Hello, Everyone! This is DongHoon Kang Coach of Team Incredible Miracle.
I am a person who loves e-Sports more than anyone else in this world. I have worked very hard for e-Sports, my team, and my players. There has been many difficult times, but as I saw the growth and advancement of my players, the team fan's avid cheers really kept me going. I am always moved and grateful which has been the driving force to get me this far.
Our relationship with LG Electronics is still good, but some people is starting to question if e-Sports really does have effects on business itself. They don't have the same thoughts as the Team IM and our beloved fans. I'm sad and disappointed..
I believe,Our Team and e-Sports is a very strong and critical marketing effect when it comes to brand exposure to the outside world. As other professional sports, I believe our fans have that much enthusiasm and confidence which is much higher and stronger than any other fans.
Why can't they feel it? Why can't they understand it? I want them to understand my thoughts and emotions...
I will make sure no matter what difficulty and situation we are in, I will not put my team to shame. I will do my best. I will show you! More than anyone can possibly imagine! We can do it! Stay tuned!
dont know how I feel about this. it's not right, this might work short term or whatever but longterm I dont see how you can keep asking the fans to do your job for you. Eventually LG will want more even if this works. Sounds to me they werent cut out to be in eSports. So be it, they'll lose out.
If this doesn't work try showing them that their competitors 'Samsung' have a starcraft team.. Maybe thet'll rekindle their interest xD
IM Coach is quickly becoming my favorite coach just for how much it looks like he actually tries. Not sure if this is google translated or what, but great english in every post he makes and he really does sound so greatful!
IM Fighting!!
PS Great work in coaching Min Chul back to domination :D
Wrote on their wall with my favorite Nestea-moment (banelings against Thors versus Nada on GSL) I hope it is appropriate to write in English on their wall about Starcrafts 2 :D
On January 25 2013 04:53 MarkCJ wrote: dont know how I feel about this. it's not right, this might work short term or whatever but longterm I dont see how you can keep asking the fans to do your job for you. Eventually LG will want more even if this works. Sounds to me they werent cut out to be in eSports. So be it, they'll lose out.
If this doesn't work try showing them that their competitors 'Samsung' have a starcraft team.. Maybe thet'll rekindle their interest xD
Reading comprehension...
This is why Incredible Miracles is by far my favorite team.
It saddens me to hear that sponsoring corporations don't think that marketing through eSports has a positive effect on their business because I think that is far from the truth. I mean I have 3 steelseries products, a das keyboard, samsung monitor, and many of my computer components come from eSports-supporting companies. This is not a coincidence! Of course I do not buy products solely because the company sponsors an eSports team or something, but it definitely helps nudge me one way or the other once I have narrowed down my options to the products of the best quality and price. Being a sponsor of eSports absolutely has an effect on the products that people in the eSports community buy.
On January 25 2013 04:53 MarkCJ wrote: ... If this doesn't work try showing them that their competitors 'Samsung' have a starcraft team.. Maybe thet'll rekindle their interest xD
I was just thinking to myself that if I were to buy a new TV today, the two brands I would consider most are LG and Samsung. Why? Because they make awesome stuff and they both sponsor eSports. If LG dropped IM, I would definitely lean towards Samsung
good read. 100% support it. Nice to see IM reach out to the foreign community and take the time to do this. We see a lotta players thank sponsors and tell them to reach out to Sponsors on shows like iTG and SOTG. Since Koreans don't have those kind of channels, nice to see them reach out like this!
Will post on their Facebook. Hope everyone else does too!
I think if they want more people to check out their sponsors websites they will need to do more with the community. With the foreign teams, they stream, people have shows, and EG does pretty much everything in way of reaching out to fans and creating content. It is obviously harder for a korean team to reach out to their foreign fans with the culture and language barrier, but it seems to me if they want to keep big sponsors without being on a Kespa team they will have to do more than just play and win to get the exposure to make it beneficial to sponsor them.
Hope they stick around, they are my favorite team to root for in Korea, minus the EG/TL proleague team.
This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
Interesting. I wonder if there are other ways of increasing the LG brand exposure via their sponsorship of IM. I agree with the sentiment voiced above, that asking people to tweet/post about LG is good, but it's a pretty short term/weak solution. Part of the solution might lie in giving the team itself more exposure-- since LG depends on IM getting exposure for their sponsorship to offer good ROI, and increasing IMs media presence is only good for the team in general.
I think part of the issue may also be in the LG corporate culture-- if upper management is split on whether esports sponsorship represents a valuable ROI (as seems to be suggested as possibly the case in the OP), then they won't wholeheartedly use their sponsorship of Esports in other synergistic promotional material.
But aside from that, I wonder if there is a potential solution with IM producing content, or reviewing the ways they do outreach with the community/fanbase, I know Korea approaches exposure in a little bit of a different way than N.A/Europe, but I think there needs to be some growth from the BW model (where TV did a lot of the work for the sponsors already). This has been the case with IM, but I think even more can be done, and a lot of NA/European teams get it right in a lot of ways.
I would absolutely love to get a new, legitimate interview with this guy. No Korean team coach has tried this hard to reach out to foreign fans and he's always cheery. The doom and gloom drama is fun sometimes, but a dude like this with an optimistic outlook and tryhard attitude is something sorely lacking in the current state of e-sports imo. I wish someone would take the risk and jump on picking his brain for something truly in depth.
