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I read a thread on www.actuarialoutpost.com (a banker's forum) about how banks are sitting on cash reserves, can't get a decent ROI (return on investment) due to the terrible US economy ($15 trillion in debt, 8% unemployment, guys like Eduardo Saverin & other billionaires taking their money out of US economy, etc.) and how he said now is a perfect time for banks to "give away money" to generate good will.
Banks are sitting on record profits, not loaning to anybody, and having to wait out this recession for another 1-5 years before they can start plowing their money back into the US economy. With the amount of negative publicity they have gotten from the numerous bailouts & investments in Greek debt (source) I think banks are a suitable target for esports. They are profitable, idle, and have a bunch of unsettled "bad will" they could lift off their shoulders by tossing a few dollars toward starcraft 2.
The same way BP did lots of public relations stunts to garner good publicity, I think banks are just as eager to invest in their brand image. So my question to the starcraft community is whether you think it's a good idea for those of us who actually have jobs & work 40 hours/week to solicit investments from wall street to adequately capitalize a growing industry of esports. I think sponsorships from redbull or headphones corporations are missing the element of growth inherent in eSports. As moletrap said in this video, the driving interest of capitalization of Esports is by singling out sponsors who recognize the explosive growth potential of esports.
With 25% of young adults unemployed or underemployed, that statistic shows how powerful of an atmosphere has been created by this bad economy. People under 35 will eventually have to get jobs down the road, and we will be loyal to the companies who catered to us during the 1-2 years after college we had to move back in and live in our parents basement, lol. But seriously you guys, I really think we should grow esports to the same consumer levels as MMA wrestling or nascar racing.
When I watch the documentary "Liquid Rising" I can't help but get excited to think of the powerful explosion of economic growth if we pitched a documentary-style solicitation to a handful of multi-billion dollar banks to invest 10% in the growth, maturation, and optimization of an emerging Esports market! I want Esports to become bigger, better, and with larger prize pools!
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The stickiness and rarity of people changing who they take their bank accounts and mortgages from mean that any return on investment is going to be incredibly low for banks. I highly doubt anyone is going to change their mortgage provider on the basis of an advertisement in Starcraft. I'm not even sure the target market has much to offer a financial institution in the first place.
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trust me, if e-sports is a good investment, banks would of already been in it. Don't get me wrong, e-sports will be very succesful in the future, but right now its not a good investment. Its all about timing and banks got that in the bag.
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E-sports is barely in the realm of venture capital, and you're shooting for institutional investment. Try again in a few years.
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To be more specific, I'd be asking banks to sponsor teams like Quantic or Eclypsia so they can move into a more baller house with maids, coaches, mentors, travel agents, masseuses, and groupies (live-in "booth girls"). This alone can get people to change their major at college or drop out to live a baller lifestyle at one of the extravagantly funded team houses. This one idea could literally make SC2 about 10x more appealing to talented SC2 players compared to the broodwar generation where compensation & allure are basically equal...
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On August 14 2012 01:02 Chiharu Harukaze wrote:
The stickiness and rarity of people changing who they take their bank accounts and mortgages from mean that any return on investment is going to be incredibly low for banks. I highly doubt anyone is going to change their mortgage provider on the basis of an advertisement in Starcraft. I'm not even sure the target market has much to offer a financial institution in the first place.
However E-sports fandom is full of young adults. These 20 somethings will be getting car loans, mortgages, etc. in the next few years. Now would be a good time to gain good publicity for the long game of bringing in young people.
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On August 14 2012 01:04 finlurrrr wrote:
To be more specific, I'd be asking banks to sponsor teams like Quantic or Eclypsia so they can move into a more baller house with maids, coaches, mentors, travel agents, masseuses, and groupies (live-in "booth girls"). This alone can get people to change their major at college or drop out to live a baller lifestyle at one of the extravagantly funded team houses. This one idea could literally make SC2 about 10x more appealing to talented SC2 players compared to the broodwar generation where compensation & allure are basically equal...
Did you write this with a straight face?
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On August 14 2012 01:02 Chiharu Harukaze wrote:
The stickiness and rarity of people changing who they take their bank accounts and mortgages from mean that any return on investment is going to be incredibly low for banks. I highly doubt anyone is going to change their mortgage provider on the basis of an advertisement in Starcraft. I'm not even sure the target market has much to offer a financial institution in the first place.
