Why media conglomerate Mediacorp is investing in esports talent in Asia Pacific
There is an infinite amount of esports and gaming content being produced daily by content creators, but some lack vital industry exposure, knowledge and skills to deliver quality and value-added content. The Drum finds out from Mediacorp and Emerge Esports how they are supporting creators to create content and bolster their income.
Singapore-based broadcaster Mediacorp has joined forces with esports talent management agency Emerge Esports to develop budding esports content creators under Mediacorp’s Bloomr.SG network.
Esports is on the rise in Asia Pacific, where 30% to 40% of the population in South East Asia watch streamed esports events. Pre-pandemic, over 3.2 million people applied for a seat at the 2020 League of Legends World Championship Finals in Shanghai.
Brands like Porsche have also hosted esports tournaments. The Porsche Asia Pacific Forza Cup reached over 24.7 million people in the region, and its Grand Finals was streamed live on Facebook, YouTube and Twitch across 14 countries. The brand claims 56,429 viewers tuned in across the region.
Diogo Martins, the content and community lead for Bloomr.SG at Mediacorp, says Bloomr.SG is working with Emerge to develop both the market interest and market growth opportunities related not just to the esports community and gaming culture, but crucially to its local talent.
“This relationship is formed in view of the growing quality of content and community that surrounds local Singaporean elite esports athletes and celebrities in their own right, as well as in identifying, growing and educating upcoming talent,” he explains.
Despite being one of Singapore’s youngest esports talent management agencies, Emerge Esports has already created a wave within the nation’s growing industry, claims Roy Kek, chief executive officer at Emerge Esports.
He says as the agency is expanding its advertising inventory and forming partnerships with established partners like Mediacorp and TikTok, Emerge feels that this move with Bloomr.SG is a step in the right direction to provide its talents with vital industry exposure, knowledge and skills to deliver quality and value-added content to their audience.
“This strategic partnership is a win-win situation for both Mediacorp and Emerge Esports, as this platform aims to develop Singapore’s content creator community by equipping them with the necessary tools that they need to excel in this nascent industry,” adds Kek.
Mediacorp will help Emerge Esports’s talents to receive sponsorship and cross-promotion opportunities, as well as work with local and regional celebrities to produce content by incorporating creators into word-of-mouth campaigns across different branded campaigns and government-backed scenarios.
This includes Singapore’s National Day Parade and several other big national events, as well as with campaigns like AirAsia regionally.
“Linking and syncing up with Mediacorp resources and infrastructure will move forward the foray of Emerge in content and future plans that are being currently planned internally with several Mediacorp brands in relation to esports and connected content strategies,” explains Martins.
“As with every Bloomr.SG creator, Emerge will have access to Bloomr.SG and Mediacorp’s digital studio, editing resources and production equipment, as well as, when necessary, internal Mediacorp designated staff for specific support functions across the year.”
In addition, the Emerge team and talents will have the full force of the Bloomr.SG team and its access with Mediacorp teams in addressing the viable market for any type of opportunities that Mediacorp clients will be looking for to collaborate with said talent.
When there is an internal marriage of necessity between clients’ unique selling points and the Emerge team’s talents, said collaboration will then be put up for delivery.
“With Emerge being a quickly growing company, talents can look forward to tapping into various monetization avenues that Mediacorp is able to provide due to their long-standing presence in Asia’s media sector,” explains Kek.
“Emerge’s team and talents will be able to collaborate with Bloomr.SG’s team structure to find potential opportunities to link up Mediacorp’s clients, their campaigns and the relevant content creators.”
The success of this partnership will see Singapore’s pool of esports content creators equipped to remain competitive among the region’s high-achieving talents.
Besides being able to create a multitude of content to interact with their audience, Kek says creators will be able to grow their recognition within the sector on a global scale as the nation’s esports industry rapidly expands to greater heights.
“Rather than simply focusing on the success of our talents at Emerge, we hope this collaboration will also foster a greater ecosystem for emerging talents and brands to reach their audiences effectively,” he says.
Martins adds: “We see success as growing interest in the esports talents available and growing in the country, as well as better defined and maturing business models available in the industry to support the growth of the esports industry in Singapore.”