Although I have to wonder why they don't try to stream a bit more. Probably out of all teams they do this the least, I don't even see Losira any more :/
Feels like a missed opportunity to promote their team and sponsors while also making a lot of fans happy.
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
This is the first time in a long time that they have even tried to market LG. If they're struggling to keep their title sponsor then that is their own fault.
They made one commercial with a LG monitor and decided to call it a year. Not good enough.
However, this post is a great start, hope they take it seriously from now on.
On January 25 2013 05:48 Evangelist wrote: I'd buy LG even without their sponsorship of LG-IM. They make pretty good products - my LG phone was solid for years.
Yep, my monitor is LG which I bought a few years before they even sponsored IM. They're a top tier company and I really hope they continue their support of esports. Not to mention I love their LoL team.
I'm wondering if we (the western consumers) are even relevant. I guess a big company like LG is divided into smaller regional parts (LG Europe, LG USA, LG Korea), each with its own marketing budget.
So: are we, the western TL-users the target group that LG had in mind when they sponsored IM or is LG Korea just gonna say: well, its great that so many people outside of Korea support us and write on our facebook wall; but this is not the target group that we wanted, and we are essentially paying for the advertisement of LG Europe/USA out of our Budget.
It would be nice if someone with more knowledge on company-structures, seperate budgets and marketing could clarify this for me :-)
Well, of course a company like LG is divided into regional parts, but LG is a korean company, so, any action made by the headquarter that has an effect outside of their direct area is a good thing for them I guess. Moreover, the point here is also to prove that by supporting the IM team, they are doing some worlwide advertising, which is why they should keep doing it.
I posted and so have a sea of other people I hope this helps I bought LG stuff because of there sponsorship I hope they keep it up I would be disappoint.
No disrespect, but I think it would be very beneficial for IM to interact with the foreign scene more and not only when you "need us" to show our support to a sponsor.
On January 25 2013 07:23 Awesomeness wrote: No disrespect, but I think it would be very beneficial for IM to interact with the foreign scene more and not only when you "need us" to show our support to a sponsor.
They actually update their Facebook page all the time and almost every message is in English, the reason they don't post here every week is because TL has an advertising policy and they are making exceptions for messages like this. If IM was posting here every few days they might not let them self advertise here anymore.
Done and done LG IM is such a great team, and having a sponsor like LG is a big deal. Hopefully it isn't a sign of things to come I wish you guys at IM the best. LG IM fighting!
For all of u just not post " bought a Monitor" Do it like me. Take a picture and post the link. I think this is way better, cause it show u did it. Everybody can say I bought one but only people who really have one can post a picture. http://imgur.com/a/YKDgG
On January 25 2013 07:49 Wulfen wrote: For all of u just not post " bought a Monitor" Do it like me. Take a picture and post the link. I think this is way better, cause it show u did it. Everybody can say I bought one but only people who really have one can post a picture. http://imgur.com/a/YKDgG
have fun
Nice pics and wallpaper!
If people are willing to take the extra couple mins to do that, it'd be awesome. Takin a pic of my IPS235 when I get home!
On January 25 2013 07:49 Wulfen wrote: For all of u just not post " bought a Monitor" Do it like me. Take a picture and post the link. I think this is way better, cause it show u did it. Everybody can say I bought one but only people who really have one can post a picture. http://imgur.com/a/YKDgG
have fun
Nice pics and wallpaper!
If people are willing to take the extra couple mins to do that, it'd be awesome. Takin a pic of my IPS235 when I get home!
good^^. I think this says more then 10-20 people who are posting. I bought LG stuff^^
I did my part, here s what i wrote on the facebook page:
"Please continue supporting LG-IM eSports team in Starcraft 2, we all love this game. Thank you, I'm a North America fan of your LG brand, Life is Good!"
On January 25 2013 07:59 Marcus420 wrote: to be honest id rather help support a team that actually needs it.
It's not as likely for the head coach of LG to type up a big post such as his if losing LG as a sponsor wasn't a big deal, because it is. They're probably their biggest sponsor if anything because they can actually put their company's initials before player's names. Anyways if LG were to retract, this sets up a bad example for other companies to follow.
Good luck to you, I really hope everything is well inside the team.
I really wish a great team like LG-IM would look at the EG's and the TL's and start producing content and streaming and getting a bigger fb/youtube/twitter following to help show the reach you guys have to your sponsors.
I'm sure there are many many smart people who would love to help you with all these things, I hope everything truns out well for you.
On January 25 2013 07:59 Marcus420 wrote: to be honest id rather help support a team that actually needs it.
It's not as likely for the head coach of LG to type up a big post such as his if losing LG as a sponsor wasn't a big deal, because it is. They're probably their biggest sponsor if anything because they can actually put their company's initials before player's names. Anyways if LG were to retract, this sets up a bad example for other companies to follow.
Exactly.
If the most accomplished sc2 team by a mile can't at least hang on to a big-time sponsor like LG then I'd count that as a loss for all of ESF, because frankly the future would look incredibly bleak for all of them.
err i don't get this at all. what do you expect foreign fans to do for your korean sponsor? do you want us to buy LG monitors or something? shouldn't you not post to fomos, thisisgame, etc, the people that LG Korea is actually trying to target?
there's only so many times that people can cry the "save esports" wolf before fans get tired of the schtick.
Posted on the LG wall. Glad to be of assistance. Also to the comment above, I feel as though the ability of the e-Sports community worldwide to create a response like this is highly unusual and might raise some eyebrows at LG and other potential sponsors.