On August 14 2012 01:03 sekritzzz wrote:
trust me, if e-sports is a good investment, banks would of already been in it. Don't get me wrong, e-sports will be very succesful in the future, but right now its not a good investment. Its all about timing and banks got that in the bag.
On August 14 2012 01:03 bonifaceviii wrote:
E-sports is barely in the realm of venture capital, and you're shooting for institutional investment. Try again in a few years.
Thanks for the constructive criticism you guys. I appreciate your feedback and will work harder to make my idea more appealing and reasonable to both the players and to the banks. 
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Banks have invested into Esports. Where do you Sundance got his 11 million from?
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On August 14 2012 01:05 FreddYCooL wrote:
On August 14 2012 01:04 finlurrrr wrote:
To be more specific, I'd be asking banks to sponsor teams like Quantic or Eclypsia so they can move into a more baller house with maids, coaches, mentors, travel agents, masseuses, and groupies (live-in "booth girls"). This alone can get people to change their major at college or drop out to live a baller lifestyle at one of the extravagantly funded team houses. This one idea could literally make SC2 about 10x more appealing to talented SC2 players compared to the broodwar generation where compensation & allure are basically equal...
Did you write this with a straight face?
Yes, have you ever heard of Andrew Robl and his site? The ultimate baller lifestyle originated in poker when the first wave of early adopters started making money hand over fist, which is what professional MMA fighters and professional NASCAR drivers make. Without big sponsors (no offense to low-level sponsors like razer headphones or red bull vitamin water) the average compensation for an SC2 pro will be in the same ballpark as a brood war pro.
Thanks for your constructive feedback. I hope I answered your valid criticism well.
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On August 14 2012 01:06 McFeser wrote:
Banks have invested into Esports. Where do you Sundance got his 11 million from?
Do you have a source for this?
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On August 14 2012 01:10 finlurrrr wrote:Show nested quote +On August 14 2012 01:06 McFeser wrote:
Banks have invested into Esports. Where do you Sundance got his 11 million from? Do you have a source for this?
I think he meant as in he took out a loan.... not that they gave it to him for free...
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On August 14 2012 01:10 finlurrrr wrote:Show nested quote +On August 14 2012 01:06 McFeser wrote:
Banks have invested into Esports. Where do you Sundance got his 11 million from? Do you have a source for this?
His wrong. Sundance got it from venture capital. MLG would not be able to afford to pay of high interest rates.
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On August 14 2012 01:05 Cleomenes wrote:Show nested quote +On August 14 2012 01:02 Chiharu Harukaze wrote:
The stickiness and rarity of people changing who they take their bank accounts and mortgages from mean that any return on investment is going to be incredibly low for banks. I highly doubt anyone is going to change their mortgage provider on the basis of an advertisement in Starcraft. I'm not even sure the target market has much to offer a financial institution in the first place. However E-sports fandom is full of young adults. These 20 somethings will be getting car loans, mortgages, etc. in the next few years. Now would be a good time to gain good publicity for the long game of bringing in young people.
This is probably the best thing eSports has going for it as something for banks to invest in. It's the "right" market for a business which grabs you for the long haul.
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On August 14 2012 01:17 Lonyo wrote:Show nested quote +On August 14 2012 01:05 Cleomenes wrote:On August 14 2012 01:02 Chiharu Harukaze wrote:
The stickiness and rarity of people changing who they take their bank accounts and mortgages from mean that any return on investment is going to be incredibly low for banks. I highly doubt anyone is going to change their mortgage provider on the basis of an advertisement in Starcraft. I'm not even sure the target market has much to offer a financial institution in the first place. However E-sports fandom is full of young adults. These 20 somethings will be getting car loans, mortgages, etc. in the next few years. Now would be a good time to gain good publicity for the long game of bringing in young people. This is probably the best thing eSports has going for it as something for banks to invest in. It's the "right" market for a business which grabs you for the long haul.
football has way more fans and over a more diverse range than 20 something, if I was a bank I'd invest in something like football not the niche that is esports, the return would be minimal compared with investing in football etc
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On August 14 2012 01:17 Lonyo wrote:Show nested quote +On August 14 2012 01:05 Cleomenes wrote:On August 14 2012 01:02 Chiharu Harukaze wrote:
The stickiness and rarity of people changing who they take their bank accounts and mortgages from mean that any return on investment is going to be incredibly low for banks. I highly doubt anyone is going to change their mortgage provider on the basis of an advertisement in Starcraft. I'm not even sure the target market has much to offer a financial institution in the first place. However E-sports fandom is full of young adults. These 20 somethings will be getting car loans, mortgages, etc. in the next few years. Now would be a good time to gain good publicity for the long game of bringing in young people. This is probably the best thing eSports has going for it as something for banks to invest in. It's the "right" market for a business which grabs you for the long haul.
