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In a bid to drive healthy gaming behavior E- Gaming Federation (EGF) has brought together cricket and hip hop in their new campaign to promote responsible gaming. This is not only one of the first few campaigns from an industry body in the space but also one that uses influencer marketing to drive a message. With the campaign Asli Gamer, starring rapper and hip-hop artist Naezy along with Indian cricketer Shubman Gill, EGF is going all out to reach out to its primary TG of millennials and Gen Z. The campaign comes with all elements of an influencer led camping, complete with a hook step, involvement of over a thousand content creators and of course a rap anthem.

 
The intention of the federation is to simply reach out to their TG in the language they understand.

 
The campaign has gone live just days after the Indian government officially recognized esports as part of multi-sports events that would be governed by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.


FICCI-EY Media and Entertainment Report 2022 says the number of eSports players doubled from three lakh in 2020 to six lakh in 2021 and the revenue from the industry too showed an encouraging growth of 29%, growing from Rs7.5 billion in 2020 to Rs 9.7 billion in 2021.

 
In a chat with Storyboard18, Sameer Barde, CEO at EGF says “Regulation is a great first step to add credibility to the esports industry and standing at this juncture alongside regulation what is also very important is player education. Asli Gamer is the first nudge from the federation for players to understand the importance of responsible gaming behaviors.”

 
He also talks about marketing the campaign, the growth potential of the industry and the impact of having regulations.

 
Edited excerpts.

 
<strong>What is the relevance of the Asli Gamer campaign?</strong>

 
At the end of the day it has to be the player who needs to be educated so that they can themselves ensure that they're playing responsibly. Players need to understand the importance of not going overboard. If they play responsibly, it bodes well for everyone. It bodes well for the players themselves, for the industry and obviously for the government. And that was enough motivation for us to do something around education.  

 
<strong>You have brought on board an interesting pair of ambassadors. Why Naezy and Shubman Gill? How do you think they’ll help in amplifying your narrative?</strong>


When we looked at the typical player profiles, we looked at what they liked and what they identify the most with. Sports and music were two of the most preferred areas of interest  of our TG. Having identified their interests, we thought of ways to come up with something that is not boring yet conveys the message we are trying to push.  Both Naezy and Shubman Gill have an immense fan following, people identify with them and most importantly they speak a language which the generation really understands. So we got Naezy to compose a rap and then have Gill and him perform it.

 
We wanted to convey a few things through the campaign- whether the investment in question is time or money, ensure that you are playing within your limits, play for entertainment and not for anything else, and if they're losing don’t chase the losses.

 

We didn’t want to sound patronizing and say ‘play responsibly’. We chose to use a lingo that is more casual and easy to associate with. Naezy helped us do that. In the rap he says things like ‘Limit me macha’ which drives our message but in a fun way.

 

Interested users can take a self-assessment test and see if they are playing responsibly and they get a badge after that. We are encouraging them to be the ‘asli gamer’ (real gamer).

 

<strong>How are you promoting the campaign? Will there be other influencers involved?</strong>

 
We have planned a very creator led campaign. We didn’t want this to be an advertising-like initiative. We wanted to promote a behavior change which we felt content creators can promote best.

 
We are activating the whole gaming community where we’d be working with more than a thousand streamers. iStreamo is helping us with that.  Alongside that we’d also be using other mainstream creators who would be promoting a hook step.

 

We are doing a little bit of promotion to establish the song so that it is available on platforms like Spotify and YouTube but since we are not treating this like an advertising campaign we are keeping everything else organic.

 
Moving on to the changing tides. We now have the government involved in the gaming and esports space. Esports is not just being acknowledged as sports but is also getting the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports to govern it? What is your reaction?

 
It is a great first step. It is great to finally see something in black and white on paper. We hope the plan of having a full-fledged Gaming Commission is also implemented soon.

 
We are working on our inputs and hopefully in the next week or so we should be able to go back to the government with our feedback on the draft policy.


<strong>Once the regulation is in place, what according to you will be the direct impact of it on the industry?</strong>

I think eventually once the dust settles down we will have a proper gaming commission in place. That apart, one of the biggest impacts will be that we will have a clear regulatory runway and that bodes really well for the industry and for all its stakeholders.  If you look at the AVGC reportone of the key things that we discussed in the report is how to get India to make what is called a Triple A Game. That was like one of the key objectives and for something like that there is a huge investment requirement. At least $20million to $35 million is what you need to get a decent title up and then you need more to be able to sustain it and upgrade it constantly.

Without clarity from the governance side of things investors were very cagey because they didn't know what will happen tomorrow. So one of the biggest things that any sort of good regulation brings in is regulatory certainty that automatically ensures long term investment. This will then impact the overall size of the industry, employment potential, tax generation and a lot more. 


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EGF's Sameer Barde: Regulatory certainty will ensure long-term investments in gaming and esports

At seven, what game did you play? Ludo or hide and seek, perhaps? And what is it that you got if you won? Maybe a chocolate bar? Understandable if you are a '90s kid. But this is 2022 and the games have changed and so have the rewards.