All press is good press, for both LG and e-Sports.
On January 25 2013 09:02 sunglasseson wrote: i just dont think the koreans embrace the marketing aspect of it all. that or just have a poor foreign affiliation
how does EG keep paying incontrol but IM cant pay multi GSL champions? sucks
They can pay them, they have been getting paid since the LG sponsorship started in April 2012.
This post is most likely aimed at showing LG that their investment over the past year or so has been worth it so they will sponsor them for another year.
On January 25 2013 09:02 sunglasseson wrote: i just dont think the koreans embrace the marketing aspect of it all. that or just have a poor foreign affiliation
how does EG keep paying incontrol but IM cant pay multi GSL champions? sucks
They can pay them, they have been getting paid since the LG sponsorship started in April 2012.
This post is most likely aimed at showing LG that their investment over the past year or so has been worth it so they will sponsor them for another year.
there just has to be a better way for the players and teams to make money. the fanbase is big enough, the passion is there--it is only a question of what to do with it.
If this doesn't work try showing them that their competitors 'Samsung' have a starcraft team.. Maybe thet'll rekindle their interest xD
Good one haha :D sriously another thing IM should try to do is more merchandising and all korean teams should do it. Id love to have a t-shirt of LG-IM NesTea or LG-IM Seed :D it would be awesome.
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
But what have they done lately?
(I think they're still a very storied team and I love them to bits, but I understand from a sponsor standpoint that they could be a little weary [especially as the team decided to take the last six weeks of 2012 off or whatever]).
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
But what have they done lately?
(I think they're still a very storied team and I love them to bits, but I understand from a sponsor standpoint that they could be a little weary [especially as the team decided to take the last six weeks of 2012 off or whatever]).
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
But what have they done lately?
(I think they're still a very storied team and I love them to bits, but I understand from a sponsor standpoint that they could be a little weary [especially as the team decided to take the last six weeks of 2012 off or whatever]).
Won the first major tournament of 2013 with someone that isn't one of their champions? They also managed to get 5 people into code S and 3 qualified for IEM world championships. Not too bad considering they still won 2 more gsl championships (barely missed a 3rd, fucking Life) after the sponsorship in 2012
They really really need to pick it up in GSTL though -_-
I'm getting tired of saying "this is the season!" only to get all-killed by someone...
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
But what have they done lately?
(I think they're still a very storied team and I love them to bits, but I understand from a sponsor standpoint that they could be a little weary [especially as the team decided to take the last six weeks of 2012 off or whatever]).
Won the first major tournament of 2013 with someone that isn't one of their champions? They also managed to get 5 people into code S and 3 qualified for IEM world championships. Not too bad considering they still won 2 more gsl championships (barely missed a 3rd, fucking Life) after the sponsorship in 2012
Glad to see I'm not the only one bitter about Life stopping Mvp from getting his 5th.
Really hope this doesn't lead to IM losing their title sponsor. They definitely need more exposure, and I'm more than happy to keep posting on LG's facebook or tweet at the or whatever, but that can only sate them for so long. :/
On January 25 2013 04:53 MarkCJ wrote: dont know how I feel about this. it's not right, this might work short term or whatever but longterm I dont see how you can keep asking the fans to do your job for you. Eventually LG will want more even if this works. Sounds to me they werent cut out to be in eSports. So be it, they'll lose out.
If this doesn't work try showing them that their competitors 'Samsung' have a starcraft team.. Maybe thet'll rekindle their interest xD
Damn i just bought a Samsung camera... someone post a link to the correct Facebook so I can tell them about it!
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
But what have they done lately?
(I think they're still a very storied team and I love them to bits, but I understand from a sponsor standpoint that they could be a little weary [especially as the team decided to take the last six weeks of 2012 off or whatever]).
I'm beginning to wonder if the whole "own3d.tv situation" and IM players mainly streaming on that platform and not getting paid has anything to do with this whole thread.
hmm time to go and take a picture of my LG monitor and post it on their page. ive won several lans with it over the years and keeps on going like a charm as the best monitor ive ever owned... Granted I got it a long time before they entered esports, but ive loved their stuff for a long time.
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
This is the first time in a long time that they have even tried to market LG. If they're struggling to keep their title sponsor then that is their own fault.
They made one commercial with a LG monitor and decided to call it a year. Not good enough.
However, this post is a great start, hope they take it seriously from now on.
MVP, Nestea and Yonghwa did some stuff in the LG booth at IEM Cologne. Not sure if there was an LG booth at Katowice though. But yeah, I really wouldn't mind some commercials coming out from them.
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
This is the first time in a long time that they have even tried to market LG. If they're struggling to keep their title sponsor then that is their own fault.
They made one commercial with a LG monitor and decided to call it a year. Not good enough.
However, this post is a great start, hope they take it seriously from now on.
MVP, Nestea and Yonghwa did some stuff in the LG booth at IEM Cologne. Not sure if there was an LG booth at Katowice though. But yeah, I really wouldn't mind some commercials coming out from them.
That is great to hear. But too exclusive to the people who were at IEM Cologne and not to the rest of the fans. Perhaps a short and brief documentary would have been really cool. (And in case there is one, it should be marketed more!)
On January 25 2013 09:12 negativedge wrote: there just has to be a better way for the players and teams to make money. the fanbase is big enough, the passion is there--it is only a question of what to do with it.
The fanbase complains about paying 5 dollars for months of content.
