Hear how the esports marketing landscape will change and develop at #ESINYC

Ollie Ring
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ESI New York is fast approaching, with the blockbuster one day event to take place at the Tribeca Rooftop on 23rd April 2019.

#ESINYC is an event focused on networking and business development in and around esports and is set to welcome one of the best speaker lineups of esports B2B conferences yet.

  • 200+ Delegates
  • 40+ Leading industry speakers
  • 5 Engaging panel sessions
  • 4 Roundtables
  • One on one matchmaking opportunities
  • 1 Extravagant networking after-party at Jay Z’s 40/40 Club

For sponsorship queries and further questions, please email [email protected].

We’ve previously highlighted the speakers on our opening panel, “from ‘basement dwellers’ to global superstars” here before shedding light on why we opted for a panel debating the relationship between the FGC and esports here. Next up is a look at a topic pertinent to esports no matter the time – as we take a deep dive into marketing. 


For those well versed in the business to business world of esports – everyone would be a millionaire for each time the term ‘endemic’ and ‘non-endemic’ is used in the industry. Go back just a few years and there was but a few case studies of brands not typically associated with esports entering the space.

Sometimes they were done in an awkward fashion, with the attitude of ‘we know what we’re doing, we’re the leader in another space’ and were met with fierce backlash from the esports community who react frostily, with a veil of anonymity, to anyone who impinges on something they perceive as their own. 

Fast-forward a few years and the industry has developed at rapid pace. There’s brands aplenty entering the space, through league, team and tournament sponsorship and discussions are taking place around the world as to how brands can target the coveted 18-35 age group they’re all missing out on.

Whether it’s Mercedes-Benz taking over the Dota 2 subreddit and embracing the community memes around the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class Sedan, or the ESL One Birmingham crowd actually chanting “DHL, DHL” bizarrely during advert breaks, several brands not otherwise associated with esports have entered the space smoothly and with high impact campaigns nonetheless.

From sponsored panel segments, through to unique curated content pieces, there’s plenty going on. But how do these deals come about, and how should brands best approach the still young esports space? We’ve brought together a wonderful panel of experts to discuss this in detail at #ESINYC.

  • Eunice Chen, VP of Marketing, Cloud9
  • Sean ‘Shonduras’ McBride, Owner, Spacestation Gaming
  • Chad de Luca, Head of Gaming and Esports, Publicis Media Sport & Entertainment
  • Simon Bennett, Co-Owner & CEO, AoE Creative
  • Tatiana Tacca, Director of Esports, Momentum (Moderator) 

Chad De Luca, Head of Gaming and Esports, Publicis Media Sport & Entertainment commented: “I’m excited to provide an esports landscape perspective from a media agency lens at ESI. We’ve done a lot of research and work at Publicis Media specific to the gaming and esports space and I look forward to sharing why we feel this space is changing for the better.”

Want to download the full agenda? Click here.


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Ollie Ring

Contributing Editor
Ollie swapped the abacus for Sonic on the SEGA Mega Drive at neighbor Frank's house at an early age and has never looked back. With thousands of hours in Dota 2 (and no ability to show for it), he still clings on to the hope that one day, he will replicate Natus Vincere at gamescom 14 years ago and lift the Aegis of Champions. Ollie has been at the intersection of video games, esports, and gambling for over ten years and has also worked in consultancy in the gambling industry. Ollie's work can be found on the likes of: BBC, Red Bull Gaming, Esports Insider, CasinoBeats, PC Gamer, Green Man Gaming as well as his own thought-leadership substack "Esprouts" looking at specific studies and stories where games meet gambling.
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