eSports players must be willing to work twice as hard if they want to see sponsorship dollars. Here are key points made in the video and the vVv perspective on those points.
• You can't just be a good tennis player anymore. You can't just be ranked anymore. Be unique. Draw buyers to buy the product. Our perspective: How will you promote the vVv Gaming brand and the vVv Community experience? How will you drive traffic to our website? How will you promote sales of our vVv branded merchandise? How will you promote sales of our sponsor's merchandise and services?
• The difference is being able to promote the brand. As Jensen said, it may be hard to imagine a 16-17 year old player being able to use the word "brand." One novice mistake that players make is they don't do their research. In order to promote the brand, you must know everything about the brand. So when someone wants to apply for a vVv sponsorship, we generally ask: Do you know about our accomplishments? Our culture? The fact that we write articles? Do you listen and follow our podcasts? Are you a fan of our Facebook page? Do you subscribe to our YouTube channel? Do you follow us on Twitter? Do you comment on our Myspace bulletins?
• Presentation is everything. Get the basics right! Your application should be spell-checked, use proper grammar and demonstrate an appropriate vocabulary and business acumen (look up acumen now, if you don't know what it means). When meeting with vVv Staff, be direct and to the point. Prove that you understand the business of vVv Gaming and its sponsors, and then explain how you directly will benefit the business.
Am I marketable?
These points highlight what a player must do today, in 2010, in the current economic and business climate, to be competitive. Just as previous generations of tennis players, previous generations of eSports players had much easier access to capital. Both the economy and numerous expensive failures, like the Championship Gaming Series, have put a greater responsibility on the player to understand the needs of the sponsors. As the video pointed out, if you are a tennis player, and you have a racket contract, you had best be able to sell the racket. If you are a tennis player and you have a clothing contract, you had best be in highly visible situations to promote that brand. Therefore, if you are a gamer, and you're given merchandise from a sponsor or sponsors, you must promote the sale of that merchandise. I often remind players that for every player who simply rests on their laurels after a tournament win, there are dozens of requests from fresh faces who are willing to prove that they can add value to vVv Gaming.
Team Pandemic calls it quits.
I personally feel 2010 is a year for humility. Every player must keep in mind that you can't win the tournament if you can't get to the tournament financially. It's not about what your sponsor can do for you, but what you can do for your sponsors. If you take this approach, you will find much greater success in securing a meaningful relationship with sponsors.
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55 Comments
vVvZach said:
This actually help's alot, teams that are out there looking for a sponsorship should read these. Great Article.
vVv Gaming said:
Here are the other links, as requested:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chicago-IL/vVv-Gaming/39667060978
Podcasts: http://www.vvv-gaming.com/forum/index.php?showforum=648
Articles: http://www.vvv-gaming.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=36567
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/aovclan
Kris Burger said:
Very good article Jerry, this is what Vision is doing for vVv-Gaming, we are marketing the brand, we try and re-direct as many kids that contact us back too the site and make the most out of our sponsorship to help the community, promote vVv, make vVv bigger. This is a great article alot of you should look into doing these things if you want a "sponsorship".
vVvDoomhammer said:
I've seen that video before, and I'm actually surprised it's not more widespread. To me, that's the key to what eSports needs to grow. Players have to start looking at the big picture if they want to go anywhere.
vVvFear said:
Defnitley an awesome read, all the eSports teams/players looking for a sponsor should take a look at this article.
EMOzUkA said:
Awsome article Jerry.
vVvPerilous said:
Love it but kids will always fail to realize what it truly takes to be sponsored... they will always think they are owed something just for being good at it...
Cauterize said:
Great article. With Gears 2 dropped from MLG, do you see vVv's direction changing? If so, how?
Synystar said:
This is true. You don't have to be the best at something to be sponsored. Look at Nascar, some of those drivers are terrible! Yet they are sponsored. They just spread the brand they are sponsored by.
vVv The Turtle said:
Great Article Jerry. This shows future competitive gamers how sponsorships work and/or are obtained.
roxsick said:
Good stuff, really agree with it all, and the video couldnt have said it better.
vVvScreaMo said:
being able to get a sponsor doesnt mean just being good. its about how well you can promote yourself. good write up
Reality said:
Awesome Read and Article Jerry, Really Speaks the Truth, All players looking to get sponsored should look this up, reall opens the mind to the bigger picture. Well Done Jerry
HomeSick said:
Great Article, I will have to bare this is mind when i start my MW2 team.
vVv Toxicity said:
Great write up!