I would gladly support teams and events with charged content but the majority of 'fans' don't necessarily post on TL and even among them many expect everything for free.
LGIM does better than most korean teams when it comes to marketing, Mvp and Nestea have done commercial things for LG (playing a match for the new monitor) as well as constantly appear in LG ad's for products and LG reports when they win events. They deserve a sponsorship more than most teams.
On January 25 2013 05:48 Evangelist wrote: I'd buy LG even without their sponsorship of LG-IM. They make pretty good products - my LG phone was solid for years.
I understand LG monitors and Tv.. but arent the LG phones notoriously bad?? Its just what i hear from people who have used them before hmm..........
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
This is the first time in a long time that they have even tried to market LG. If they're struggling to keep their title sponsor then that is their own fault.
They made one commercial with a LG monitor and decided to call it a year. Not good enough.
However, this post is a great start, hope they take it seriously from now on.
MVP, Nestea and Yonghwa did some stuff in the LG booth at IEM Cologne. Not sure if there was an LG booth at Katowice though. But yeah, I really wouldn't mind some commercials coming out from them.
That is great to hear. But too exclusive to the people who were at IEM Cologne and not to the rest of the fans. Perhaps a short and brief documentary would have been really cool. (And in case there is one, it should be marketed more!)
On January 25 2013 10:33 Doodsmack wrote: Why is everyone under the impression that IM is at the risk of losing LG as a sponsor? That's not what the OP says.
Because of this part from the OP:
On January 25 2013 04:38 Incredible Miracle wrote: I will make sure no matter what difficulty and situation we are in, I will not put my team to shame.
On January 25 2013 10:33 Doodsmack wrote: Why is everyone under the impression that IM is at the risk of losing LG as a sponsor? That's not what the OP says.
On January 25 2013 04:38 Incredible Miracle wrote: I will make sure no matter what difficulty and situation we are in, I will not put my team to shame.
That implies nothing about LG lol...he could very well be speaking about some hypothetical bad situation in the future.
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
This is the first time in a long time that they have even tried to market LG. If they're struggling to keep their title sponsor then that is their own fault.
They made one commercial with a LG monitor and decided to call it a year. Not good enough.
However, this post is a great start, hope they take it seriously from now on.
MVP, Nestea and Yonghwa did some stuff in the LG booth at IEM Cologne. Not sure if there was an LG booth at Katowice though. But yeah, I really wouldn't mind some commercials coming out from them.
That is great to hear. But too exclusive to the people who were at IEM Cologne and not to the rest of the fans. Perhaps a short and brief documentary would have been really cool. (And in case there is one, it should be marketed more!)
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
Not good for e-sports? Or not good for SC2 e-sport? Does LG-IM have an LoL team?
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
Not good for e-sports? Or not good for SC2 e-sport? Does LG-IM have an LoL team?
Yes they do, although details about LG's relationship with IM is all speculation at this point.
On January 25 2013 05:34 MinKi wrote: This is very saddening for me. The most accomplished team in Starcraft 2 (tournament result wise) struggling to keep their title sponsor is NOT good news for e-sports.
Not good for e-sports? Or not good for SC2 e-sport? Does LG-IM have an LoL team?
Yes a very good one, this comes down to management more than them having the best players imo. Unless sponsors come to them which would be awesome but unlikely then they have to go and find them and turn there awesome players with big fan bases into numbers on paper to warrant sponsorship.
I really hope they learn how to run the business side a bit better or hire people who understand how to so they only get bigger/stronger in the years to come.
On January 25 2013 08:48 ballasdontcry wrote: err i don't get this at all. what do you expect foreign fans to do for your korean sponsor? do you want us to buy LG monitors or something? shouldn't you not post to fomos, thisisgame, etc, the people that LG Korea is actually trying to target?
there's only so many times that people can cry the "save esports" wolf before fans get tired of the schtick.
To think it this way is Wrong! For Korean company like LG, North America is probably the biggest market outside of Korea, they will definitely keep an eye on us Foreigners about their brand image! So keep on posting their wall, more more more please!
As I see more interviews with players, like the ones I saw at IEM Katowice, I think many teams could use the opportunities to plug sponsors. It could get corny, but give the sponsors everything and more to show them exactly how much exposure they can get.
For example:
"How do you feel about your upcoming match?"
"He's very good, I think I can win the set 2 - 1. I've been practicing my control a lot with my Steelseries Sensei mouse, so I think that will help me get an edge."
Given that First won IEM, did Intel get a mention at all prior to (or after) his winning?.. I mean outside of any tournament staff mentioning them; did they get a mention from any player in IM?
Wow I'm very impressed. I did a count on Facebook, and in the last 8 hours, there has been at least 743 posts and still increasing regarding the support for LG-IM on the LG Facebook page. Impressive
On January 25 2013 13:29 Weirdkid wrote: Wow I'm very impressed. I did a count on Facebook, and in the last 8 hours, there has been at least 743 posts and still increasing regarding the support for LG-IM on the LG Facebook page. Impressive
I think I'm more impressed that you counted 743 messages.
Really nice to see lots of support though, I feel like there's some untapped potential in the fanbase for more IM stuff, inhouse tournaments, player streams with webcam + english translator or players speaking english and interaction.
There are tons of fans, and you can see that every time the IM coach does a post on TL. There's just no where for them to go for content to see the players themselves but for example EG you see them on talkshows and on their personal streams all the time.
