The [a]list summit may be over, but it certainly delivered a wallop, with dozens of speakers delivering great presentations on a number of topics.
You can always catch the full coverage of the summit right here, but here are some of our favorite quotes from the event:
- Mike Sepso, head of Activision Blizzard Media Networks and co-founder of Major League Gaming: “In the simplest terms, eSports is just competitive gameplay. It’s me playing you in Call of Duty, Counter-strike, or whatever your favorite game is. And just like football or basketball, there are professionals who do this, with professional broadcasts and professional broadcasters announcing the games. There are lots of amateurs trying to make it into the big leagues, and most importantly, there are millions of passionate fans who really love and engage with this as a sport and are really focused on the personalities behind the sport and drive it forward.” (His full recap can be found here.)
- Andy Swanson, vice president of eSports for Twitch: “You can’t say ‘I want to market to eSports.’ You have to be more focused. What is the demographic you want to reach? What level of penetration do you want to have? You have to understand the content. You’re going to want to look for titles and communities that are similar.” (His panel can be found here.)
- Dan Ciccone, managing director for rEvXP and agent for OpTic Gaming: “Don’t get hung up with a particular game. It’s the ‘typical geek culture’ aspect and lifestyle that’s appealing. Some of it is stereotypical, but their social lifestyle revolves around it. But don’t get too hung up on it.”
- Rahul Sood, CEO of UNIKRN: “Brands have to be creative on how to leverage social as a platform. You have to get in front of this audience in a relevant way that is authentic because the gamers are very fickle.”
- Matt West, director of content strategy for Ayzenberg: “How do we reach bigger people? Investment, structure, organization and align everything.”
- Paula Batson, vice president of public relations and communication for YouNow: “The audience is demanding participation media. This is a new kind of media where viewers are contributing to the media, as well as the broadcaster. It’s not just a push medium. It’s a great way brands can get involved because 70 percent of users can interact. It’s ‘one to many’ that feels like ‘one to one.’” (Her presentation can be found here.)
- Eric Gradman, co-founder and chief technology officer for Two Bit Circus: “Consumers now want to have an experience unlike anything they’ve seen, or had before. They want new and novel experiences. And they want to have a social media takeaway to share with their friends.” (His presentation can be found here.)
Be sure to check out all our coverage of the [a]list summit in the coming days!