The allure of watching people play video games might still be lost on many people, but esports is a fast-growing segment of the sports industry and a Cincinnati company is aiming to capitalize on it.
Downtown-based sports and entertainment marketing firm Game Day has launched an esports program called Cincinnati Fear. The idea is to put the region’s esports efforts together under a single brand and get local players to compete under the team name.
“One day I hope we’ll be the fourth professional sports franchise in Cincinnati,” Game Day CEO Jackie Reau said.
That might sound optimistic, but Reau has reason to set her sights high. Esports generated $1.1 billion in 2021 revenue, according to market researcher Newzoo.
“The growth of esports the last two years, especially during the pandemic, has been phenomenal,” Reau said.
Game Day wants Cincinnati Fear to bring businesses and brands to the field for sponsorship opportunities while supporting players and presenting events.
“We’re looking to coalesce the Cincinnati community and show this is a legitimate industry that has the support of our corporate partners,” Reau told me.
Game Day hired Tim David last year as director of esports. He’ll be general manager of Cincinnati Fear. David had previously managed the esports program at Mount St. Joseph University.
That’s one of several local universities with esports options, and Game Day aims to tap into that. The University of Cincinnati, Xavier, Miami and Northern Kentucky University also have competitive teams. Several high schools do, too.
“We’re trying to create an ecosystem around esports, mostly with college athletes,” Reau said.
The idea is to bring esports athletes together, create online opportunities for them to make money through sponsors and educate sponsors on how they can use esports for marketing purposes.
Reau compared the opportunities to name, image and likeness (NIL) sponsorship and marketing deals that are now available for college athletes in all sports.
Some brands already participate. Procter & Gamble-owned Charmin sponsors a bathroom break, with gamers putting up Charmin ads on screen while they stop playing to take a break.
Hypothetically, Game Day could arrange six gamers to play for a couple of hours and promote a restaurant’s new food item to their followers. Stars might have followers in the millions. But Game Day is targeting regional players who could have 1,000 followers now, with hopes to dramatically expand that number.
Game Day has already hosted online tournaments for video game Rocket League and paid gamers to stream events online, usually through Twitch.
Game Day also hopes to bring large esports events to Greater Cincinnati as part of its initiatives. Such events can draw thousands of paying spectators.
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