North American esports infrastructure company Nerd Street Gamers has hired Donald Reilley, formerly of Canadian media and gaming company theScore, as its first Vice President of Sales.
Reilley brings 20 years of sales experience into the role, with previous positions at Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Xbox Live, Amazon, Major League Gaming (MLG), and Machinima.
Esports Insider spoke with Reilley about the new role, his enthusiasm regarding Nerd Street Gamers’s trajectory, and possibilities for brands to enter the space.
RELATED: Nerd Street Gamers raises $11.5m in additional funding
“I have a little bit of love for [Philadelphia]. So yeah, I’m happy to be a part of an organisation where I get to go and visit every now and again. It’s a quick train,” stated Reilley, who studied at the neighbouring Villanova University.
Coming from theScore, his previous role had him less involved in management and more involved in selling directly with brands and agencies. Because of that shift, he said: “I have been able to develop a lot of direct brand client relationships and a lot of direct agency relationships. I’m confident I can bring that to the table.”
In his new role, Reilley added: “I get the opportunity to manage a team so I can take my individual sales experience and help to mentor and work with a sales organisation to go out and make sure we’re having the right conversation.”
Moreover, as Nerd Street Gamer’s first ever VP of Sales, his first priority is to drive revenue.
He continued: “The thing that I’m most excited about is selling [Nerd Street Gamers’] ability to make esports accessible to everybody. My excitement around that from a fan perspective, translates into brands and partnerships perspective.
“If the experience is accessible to the entire community, I can translate that excitement to brands. Because they want to be accessible to an audience that’s receptive to their message.”
Nerd Street Gamers, billed as an esports infrastructure company, offers a range of services which provides a multitude of opportunities to sell partnerships and sponsorships. This year as tournament operators, Nerd Street Gamers was selected to run the LCS Proving Ground qualifiers and North American VALORANT Challenger Series, and expanded their partnership with publisher Riot Games.
Nerd Street Gamers also owns and operates esports and gaming venue company Localhost, with several locations across the US. The company offers both physical and digital events, which creates brand touchpoints for Nerd Street Gamers and their partners.
Earlier this month, Nerd Street Gamers announced Camp Localhost, an in-person summer esports and gaming camp, which Reilley highlighted is another example of how the company seeks to provide opportunities to communities to participate in gaming and esports. An area he believes brands could be interested in elevating and providing continued growth and accessibility through partnership.
[primis_video widget=”5183″]
RELATED: LCS strikes photo licensing partnership with ESPAT AI
“We are not focused on one title, one league, we are focused on looking at esports, from this idea that everyone should have an opportunity to be involved. I just see it as there’s an opportunity for consistent and increased growth as people become more aware that they have an opportunity to play.”
Finding the next big brand to activate into esports through Nerd Street Gamers excites Reilley, the prospect of forming great partnerships and creating sponsorship opportunities will be a fundamental part of his role.
“This is a great opportunity to find a way to allow everyone an opportunity to participate,” Reilley concluded. ”That’s just not the fans or the players themselves, but finding a way for brands to participate in a smart way so that they can have smart conversations with this audience and this community.
“Because this community is not going away, it’s going to continue to grow. It’s going to continue to really be prevalent in the world that we live in. And I’m just super pumped to be a part of Nerd Street Gamers and help to kind of keep that momentum going.”