I know IM is not an EG and they want to focus on practicing and winning as much as possible but I think more fan events can only be a positive.
On January 25 2013 13:29 Weirdkid wrote: Wow I'm very impressed. I did a count on Facebook, and in the last 8 hours, there has been at least 743 posts and still increasing regarding the support for LG-IM on the LG Facebook page. Impressive
Wow like Dodgin said you counted it...? Impressive. I think after this to really get to a big audience. reaching out via twitter and such wouldn't be a bad idea either so people don't think it's the end of the world or something
On January 25 2013 13:29 Weirdkid wrote: Wow I'm very impressed. I did a count on Facebook, and in the last 8 hours, there has been at least 743 posts and still increasing regarding the support for LG-IM on the LG Facebook page. Impressive
I think I'm more impressed that you counted 743 messages.
Really nice to see lots of support though, I feel like there's some untapped potential in the fanbase for more IM stuff, inhouse tournaments, player streams with webcam + english translator or players speaking english and interaction.
There are tons of fans, and you can see that every time the IM coach does a post on TL. There's just no where for them to go for content to see the players themselves but for example EG you see them on talkshows and on their personal streams all the time.
I know IM is not an EG and they want to focus on practicing and winning as much as possible but I think more fan events can only be a positive.
Lol life of an unemployed and bored guy I count about 999 now
I hope things work out for IM. Maybe it's near time to re-negotiate their contract or maybe they're actually under some problems proving their value to LG. Not sure. But regardless of what is the case, I hope IM makes a shit ton more cash when HOTS comes out and their LoL team does a lot better.
I don't normally enjoy inflating arbitrary votes, but I believe this is something that I think needed to be noted for a while: LG is an awesome sponsor, but if it weren't for team IM, I probably wouldn't think of LG as a good choice for electronics (we have a lot of options it turns out). Starcraft 2 is a fantastic way to reach a tech-savvy audience, and I can't think of a better way to reach those consumers than sponsoring one of the best teams SC2 has to offer!
I had to go on facebook and thank LG for what they've done, hopefully they'll continue to find that the team is well worth the investment. IM fighting!
From what I understand there are people within LG who want to continue partnership and people who dont so i hope this showed the ppl who were skeptical.
what an un-pro response. LG considering stop sponsorship? of course they have the right. you should bring your sponsor profit to get the next term contract,not by strike. no sponsor feels good when team and players stir fans up to give it pressure.
On January 25 2013 15:13 starfinder wrote: what an un-pro response. LG considering stop sponsorship? of course they have the right. you should bring your sponsor profit to get the next term contract,not by strike. no sponsor feels good when team and players stir fans up to give it pressure.
Do tell how they're supposed to show to a multinational electronics company that having their logo on a progamer's t-shirt brings them profit.
Team IM players are extremely good players evidently. The results are too great in fact.
But I won't deny that there are still some things left to improve to bring the sponsors to the limelight. I've seen one Monitor commercial by IM before but thats about it.
I've also seen EG not miss an opportunity to flash their products, brands and the sponsors's names. IM should do the extra mile in marketing like EG if they were to be assured sponsorship. Go Team IM and Nestea!!
can someone explain me how one of the most accomplished teams in SC2, that has so many champions in its roster.. is having "hard time" maintaining relationship with LG ? Is SC2 e-sports really into this bad shape ??? :/
holy shit they didnt say anything about dying or lossing sponsorship they just said a few people arent fully convinced that the advertising is effective and with all the posts on there fb they should hopefully change their minds.
This is bad. Very bad. If a team like IM is having trouble keeping its title sponsor, you can get an idea of where the Korean teams are. IM is by far the most accomplished team in WoL, but even then their sponsor is considering pulling out.
Remember Slayers, another one of the most accomplished and popular teams? Disbanded. Remember oGs, TSL, some of the powerhouse teams from the earliest Open Seasons? Disbanded
Fnatic just closed their Korean house. NSHoseo is on life support, and barely relevant nowadays
I know this post is depressing as hell, but there are severe financial issues in the Korean scene, where the talent is but the money is apparently not (or at least not in adequate amounts).
Yes, maybe I'm overreacting, but I think it's better than having false illusions and having them brutally crushed.
On January 25 2013 15:46 Bagration wrote: This is bad. Very bad...their sponsor is considering pulling out.
You're overreacting mate. Coach Kang said in OP that the LG and IM relationship is still strong; he's hoping to give LG a look into the community behind StarCraft 2, and encourage continued support and possibly larger future sponsorships.
I posted a picture of my two LG IPS displays on the LG Facebook page, liked and left a comment. Glad to help out such an amazing team. Good luck in the GSL this year Coach Kang!
On January 25 2013 16:22 Mohdoo wrote: Maybe its the language barrier, but this sounded like some weirdly desperate attempt.
I don't think It's desperate, he's trying to convey how important it is for fans to let the sponsors know that they are being appreciated and people are buying things because of the sponsorship. Fans have left almost 1000 messages on the LG facebook wall so hopefully this is good enough to show LG that their sponsorship is worth it.
On January 25 2013 04:47 KoBlades wrote: "I will train harder to show you good games!"
now on a serious note, I really like you for extending to the foreign community. I'm definitely going to drop LG a note now^^
lol
on a real note, these are not the games and these are not the teams that will make esports. they will die. all these teams and specifically blizzard games wont live on in esports (moba games somehow have this odd balance to them sc2 lacks but isnt as fun to watch)
obviously you gota take the current steps we are taking to GET esports going but its fighting the current, just let it sweep you away because you know you cant hold out much longer
we will know when a game comes around that can be an esport, its not here
It's sad that the fanbase isn't enough for sponsors to want to stay in the business. That the fanbase needs to be more vocal.