Not to mention that it appeals to an even more specific demographic than youngins: nerds. I'm not sure what the demographics are, but surely nerds are more likely to have money for and spend money on things like computer parts and games, right? Surely nerds are more likely to go into fields like programming and systems management which will feature large growth in the future, right?
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On August 14 2012 01:23 mememolly wrote:Show nested quote +On August 14 2012 01:17 Lonyo wrote:On August 14 2012 01:05 Cleomenes wrote:On August 14 2012 01:02 Chiharu Harukaze wrote:
The stickiness and rarity of people changing who they take their bank accounts and mortgages from mean that any return on investment is going to be incredibly low for banks. I highly doubt anyone is going to change their mortgage provider on the basis of an advertisement in Starcraft. I'm not even sure the target market has much to offer a financial institution in the first place. However E-sports fandom is full of young adults. These 20 somethings will be getting car loans, mortgages, etc. in the next few years. Now would be a good time to gain good publicity for the long game of bringing in young people. This is probably the best thing eSports has going for it as something for banks to invest in. It's the "right" market for a business which grabs you for the long haul. football has way more fans and over a more diverse range than 20 something, if I was a bank I'd invest in something like football not the niche that is esports, the return would be minimal compared with investing in football etc
But your math is flawed and I could swap your argument around to say that the COST of investing in starcraft 2 would be MINIMAL compared to the cost of sponsoring the NFL, which would demand at least 8 figures at a minimum.
You are looking at only the returns of the two investments. Next time, try looking at the costs/returns and analyzing them based on ROI.
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Hold on folks. It's really easy to listen to this and instantly think it's a bad idea, but let's examine how this could work. I don't think anyone disputes that razor blades have nothing to do with video gaming or e-sports, but Gillette still plays commercials during MLG, as does Bic, I believe.
This would have to be something small where we can guarantee an ROI for the bank, and it might be easy. One of the first things a young kid will do once he gets a job is get a bank account. I think a 15-30 second MLG ad, even one that is generic and pre-built, might reach an audience that banks don't typically get. What about the subset of 18-22 year old college students that choose not to own a TV (like myself).
Furthermore, while I prefer the taste of Monster to Redbull, I really enjoyed the Redbull battleground, and so I choose to purchase Redbull. It's more than just advertising when it's e-sports, it's a sense of endearment that TV commercials don't bring as easily. This MIGHT be sell-able. It would just take the right guy.
To the OP, however, I do NOT think that a large-scale investment would be wise for a financial institution at this time.
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There are in essence two types of banks: commercial and investment, or at least two separate divisions in the same entity. The two types of banks attract different clients (that's how they make money). Commercial banks want average Joes with their $30,000 annual income to make deposits and occasionally get charged exorbitant fees; and investment banks want people with millions dollars worth of assets and provide strategies to invest in a very specific manners.
Now, eSports sponsorship doesn't actually sound like that bad of an idea for commercial banks (so we are talking about banks like Chase, BoA and Wells Fargo, and not Goldman and Morgan, not what you think of what you say "wall street" right?), especially if the target audience is composed of teens/adolescents. Shinhan bank actually sponsored quite a few OSLs and SPLs for SCBW, in attempt to attract younger clients who would hopefully open accounts.
In America, however, there is a very strong negativity associated with gaming, more often than not, it is seen as a manifestation of irresponsibility. You can argue how this is untrue, or how it's slowly changing, but that is still how most adults view video games (and they really can't tell or won't bother to tell the difference between Tetris and Starcraft). While sponsoring a progaming team might gain a decent number of clients down the road, it will inevitably lose a fair share as well. I just don't think it's worthwhile for commercial banks to make this types of risky investment.
Also, more importantly, I'm ultimately going to choose a commercial bank that offers me the most number of conveniences rather than some bank that sponsors an SC team.
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On August 14 2012 01:35 diplomatten wrote:
Hold on folks. It's really easy to listen to this and instantly think it's a bad idea, but let's examine how this could work. I don't think anyone disputes that razor blades have nothing to do with video gaming or e-sports, but Gillette still plays commercials during MLG, as does Bic, I believe.
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Thanks for the first positive criticism I've gotten today! Thanks!
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EPT
