A shift from esports to creators
This year I attended my first TwitchCon followed by my 3rd Esports Business Summit (EBS). Reflecting on these two events back to back, I couldn’t help but notice a sizable shift in where brands across the gaming industry are putting their attention. It’s no secret that esports organizations are struggling through some growing pains. Over the past few years of attending, speaking and having conversations at the conference, I have stressed the importance of having multiple streams of revenue for organizations .
The good news, which still came through this year, is that people love gaming and the audience involved in gaming is still growing. I believe there is still significant opportunity, which I saw most poignantly in the shift of focus to creators.
Creators, specifically creators who game, have always been a big part of the esports ecosystem. But now, as esports struggles to sustainably monetize, creators are filling the gap. Unlike esports, the creator economy is booming, as evidenced by the very different and exciting TwitchCon many of us attended before EBS. Creators still provide an amazing opportunity for gaming enthusiasts to interact with the gaming community.
For Thece, this opens up a number of opportunities, not only with the creator economy, but also with the interest people have in gaming in general.
ThecePlay as a breath of fresh air
One of the big challenges brands have had, which I spoke about, is being able to trust that esports orgs or other gaming platforms are really getting the value out of their ad dollars. Thece has been committed to this from the beginning working to create vetted audiences and transparent reporting to help bridge the trust gap between brands and esports.
As brands continue to try and reach new audiences through gaming, we have found a way to leverage games their audience is already playing to create engagement on their own site. Instead of trusting another organization with ad dollars, brands can own their own engagement.
ThecePlay™ is the newest offering from Thece, and it provides new opportunities for brands to connect with the gaming audience. As I talked about it with fellow esports and gaming insiders, the response was one of excitement and relief.
Growing pains are a part of any new industry. Esports is growing, and feeling the pain of some of that growth. But at the end of the day, the audience is still there and the opportunity for brands is only getting bigger.
If you want to learn more about our newest way to connect your brand with the game viewing audience, check out ThecePlay™. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing you at EBS 2024!