The advent of social platforms and the new ways in which we’re capable of sharing much of this content has allowed for companies to brand themselves in a different way than ever before. This has been seen with the influx of social influencers on platforms such as Instagram, but one of the bigger changes and the big benefits in this space has been with the growth of primarily online based organisations like those found in esports – as esports continues to grow with a wider audience away from just enthusiast, other markets where you can find some here in betting platforms and online representation, branding has become that much more important, and some of the teams seem to have discovered the blueprint for success.
Content creation – Much like social media branding, content creation has become one of the most successful approaches to branding for these teams – not only does it display a personality for the team and the creators, but also allows the players within these teams to become more involved with the branding developing a personal relationship with the fans. There are also more platforms than ever to be able to deliver this content on too, where social media may be slowing down, newer options such as livestreaming platform Twitch, and YouTube have become the primary way to deliver this content directly to those who will be most susceptible to it.
Merchandising – Selling merch isn’t a new way of branding in itself, it’s widely used by many different organisations but often long after they’re established. With newer services making it easier for individuals to create their own merchandising line, those in the limelight have used it successfully to power up their own branding. A perfect example would be the esports org 100 Thieves – whilst initially receiving criticism for focussing more on outward branding than developing a strong team in the games they participate in; their clothing line has been so successful that it propelled the team to becoming a fan favourite.
Visibility has been a key part of the success in both areas here – the ability to deliver merchandising or content is only as good as the options to enable fans to see them, and this is where these newer approaches to branding have found the most success. Others outside of the online space are already starting to catch on and see the benefits of utilising these platforms, and particularly throughout the pandemic period many more traditional companies have made the adjustment to great success – as some of these methods become more accessible, others will likely catch up too.