It's impressing to see the passion of the pro gaming teams and I wish you all the luck. But it sounds like there is too little money in the market compared to actual players and teams and either the fanbase needs to grow or number of pro players teams need to be fewer in order to have balance.
I have an LG monitor and bought it because it was quite cheap for its perfomance. I guess it wouldn´t hurt anybody, if I told LG that I bought it to be closer to MvP.
Also, people should unite in order to make the world understand the emotions of coach Kang.
Both my Screens are from LG, bought both because of their support of you. Their sponsorship DOES matter. Keep on going, you're doing a great job!
edit:
On January 25 2013 17:15 nimdil wrote: Maybe next time any of us is going to buy a piece of hardware we should seriously consider LG products first.
Go away, KHAN fans.
This i s actually easier said than done. For a couple of years now, since i am actively following esports, i am actively buying hardware from companies, that sponsor esports.
For instace: For processors, its comparatively easy, intel has way more exposure and supports way more than AMD does, but what Screen am i supposed to buy? MYself i got 2x LG because of IM, but i might as well have bought BENQ (Grubby), (Team)Acer, etc, etc.
It'd be great if there was a way, whilebuying to let thebrand know WHY i chose to buy their product.
For me, I buy products by looking at specs and prices first (except for a certain company which I more or less boycotted), then consider other factors after. However, it did influence me to buy an LG monitor instead of a Samsung one when the two of them were sold at roughly the same price with similar specs.
On January 25 2013 06:51 aTnClouD wrote: eSports isn't going so well lately... Good luck with your sponsors.
League is actually doing splendidly.
I don't think this is to a struggle to keep their title sponsor. I think it's just regular brand exposure.
League is doing well because the biggest tournament sponsor, riot, gets an insane return of in investment. Riot even gives teams salaries. Blizzard simply do not get the same returns for SC2, because the business model is dated.
Now Dota 2 is going to make things really interesting for sponsors.
this totally sounds like someone is about to lose their sponsor and now wants people to show LG that there are enough potential customors there, so LG wont quit. sounds very desperate
Way ahead of you, coach. I sincerely hope Team IM won't run into financial troubles. I know you must have already lost some income from the whole Own3d ordeal.
On a side note, I hope to see much more of Team IM (and especially Losira) in 2013. <3
* Preemptive warning. This is not a ESF x KESPA post.
I keep a question to myself everytime i see something like this. Isn´t this model of GOM wrong? In kespa model, the team is the focus, not the player. Thus more expo to the team (Sponsors). In GOM you hear a bunch about MVP for example, but not so much about LG-IM. What if the focus turns to team league instead of individual leagues (Without crash the individual leagues)? Just my thoughts.
^ I agree, I think the GSTL is lacking. It's infrequent, short, and the worst teams only get a couple of matches per season. Proleague can offer regular and relatively frequent exposure no matter how well your team is doing.
On January 25 2013 06:51 aTnClouD wrote: eSports isn't going so well lately... Good luck with your sponsors.
League is actually doing splendidly.
I don't think this is to a struggle to keep their title sponsor. I think it's just regular brand exposure.
League is doing well because the biggest tournament sponsor, riot, gets an insane return of in investment. Riot even gives teams salaries. Blizzard simply do not get the same returns for SC2, because the business model is dated.
Now Dota 2 is going to make things really interesting for sponsors.
Riot has not necessarily gotten a return on investment in their e-sports division. Their tournament and salary pool is basically part of their (most of their) marketing budget. They aren't necessarily breaking even. It's not supposed to.
On January 25 2013 06:51 aTnClouD wrote: eSports isn't going so well lately... Good luck with your sponsors.
League is actually doing splendidly.
I don't think this is to a struggle to keep their title sponsor. I think it's just regular brand exposure.
League is doing well because the biggest tournament sponsor, riot, gets an insane return of in investment. Riot even gives teams salaries. Blizzard simply do not get the same returns for SC2, because the business model is dated.
Now Dota 2 is going to make things really interesting for sponsors.
Riot has not necessarily gotten a return on investment in their e-sports division. Their tournament and salary pool is basically part of their (most of their) marketing budget. They aren't necessarily breaking even. It's not supposed to.
True but when that much comes from the developers themselves i wouldn't call it doing splendid even if it is a marketing strategy.
On January 25 2013 06:51 aTnClouD wrote: eSports isn't going so well lately... Good luck with your sponsors.
League is actually doing splendidly.
I don't think this is to a struggle to keep their title sponsor. I think it's just regular brand exposure.
Wanna know why League is doing well? 90% of all the money comes from Riot themselves to the point where they are the ones paying salaries.
I don't actually follow much LoL beyond OGN's championships and at least for Korea, I can tell you that isn't true. OGN is trying to make LoL their flagship and have attracted a nice sponsor in Olympus (large Japanese company) which I believe is the same company that sponsored a 2003 OSL.
And as for the broader scene as a whole, Carmac wrote a pretty good post about it once here:
On January 25 2013 06:51 aTnClouD wrote: eSports isn't going so well lately... Good luck with your sponsors.
League is actually doing splendidly.
I don't think this is to a struggle to keep their title sponsor. I think it's just regular brand exposure.