JCvVvGaming said:
Great article! I'm also starting one HomeSick. - Perfect aka SickNasty
vVv CuhRazy said:
Marketing the brand! Great read.
Kris Burger said:
Once again great article to get information from!
vVvTheHybrid said:
sponsoring is probably the most controversial thing in gaming, people saying they have sponsorships and not coming through, it's good to see the background you need to be sponsored
Exohdus said:
Another great article, a lot of valuable information.
vVvDoctor said:
Definitely a great read and contains a lot of good information. I took a marketing class and a lot of these tips are directly related. Great article!
vVvMrsViolence said:
Ishmail P said:
Amazing article, I remember the marketable speech from when I used to be a player, definitely got the ball rolling on a few things. This is an important article for people who want to compete.
Tragedy said:
Nice Read, Very Helpful, deffenetly gives more insight on a spot that is often over looked
vVv Angus 3 said:
great article.... gotta start working on my brand :)
Privileges said:
great atricle, puts alot of things to think about before throwing a app to some sponsership, very helpful for teams looking to do so.
- vVv TyPolur
vVv Blazek said:
Interesting comparison but very true. good article
vVv Addiction said:
I agree Blazek. Another Great Article!
So freaking true, every GB random out there for any game needs to read this 10 times over. What they need to understand is that they need to be marketable, and have a damn personality.
vVv ShadowsCrush said:
They have a personality, it's just not one anybody likes XD
vVv Solid... This is very informative to anyone who has ever been interested in sponsors.
vVv Brock said:
The one thing that I agree with most is that being good, no matter how good, isn't enough. To be marketable, it takes so much more, just like in being interviewed for a job, for a sports team, basically anything in life. Everyone who thinks they know what competitive gaming is should watch this video first. Great article!
vVvLiThiuM said:
Very informative article and video. Taught me alot about sponsors.
vVv Chibees said:
really good read Lj
Cupcheck said:
If everyone was able to get sponsorships by being good....wouldn't we all have no reason to complain about being sponsored?
Jerry's right, being "Good and ranked" no longer matters. And some people have yet to realize that.
dudemann14 said:
Good read, Jerry. I'll make sure to be keeping all this in mind since I'm an app right now. :D
Trivial said:
Amazing article LJ! and this really needed to be put out there in my opinion, especially the part about the appearance. It really is starting to become stereotypical for gamers to like that nowadays and it really needs to be broken.
Niccom said:
Presentation is everything... this is definitely true.
FyasKo said:
awesome write up. anyone looking to get sponsored should def read this article
ily emo said:
awesome article
Stingur said:
Awesome read. This could really help many upcoming players and people need to understand that they need to be marketable and not emo.
Ashley Trahan said:
A sponsor looks for someone they are proud to represent, and someone that is proud to represent them.
Good read.
vVv Metaphor said:
Great article. This definitely stuck in my brain.
vVv Enmity said:
"Professional" nuff said
Exon said:
amazing article. wish i had read this when I was trying to become pro in GOW
Joker said:
Great, informational article Jerry!
vVv Miracles said:
Very good article Jerry
Great article.
BenJay said:
Great Article .
Good article, businesses just want to sell their products and fat people that never shower don't sell things very well. =/
nitemaarez said:
probably one of the best articles, love it
AsiKz said:
This is going to extremely helpful to alot of people.
So many good players are out there that need a break.
great article
Forumm said:
Great article
GloryD said:
great read sponsorships def takes alot of work
uncag3d said:
Great article.. now all i need is the sponsers, if by chance anyone that see's this post is intrested in the getting debately the best gamer (fps wise) to have a logo on him an his team or if you might want him on your team, you should contact me at via xboxlive GT uncag3d penguin.. yes i do realize vVv especaily.. you have very bad gamers.. i say this solely on games i've been matched vs your members or posers perhaps.. even when stacked i've shut down your team.. this applies for cod4, cod5 , mw2 an fear 2.. but yes i hope you dont take offense to this, but instead you offer me a chance to show you why, i call my self the best gamer.. i do have montages on youtube.. type uncag3d penguin.. they are very basic how ever.. only 1-2days of play max.. Thanks :)
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