Snapdragon Mobile Masters - To The End
I had the privilege of leading the brand direction for the first-ever Snapdragon Mobile Masters—the global finals for the Snapdragon Pro Series.
The event took place at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, and was the culmination of years of work growing the ESL Mobile product. As such, I wanted to take cues from other leaders in the space and craft a visual and sonic theme to represent the players’ multi-year journey.
I worked hands-on with the animator and music producer to craft a look that spanned beyond just promotional material. Paying homage to the Japanese fans, we created a retro, Studio Trigger-Esq anime theme that was used in everything from broadcast and social to signage and print materials. We worked directly with the game publisher Supercell, to ensure that their characters and world were still respected throughout the brand refresh.
The fans certainly responded, and the game community came together in a big way, breaking viewership records, with thousands of attendees onsite.
Dreamhack Dallas - Breaking Records
DreamHack Dallas was the company's most successful North American event to date, bringing in over 44,000 total attendance, showing 30% YoY growth.
This growth was driven largely by the efforts of the team to expand the product offering, and really hone in on what the fans wanted to see and experience at a gaming festival.
More than ever, we worked with non-esports creators and gaming personalities, looking to push into the world of fandom and connect with a broader gaming audience.
We also sought to re-think the way we look at content at an event like DreamHack. We focused less on the big picture and instead tried harder to capture the magic of each individual component through short-form content. This strategy was highly successful, and we saw a significant increase in fan response compared to previous events.
Corporate Partnerships And Brand Integrations
Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with many amazing brands, finding fun and creative ways to connect their products to audiences around the globe.
Whether it be through social media content, influencer activations, or onsite events; the key to a successful campaign all comes down to a simple and clear CTA. Make something compelling that fans actually want to engage with, and make it easy for them to do so.
From there you need to be able to track it, to ensure that your integrations are actually accomplishing the KPIs you set out to achieve. I lean heavily on consumer feedback reports, surveys, and focus groups to help validate our data and solidify key learnings and areas for improvement.
One of my more recent successful activations was the Jersey Station at DreamHack San Diego—giving out free custom Qualcomm-branded jerseys to over 1000 fans. Those fans became walking billboards for our stage, and having their name on the back helped them feel a connection to the competition, solidifying the Snapdragon name as endemic to the space.
Influencer Marketing
I began working with influencers back in 2016, at a time when most gaming activations existed in a sterile environment, shipping out celebrities to corporate events in the hopes of generating some form of positive brand association.
I worked at a startup with essentially no budget, so we needed to find ways to reach the largest possible audience for the fewest dollars. Our solution was to go low, reaching out to hundreds of small creators and building real, genuine relationships with the brand.
Over the course of two years, and much trial and error, we developed a system of burnt-in ads on YouTube which ended up generating tens of millions of views, and over a million successful conversions.
This process of working with creators has evolved over the years, but the foundational lessons have held true: if a creator isn't passionate about your brand, the fans won't be either. Finding the right fit, and the right connection—is paramount.