League is doing well because the biggest tournament sponsor, riot, gets an insane return of in investment. Riot even gives teams salaries. Blizzard simply do not get the same returns for SC2, because the business model is dated.
Now Dota 2 is going to make things really interesting for sponsors.
Riot has not necessarily gotten a return on investment in their e-sports division. Their tournament and salary pool is basically part of their (most of their) marketing budget. They aren't necessarily breaking even. It's not supposed to.
Where are you getting your numbers from?
One can argue that the increase player pool is due to their marketing strategy and allows themselves to be the most played game in the world. Also having over half your player base being enrolled in college or have a college degree is good for long term sustainability.
When you have over 12 million daily players, you only need a small percentage of players to purchases items per week to have a profitable model. I don't want to crunch realistic numbers, because I don't have access to them, but if 1% of the daily players purchased a $5 item, Riot will make $500,000 on a single day.
You can easily say they made their esports investment in the span of 3 months. By investing in tournaments they are keeping their game relevant, by staying relevant people are more likely to purchase items in their store. $20 million dollars they've invested can easily be made back in the span of 2 quarters.
On January 25 2013 10:33 Doodsmack wrote: Why is everyone under the impression that IM is at the risk of losing LG as a sponsor? That's not what the OP says.
On January 25 2013 04:38 Incredible Miracle wrote: I will make sure no matter what difficulty and situation we are in, I will not put my team to shame.
It's just an attempt to generate drama.
The reality is, someone probably asked Coach Awesome what he felt his fans could bring to the company and the response was 1,000 personal messages on Facebook.
Most marketing campaigns hit single digit figure return. He got triple digits with one post on TeamLiquid and resulted in a spam of foreign interest in LG, with people posting pictures of their monitors and waxing lyrical about their products in the past.
It's very, very hard to put a return on brand sponsorship directly so having 1,000 people contact LG directly about their interest in Starcraft 2 is a very solid return, particularly because it is a market LG don't normally expect (18-30 male demographic, typically very high disposable income with high rate of return in their sector).
In reality the sponsorship is secure but could do with an occasional boost periodically. This was that boost.
On January 25 2013 20:39 unbaal wrote: dropped them a msg on facebook. Its not looking good for the sc2 community over in Korea...
It's not looking good?
Anyways. I'm not sure how to judge the OP. If it was just to get LG out there or if it really was a call for help. But I honestly bought my monitor because I saw korean pro gamers of IM use them. The LG Flatron W2486L.
Just curiosity of mine I have zero knowledge of LoL (not my kind of game) Is IM team any good in LoL? Since this game is popular in Korea, sponsoring them for the sake of LoL may be worth it But them it doesn't help the SC2 that much...
If LG are at the point of considering dropping the support, which we can only assume from OP, then it's already too late to do anything. OP and people posting on FB only make the cause look desperate. Posting about how one bought an LG product because one wanted to support the team is ridiculous. If you decide to buy a monitor based on some sponsoring deal WILLINGLY then you are just plain dumb and everyone sane knows this including the marketing person who decides on making such a sponsoring deal. Marketing doesn't work like that, it should influence you subconsciously to buy something. If you need to prove someone on how much their marketing strategy worked on you, then something is not right here.
In the end if the target group (competitive sc2 spectator base) is mediocre and on the decline, then some big players will obviously take their toys somewhere else. If the numbers aren't there no amount of artificial support will do in the long run.
On January 26 2013 06:26 BlaineMono wrote: If LG are at the point of considering dropping the support, which we can only assume from OP, then it's already too late to do anything. OP and people posting on FB only make the cause look desperate. Posting about how one bought an LG product because one wanted to support the team is ridiculous. If you decide to buy a monitor based on some sponsoring deal WILLINGLY then you are just plain dumb and everyone sane knows this including the marketing person who decides on making such a sponsoring deal. Marketing doesn't work like that, it should influence you subconsciously to buy something. If you need to prove someone on how much their marketing strategy worked on you, then something is not right here.
In the end if the target group (competitive sc2 spectator base) is mediocre and on the decline, then some big players will obviously take their toys somewhere else. If the numbers aren't there no amount of artificial support will do in the long run.
As someone working in marketing (albeit for a rather small company) I don't think you have ANY idea what you're talking about...
On January 26 2013 06:26 BlaineMono wrote: If LG are at the point of considering dropping the support, which we can only assume from OP, then it's already too late to do anything. OP and people posting on FB only make the cause look desperate. Posting about how one bought an LG product because one wanted to support the team is ridiculous. If you decide to buy a monitor based on some sponsoring deal WILLINGLY then you are just plain dumb and everyone sane knows this including the marketing person who decides on making such a sponsoring deal. Marketing doesn't work like that, it should influence you subconsciously to buy something. If you need to prove someone on how much their marketing strategy worked on you, then something is not right here.
In the end if the target group (competitive sc2 spectator base) is mediocre and on the decline, then some big players will obviously take their toys somewhere else. If the numbers aren't there no amount of artificial support will do in the long run.
Uhm. That's not how marketing works.
Marketing is about influencing a person's conscious choice. You don't subconsciously buy anything. In fact, if someone figured out how to do that and it was documented it would be illegal so fast you'd actually be able to hear the rush of air from lawyers opening their briefcases to take the claim.
IEM Katowice : After dropping the first map he played, First went on a 17 game winning streak winning the whole tournament with 19-2 record. Including qualifiers, he went 27-3. GG First!
