We Are Now Entering the Metaverse
CPL Expansion in Vancouver. Women & Gaming. Facebook to Meta.
On Today’s Agenda:
The Rise of Soccer in Canada
Women in Esports
We Are Now Entering the Metaverse
The Rise of Soccer in Canada
CPL Expansion in Vancouver
Courtesy of Canadian Premier League
Yesterday, CPL commissioner David Clanachan announced SixFive Sports & Entertainment LP (SixFive) has been awarded a CPL expansion club in Vancouver, BC. The Canadian Premier League was founded in 2017 and commenced its first season in 2019. The league began with 7 teams: Cavalry FC, FC Edmonton, Forge FC, HFX Wanderers FC, Pacific FC, Valour FC, and York United. The following year in 2020, Ottawa was granted an expansion club being awarded to Atletico Madrid, creating Atletico Ottawa. Now, it is Vancouver’s time for a new club. Vancouver will be the 9th club in the Canadian Premier League and will join the league in the 2023 season.
As of right now, there is no news as to what this new club will be called, where they will play, who will coach the team, and what players they plan to bring in. However, in 2022 we will begin to see a lot of information regarding the Vancouver CPL team.
In recent months, many rumours have spread about the future of the CPL and club expansion across the country. Rumours have circulated about a possible club being introduced in Fraser Valley between Vancouver and the Kamloops, and even another possible club in Toronto. Despite only having its inaugural season in 2019, the CPL is rapidly growing and is attracting talent from across the globe.
Despite only 9 teams now, in years to come, it is likely we will see the CPL grow to its massive potential. Possible expansions could see new clubs in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan, Fraser Valley, and many many more.
Issues may arise with CPL expansion clubs. Soccer hasn’t always been as popular in Canada as it’s become in previous years. Questions arise about the popularity of new CPL expansion clubs in pre-established sporting cities. For example, in Ottawa, the Ottawa Redblacks and the Ottawa Senators have been the most popular sports teams for many years. Introducing a new soccer team raised questions about how the turnout would be for their new team. Similar questions can be asked for a team in British Columbia. Will fans stay loyal to Pacific FC, or opt to support the new Vancouver team in 2023? Will fans from other sports in Vancouver come out to support the new club?
Another question that’s raised with Canadian soccer is whether Canadian fans will support a local homegrown team, despite the large supporter base of MLS and European teams. Can the new Vancouver team compete with the likes of the Seattle Sounders, Manchester United, PSG, or Real Madrid? Well, I guess we’ll find out.
Women in Esports
Zoomph Releases Report on ‘The Impact of Women in Gaming’
Courtesy of HyperX
The Zoomph team released a report titled ‘The Impact of Women in Gaming’, taking a look at how women gamers and women gaming fans are influencing the trends in ESports and Gaming overall. The 13-page report had a lot of amazing facts, figures, and statistics about the industry - and if there’s anything we love more than ESports here at White Whale Mktg, it’s numbers.
Here are a few highlights from the report:
Millennials and Gen-Z make up 76% of the Women Gaming Audience in the US
Women gaming fans are 2.3x more likely to have an affinity for fashion brands vs. male gaming fans
Women gaming fans are 1.3x more likely to have an affinity for music and music-related brands compared to male gaming fans
Pop, hip-hop, and rap music are the most popular genres amongst women gaming fans
After taking a look at these figures and thinking about the direction of ESports; specifically in the brand partnership realm, we can see how strong the influence of women gamers and fans is on the industry. Popular luxury fashion brands like Burberry, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, and Balenciaga (the ones you hear about more in popular music!) are developing strategies to interact with their consumers through the digital gaming space.
It comes as no surprise when you think about how many free-to-play games like Fortnite and Valorant generate revenue - in-game upgrades usually come in the form of exclusive player skins and costumes that are affiliated with popular brands. David Beckham recently partnered with EA Sports to create a custom-designed kit in FIFA Ultimate Team to raise funds for UNICEF. The intersection between fashion and gaming is great news for athletes, who can leverage the use of their gaming platforms to launch, promote, and sell their brands.