Akarsh Chaudhary aka Vivone, one of the youngest online gamers in India, is offered up to a lakh for two to three video collaborations of his gaming content.

A seven-year-old from Mumbai, Vivone has a schedule like every other kid in his neighborhood: it includes homework, meeting friends, swimming lessons, etc. What is different about his day is the three hours in the afternoon that he spends gaming online. He plays BGMI, Valorant, Call of Duty: Warzone, CODM, Pokémon UNITE and others, and also streams his content on YouTube and gaming streaming platform Rooter.

Vivone has a 56.3K followers on Instagram, 3.73 lakh subscribers on YouTube and 22,000 followers on Rooter.


His father, Vivek Chaudhary, is focusing on sharpening Vivone’s skill and not looking for monetization options at the moment. Chaudhary senior, who used to paly video games himself, says he wants Vivone to set an example for how online gaming can become a career and how, like every other traditional athlete, an online gamer can also represent their country at international tournaments.

<strong>Getting brand attention and life lessons</strong>

Chaudhary and Vivone’s new streaming platform partner Rooter are, however, flooded with offers. From gadget brands to fantasy apps and even some FMCG brands are willing to offer up to a lakh for a video collaboration. What do they get in return? They get what every modern-day marketer is looking for. Reach, access and attention, and rub-off from influencer to brand.

Some of the streaming videos on YouTube have touched 24 lakh views, making Vivone a brand favorite in the segment. Content creators with a follower base like Vivone's can earn up to Rs 5 lakh a month from just streaming.

But is all of this too overwhelming for a seven-year-old? We wonder. For Vivone it isn’t, the family tells us. His parents think that balance is the most important factor, and once someone perfects that, there is no need to worry.

“Vivone does game streaming for three hours in a day. This has been his routine ever since he was five. He knows he cannot game for more than that time and he has other things like swimming and football to look forward to. It is important for gamers too to have other hobbies so that they are not consumed with their gaming gadgets all day,” says his father.

Vivone also seems to be picking up life lessons from gaming.

His father tells us that it has taught Vivone to deal with down phases: “Gaming has taught him that you win some and you lose some.”

<strong>Not child's play</strong>

Balancing like Chaudhary mentioned is an important parameter. According to ‘Science, translated’, a science-based international publication, the term “problematic gamers” was coined to describe those who habitually spend long hours playing video games.

While the piece on ‘The effects of video games on children’s mental health and psychosocial behavior’ talks about the problems of excessive gaming, it also highlights the possibility of positive effects on an individual’s psychosocial well-being. It shows how a lot of games can boost the psychosocial development of a child by promoting interaction, confidence and also the ability to deal with failure.

While Vivone is living every child’s dream of dedicated screen time and gaming hours, he is being flooded with offers from esports organizations to be a streaming partner.

The kid, however, is untouched by the burden of monetization. He just enjoys playing his games and his cute comments while streaming add that extra touch, making the content popular among fans and brands.

[caption id="attachment_1003" align="alignnone" width="300"]<a href="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/Vivone-is-a-seven-year-old-gamer.webp"><img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/Vivone-is-a-seven-year-old-gamer-300x288.webp" alt="" width="300" height="288" class="size-medium wp-image-1003" /></a> Vivone devotes three hours a day to gaming.<br />[/caption]

Seven-year-old gamer's ambition

Esports is exactly how sports was 20 years back, says Piyush Kumar, founder and CEO at game streaming platform Rooter. “Two decades back, people were always sceptical about dedicated practice hours because that would hamper their focus on career plans, but then the whole sports scene changed when the market for sports opened up. IPL came in and so did so many other opportunities. Esports will not take 20 years to change the way people think,” he says.

According to Kumar, in a couple of years, players will make the country proud internationally and it will become a sought-after career,” he says.

But there are challenges. Gaming and video games in general are still seen as recreational and too much of it is seen as detrimental, especially for young players and children. However, things are changing with initiatives to organize and new regulations being ushered in.

Gaming is a state subject and various stakeholder bodies are trying to have the industry regularized centrally to bring about uniformity. That apart, there is already a set of guidelines that gaming companies have to follow while pushing out marketing communications.

As Vivone signs off, we ask him what his favourite games are. "Valorant and BGMI are my favourite games,” he says.

And what does he want to be when he grows up? Spoiler alert - A professional gamer.

He tells Storyboard18, “I want to be known internationally, and my parents tell me in another twelve years, when I’m sixteen, I can represent India at global tournaments."



Meet the 7-year-old Indian gaming influencer, VivOne

From the shoes and jerseys they wear to the goggles they sport and the colas they have in their breaks, everything around an athlete is a branding opportunity these days. Lokesh Suji, Director at the Esports Federation of India, says there is equal opportunity when it comes to cyber athletes.