IM_Fighting! if there was ever a team to live through this slump it should be LG_IM. ~R.I.P SlayersS~ ACER ACER ACER! If LG wants their gaming team to promote them better then they should send them around the world more often as well decorated bobble heads with gold keyboards and all. do whatever makes the girls giggle. make more ti die flashy keyboards and items with things gamers have , tons of customization and personality.
I don't see the coach's message to us as a huge red alert. I think he's being very smart about his team management. If you compare him to the management of Slayers, you'll see that Slayers didn't care much for their sponsors. However, team IM helps advertise LG's IPS technology with the monitors. I think Coach Kang wants to prevent the Slayers tragedy so he asks for fan support and tries to convince the sponsors that IM has value to them. It's a good thing since so many people have already posted on the LG facebook page, and as fans we should really decide how to commit to our passions in a meaningful way. I have also read complaints about IM's lack of stream and other lack of exposure comments. For the stream, I'm quite sure they don't want to expose too much of their own weaknesses to their rivals, so that's completely justifiable. It's just like how regular sports teams don't have the obligation to broadcast their practice sessions. As for the other exposures, I think we should give them constructive advice, which is already happening. I don't think the team has too much business expertise or even the time to really market themselves. Part of what attracts me to Esports is the solid competition involved rather than all out advertisement. This really makes the matches intellectually worthwhile to watch. So I think we're definitely facing a two-phase blade here. Finally, IMMVP fighting! I have more faith than in mvp winning this championship than my faith in myself. It's time for the King of Liberty to exile the Lings of Liberty.
This. If LG is not aware how many fans IM has then they should watch this.
As someone who drove basically ~10 hours simply to see NesTea (And the awesome event, too, of course), I've got to agree. This moment is.. so unique, so awesome. This is why I love IM, this is why I love eSports and this is why I love NesTea!
It is such a happy day today.. Also, it is a very thankful and touching day as well..
http://www.facebook.com/theLGstory Many of the fans have come together at heart as one to cheer for us at the LG Electronics Facebook. It is still going on nonstop..
My heart is felled and satisfied. As I keep going down reading each and every comments, my heart is touched and becoming warmer. From the early 10s all the way up to the elderly, their history and cheers,I am not seeing an end to this. I want to stay up all night long to read every single comment. Our beloved fans, thank you very very much.. Due to your aid,my exhausted and stuffed heart can feel the victory creeping up from within.
LG Electronics staff and employees do you see this? This is the heart of eSports. Even the smallest things we take for granted have a special place as well as touch our lives in miraculous ways. I wish you will read at least one of these comments and realize what is coming from their voice..
I will not put our fans to shame end do the very best of my limits in 2013.. I promise you. Once againm Thank you so much..
Feels kinda harsh how he talks to the LG staff... :D
one of the things that really sets IM apart is that they bother to communicate with the fans, they do their best for us, we have to do our best for them :D
On January 28 2013 02:39 ES.Genie wrote: From IMs facebook: + Show Spoiler +
It is such a happy day today.. Also, it is a very thankful and touching day as well..
http://www.facebook.com/theLGstory Many of the fans have come together at heart as one to cheer for us at the LG Electronics Facebook. It is still going on nonstop..
My heart is felled and satisfied. As I keep going down reading each and every comments, my heart is touched and becoming warmer. From the early 10s all the way up to the elderly, their history and cheers,I am not seeing an end to this. I want to stay up all night long to read every single comment. Our beloved fans, thank you very very much.. Due to your aid,my exhausted and stuffed heart can feel the victory creeping up from within.
LG Electronics staff and employees do you see this? This is the heart of eSports. Even the smallest things we take for granted have a special place as well as touch our lives in miraculous ways. I wish you will read at least one of these comments and realize what is coming from their voice..
I will not put our fans to shame end do the very best of my limits in 2013.. I promise you. Once againm Thank you so much..
Feels kinda harsh how he talks to the LG staff... :D
It feels like a translation thing. A lot of languages can sound very harsh when you translate because the translations are imperfect.
On January 28 2013 02:39 ES.Genie wrote: From IMs facebook: + Show Spoiler +
It is such a happy day today.. Also, it is a very thankful and touching day as well..
http://www.facebook.com/theLGstory Many of the fans have come together at heart as one to cheer for us at the LG Electronics Facebook. It is still going on nonstop..
My heart is felled and satisfied. As I keep going down reading each and every comments, my heart is touched and becoming warmer. From the early 10s all the way up to the elderly, their history and cheers,I am not seeing an end to this. I want to stay up all night long to read every single comment. Our beloved fans, thank you very very much.. Due to your aid,my exhausted and stuffed heart can feel the victory creeping up from within.
LG Electronics staff and employees do you see this? This is the heart of eSports. Even the smallest things we take for granted have a special place as well as touch our lives in miraculous ways. I wish you will read at least one of these comments and realize what is coming from their voice..
I will not put our fans to shame end do the very best of my limits in 2013.. I promise you. Once againm Thank you so much..
Feels kinda harsh how he talks to the LG staff... :D
It feels like a translation thing. A lot of languages can sound very harsh when you translate because the translations are imperfect.
Yup. Someone pointed a few of those 'imperfections' out in one of the EGTL interviews.. Stuff that sounds nice/joking in korean sounds a lot meaner etc. when it's translated.. especially by a non native speaker.
EPT
I would be disappoint. 
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/NL6eMVt.jpg)
