SteelSeries has launched a new line of PC gaming accessories branded with esports team Evil Geniuses, including the Arctis headset with a custom-designed headband, and the Evil Geniuses limited editions of the M500 Keyboard with Cherry MX Red keys, a custom-tuned Rival 300 and a QcK+ mousepad.

Jacob Bolvig, director of activations and esports at SteelSeries, talks to AListDaily about the genius of marketing to esports fans through global team branding in this exclusive interview.

Why did you decide to partner with Evil Geniuses on this new line of products?

Evil Geniuses is a force of an esports organization and has been a partner of ours for a very long time. We collaborate with all of their teams from Dota 2 to Halo on marketing initiatives but also on product feedback. We wanted to bring fans a full suite of the peripherals that these professional players are not only using, but winning with.

In many esports partnerships, it’s simply a company handing a team their products. Why did you decide to go this other route?

Many esport sponsorships are purely that: financial and product support to teams without those players really impacting the products that are coming to market or (even more embarrassing) those players not wanting to or able to use those products. With the massive attention esports has garnered along with brands wanting to jump on board, we are approaching our work with teams differently. While financial and product support are the obvious parts in a sponsorship, we call them partnerships because we work closely with the team managers, coaches and players in products, marketing and—in this case—a limited edition professional line that the players are actually using.

How did they help with the R&D and fine-tuning of these three peripherals?

From the beginning of this partnership with Evil Geniuses, we always sent early sample units to players for testing, tweaking and feedback. We take their input into development to make sure they can rely on them and use them during intensive training. Apex M500, Rival 300, and Qck+ are our esport products that have been tested and approved by Evil Geniuses.

What does adding the Evil Geniuses brand to SteelSeries products add to the brand you’ve already established over the years?

We believe it just enhances our position as an endemic brand inside this massive esports world. We want to see this interest and excitement continue. We’ve been fans and players long before SteelSeries began, so to be able to find partners that can help elevate the success of competitive gaming even further is a key component to our brands strategy.

How will Evil Geniuses help market this new line of products?

The team has an amazing social media following—we’re expecting that’ll be a huge component. They have also released this promotional video. On top of that, the best advertising the team can do for us is to rep the gear at tournaments worldwide.

How will SteelSeries be marketing these products through esports events and to esports fans?

We’ll play up the drums on social media through our own global channels to make sure all EG fans know that they can get the best gear out there while sporting their favorite team colors. Besides that, we know and rely on the impact of our brand ambassadors in Evil Geniuses.

The PC gaming peripherals market is extremely competitive. What do you feel differentiates the SteelSeries brand from others out there?

We believe that it’s the product. From product molds to final product on shelf, we believe that what we’re designing and building is really the best possible and best among the competition. We are the brand that drives the peripherals industry forward. We don’t jump on bandwagons or add product features to outdo another brand. We have been labeled an underdog because we compete with brands that have larger budgets, but we are the force. We make choices on hardware and features with the players always on our mind—and while that is a challenge as a business, it’s what has continued to help drive SteelSeries forward with product lines like Arctis that shake the industry with a fresh perspective on gaming audio.

We also have a close bond with the community through sponsorships, which keeps us completely in tune with what different gamers are demanding. An example that expands even beyond working alongside esport teams is pioneering how brands partner with streamers and content creators. We call it our SteelSeries Influencer Program, and while it’s a group of 100+ gamers who stream, create and evangelize gaming and its culture, they are very much an extension of our brand. They test products, they keep us deeply connected to different communities and are a piece of our business that we approach differently and better than other brands.

What have you seen in terms of what works with messaging to the esports fan base? 

The esport fan base is probably some of the most critical tech enthusiasts you will find. They can smell when something is pure marketing spin versus having true value behind the message. We learned this very early in our 16-year journey. We also believe what works is what all consumer brands strive to achieve, offering products that have value, using best-in-class materials and answering problems that consumers may not even have known they had. We bring that to every product we build with these players and for this audience. The OG fan base of esports expects to experience the best when the word esport is attached to it and we don’t take that lightly. In our mind, esport and tournament-grade means high quality, consistency and comfort, and players should expect that whether they are competing online or like Evil Geniuses at the Kiev Majors or The International.