Women gamers have also dominated the industry. 100 Thieves gamer Valkyrae has a Twitter social value above $40 million, over 4 times the value of Nick Mercs, who is one of the most popular gamers in the Call of Duty world.
One thing to keep an eye on beyond fashion and music - what industry is the next boom in gaming? Valkyrae has partnered with Sweetgreen, a fast-casual healthy restaurant, in order to promote and encourage healthier eating in the gaming community - in an effort to combat the stereotype of unhealthy gamers and gaming fans. It is an unconventional partnership, especially when ~5% of the gaming community has any affinity towards healthy living brands. However, the most popular face in Gaming taking a stand towards a cause that she is passionate about is noteworthy and can cause a shift in the industry. As the revenue generation in gaming and ESports continue to evolve, it will be interesting to see how the partnership space shifts accordingly.
We Are Now Entering the Metaverse
The Impact Facebook to Meta Will Have on Sports
Courtesy of Meta Platforms
Let’s start off slow and steady, here’s what you need to know: Facebook has changed its name to Meta and they define it as the next evolution of social technology. Interesting. If that doesn’t do you any good, in simpler terms, Meta (Facebook) mentions how the metaverse they plan on operating within is where you can virtually meet, work and play using a VR headset, glasses, or your device; all of which will likely be Meta (Facebook) products you can buy.
Depending on your viewpoint of society and technology this can be very exciting or kind of scary. I’m right there in the middle.
As I skimmed through the keynote presentation by Mark Zuckerberg, some key elements stood out which I’d like to share on how we can apply to market sports. Let’s approach it from three different angles: the athlete, the team, the sponsor.
The athlete. Now more than ever, athlete marketing is becoming bigger and bigger. From the rise of NIL to the top 5 highest-paid athletes all having a brand of their own, athletes have received the message loud and clear and are looking to make an impact. With Meta, athletes will be able to connect and socialize with fans more easily. It will allow fans to have a lower barrier of entry to connect with their favourite athletes whilst still providing athletes with the appropriate boundaries if necessary. The possibilities can range from creating a VR room for a round table event or even a gaming competition where you can see their live reactions. All of which provide more possibilities than we currently have, from a simple flip of the switch.
The team. Let’s paint a picture really quick. Have you ever travelled to another city, you’re walking around town and you pass by the local stadium? Wow. It's amazing, you can only imagine what it would be like to experience an event there. Well with AR, stadiums, and clubs could offer interactive features outside the stadium to showcase a highlight reel of sorts for what a gameday is really like. Building on that, why not even take it to the next level and allow for the fan to select their price range, the game of choice, and then show them what the experience would be like in seats that fit their criteria. Sounds amazing! Better yet, if you’re in the digital marketing, sales, or the business intelligence department of an organization you’d be receiving exponentially more data to better serve each customer segment you have.
The sponsor. More and more, sponsors are looking for experiential marketing opportunities and we love that! But once again, let’s take things to the next level by seeing what we could possibly do with Meta in the future. As Mark Zuckerberg was playing poker in his keynote, one of his colleagues was late to the party. When they called her, she showed them an AR street art that she came across on her walk. In order to share her experience with Zuck and friends, she sent it over to them. All of a sudden, a hologram of the art installation is present in the middle of their VR room and they can all enjoy the piece together from all corners of the globe. I say why not do that with sponsors. You’re at a mountain biking event, in the desert, and GoPro is the presenting sponsor, they have an AR set-up showcasing what the possibilities are when you use a GoPro. It’s so impressive to you, you send it over to your friends to view, and when you surpass an allotted period of time an email or phone number is required. This allows sponsors to increase their reach beyond people at the event but even shorten the funnel with potential customers. Pretty cool.
It sounds like the possibilities are endless, but I’ll admit there’s good and bad to everything. Will the technology be up to the standards present in the keynote? Probably not. Will all offerings of Meta be useful or even better than current solutions? Probably not. However, it does allow us to be more creative and think a bit more outside of the box. So I’ll give it a go and so should you.
But for now, live long and prosper, my friends.
Felt appropriate with all the spaceships and aliens in the keynote.