Esports comes with huge branding opportunities, he says. Suji says the segment is also giving birth to a whole new category of influencers who are taking the branding and marketing game of esports to an all new level. Edited excerpts:

<strong>Tell us a little about where we are at the moment in terms of adoption. How popular is esports in India, especially after the surge in traffic on the platforms in the last two years?</strong>

The surge in traffic is indeed very encouraging. Thanks to the stay-at-home crowd, during the various phases of lockdowns in the last two years, adoption of both gaming and esports has been very rapid. Since people couldn’t meet up with friends or family, they picked up new habits of communication and entertainment. And casual gaming and esports are an important part of that new habit.

<a href="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/Month-in-Focus-Logo-01-3-365x258-1.webp"><img src="https://images.storyboard18.com/storyboard18/Month-in-Focus-Logo-01-3-365x258-1-300x212.webp" alt="" width="300" height="212" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-990" /></a>

<strong>What are the opportunities in the space for marketers?</strong>

The target audience of esports brings both the new-age brands as well as legacy brands to the space. There are multiple collaboration opportunities for brands. Firstly, there is an ad network which we do not prefer because we consider it a very intrusive form of advertising. During a game, there are panels and ads coming up selling something or the other. But there are other interesting opportunities in the space through which brands can interact with their TG (target group).

The easiest is to put together your own esports IP. Then there is team sponsorship and title sponsorships. Brands can also come on board as a partner or sponsor of an existing esports IP. Brands can always invest in development of the sport like it happens in any other sport formats. They can set up training centres wherein training can be given to esports players. The centres can be both online and offline. This is the kind of collaboration the country needs right now. There is no dearth of talent in the country but we definitely need upskilling so that our players perform well at both domestic- and international-level tournaments. Lastly, they can also come on board with the federation as a partner and be a part of all the activities the federation puts together to increase reach, access, popularity and engagement. Ad networks should however be the least preferred option.

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<strong>How important is the role of content in driving growth in the segment? How are marketers using it?</strong>

Content is one of the most interesting aspects of esports today. Those that are creating content in the space are actually leading the segment and making more money than the ones who are just players. All thanks to the reach and engagement of this content. These creators are live streamers and a subset of these live streamers are influencers who earn revenues through sponsorships and brand engagement activities. They are all gamers who know how to keep their fans engaged and entertained while they are playing the game. There are basically entertainers in the esports space who have a live audience. Brands often work with these creators who advertise their console, mobile phones and other gaming equipment during the livestream.

The real growth begins when these creators start building a loyal fan base and a community, that’s when they become influencers.

<strong>It is difficult to ignore all the debates and discussions around regulation in the segment. Is that a deterrent for investors and advertisers?</strong>

The biggest deterrent here is the perception. There are card-based games, casual games, fantasy games and esports. The audience generally confuses the distinction between the categories and everything is together clubbed in as esports. If you are playing rummy or teen patti or even Candy Crush, it is not esports. Some would call esports as a game of skill. Unfortunately, all these misconceptions make it difficult for both the audience and the brands.

Esports is recognized as a sport world over, thanks to the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Olympic Committee. The definition should end there. The moment we confuse it with other formats of games, marketers who are new in the space confuse it with gambling, betting, etc. The world of online gaming is vague. Internationally, the other games are categorized under iGaming. We call it real money games in India. 
We should stick to these nomenclatures and not jumble everything up.

Moreover, The Public Gambling Act of 1867 is also very old. We need to revisit these and work on the perception issue. Till these are resolved there will always be a fear factor among investors who are new in the space.

<strong>We have seen a surge in traffic and we have also seen the growth in the number of businesses in the segment. What next? Where do you see the next phase of growth coming from?</strong>

Physical tournaments starting again is a huge boost and we see more and more IPs coming up every day. However, the next phase of growth will happen at the grassroots level where we will have representation from the remotest parts of India. We are already seeing players from very small towns come forward and we are hoping we will see more.

There is so much being said on NFTs and metaverse but these are not new for the esport ecosystem. However there is new tech being developed every day and the Indian startup economy is a huge booster for the esports industry because they are innovating every day in terms of tech and also bringing in the much needed investments in the space.

<em>Note to readers: Storyboard18’s new Month In Focus initiative spotlights themes and topics that are pushing marketers to reshape and rethink how brands interact with today’s customers. Our first theme is Just Sports, a special spotlight on sports marketing presented by Sports18. We bring to you stories of how marketers are harnessing the power of technology, innovation and creativity in sports to create powerful storytelling in campaigns that increase affinity and loyalty with audiences. From traditional sports platforms around cricket to emerging games and the rise of esports, we get leading voices from the marketing and sports worlds to give us sharp and fast insights into future-facing marketing practices. Also, tune in for analyses which will surface ideas and strategies that are helping brands to level up experiences and storytelling with authentic collaborations. So watch this space for Just Sports.</em>


Playing fantasy or rummy or even Candy Crush is not esports: Lokesh Suji

E SPORTS