Marketers have been diverting their focus towards the gaming and esports industry in India. Brands understand the potential of the industry and how rapidly it has grown. Brands that are industry-specific like ASUS, HyperX, etc. always had their focus on gaming influencers. Surprisingly, brands that are not industry-specific have started investing in gaming talents judging the potential and influential powers of the young gamers, who are committed, consistent and loyal. The rising popularity of gaming is something which is appealing to advertising and marketing, hoping to align their brands with this loyalty.

As gaming and live streaming continue to fuel development, marketers are increasingly paying attention to esports. Smart marketers want to connect with millennials and meet them where they are. They don’t watch TV or utilise other forms of traditional media. Video games are the perfect location to do so. And the greatest gaming opportunity for advertisers lies in esports and gaming, which has become the new social networking platform. Millennials, Generation Z and Generation A are difficult to reach demographics. However, if done genuinely and in a way that provides value to these communities, this type of media has the potential to be incredibly engaging in new ways. People are eager to take part. People desire to connect and be a part of something bigger than them. And gamers want to support brands who they believe support them.

Influencers have always been a good medium for brands to advertise. Influencer marketing has been a trend for past few years. In the early stages, influencers who caught brand attention were famous models, YouTubers and social media renowned personalities. In recent years, a new group of influencers have emerged i.e gaming content creators, who not only play the games but also entertain their audiences; their fan following is mostly the age group of 15 to 30, which is the most targeted audience in advertising terms. There are 90% chances of the target audience which is always an advantageous situation for brands. Brand participation should seem like an investment in gaming and players not like a cash grab or “commercial.” Esports firms are partnering with brands to conduct tournaments and provide amateur and rising gamers with excellent prizes, scouting and rating. Things like this provide the community a strong sense of worth, which leads to brand adoption and affection.

Out of all the influencers in the market, gamers are known to have the best audience engagement in terms of viewership and audience creator relationships. Audiences tend to admire their creators and feel more connected to them due to their high level of engagement. Not forgetting the fact that gaming influencers are easy to approach. For example- products like gaming phones, if audiences see a gamer playing on a particular phone and giving good results in the game. The audience will definitely think about buying that phone.

Keeping the market and brands a requirement in mind, Trinity Gaming was established as a talent management company to connect every brand with a perfect influencer endorser for their brand. We have witnessed cases in the gaming industry that, as most of the influencers are teenagers or early adults, they lack the guidance to reach out to brands and carry out brand negotiations. Trinity works for the betterment of both the influencers and brands. We curate custom campaigns for the brands keeping in mind their investment budget and their requirements.

Brands have understood the potential and growing scale of the gaming industry. Investing in the gaming industry has yielded great results and will continue to provide the best results in future. Brands focusing their attention on the gaming industry will not only boost the brand’s loyalty but also uplift the gamers in India. All sorts of consumer brands, from exclusive high-end fashion houses to fast food chains and even movie studios, are realising the opportunities to connect with their customers through games. Talking about the success stories becoming the CSP’s of Facebook gaming comes at the top. Trinity Gaming has collaborated with a lot of brands, some of which are India Today Group, Network 18, ASUS, Red Bull etc.

Talking about the campaigns, we did a phone launch for OnePlus, ASUS ROG 5. We also collaborated with applications like MPL for promotions, India Today League initiated by the India Today Group. We built a custom-made PC for our creator “Dynamo” by collaborating with different brands and many more as well. Abhishek Aggarwal and I started with Trinity Gaming in 2019, we aimed to establish an organization that can act as a bridge between the potential gaming content creators and brands. We believed that gamers needed systematised management to grow better. We aimed to help creators foresee their future in gaming. Today, we have a pool of more than 220 creators in our network and new potential creators joining every day.

The author, Shivam Rao, is Co-Founder and COO, Trinity Gaming, India’s top gaming talent management firm.