Cory Hollingsworth is Head of Partnerships & Brand Engagement at ARterra. Cory’s experience working with Panini Trading Cards ended up bringing him to the world of esports.
In this conversation, Rebecca and Cory discuss how professional athletes in traditional sports can bridge their love of gaming into their personal brand and sponsorships. They give great ideas on how brands can work with these athletes to create more fan engagement and reach.
Full Episode Breakdown:
2:19 – Cory discusses how his study of sociology in college ended up leading him to study sports management as a graduate degree, which led him into working in professional sports.
4:25 – How working for Panini Trading Cards taught Cory the ins and outs of marketing and growing a great brand in the world of sports.
8:57 – Cory discusses what it’s like to build marketing and branding campaigns, not just at a national level, but at a global level.
10:15 – Selling sports cards is about selling the players, and Cory talks about how they would interact with the players to do social campaigns and help build the brand while building their personal brand.
13:43 – Cory discusses how working with athletes at Panini helped to cross over working with athletes in the esports world.
17:43 – When it comes to the cross over of professional athletes to esports athletes Rebecca and Cory talk about what it is that fuels these athletes to do the crossover.
22:18 – What do professional athletes need to know when it comes to building an esports personal brand from the ground up?
28:21 – Why professional athletes are starting to experience the FOMO when it comes to building a social presence and getting more involved with streaming and gaming.
31:58 – Rebecca and Cory discuss some creative ways brands and athletes are working together within the gaming world.
35:12 – How the standard world of meeting and engaging fans can take on an entirely new level with the ability to utilize streaming and gaming.
40:41 – When an athlete actually builds their own personal brand, what are the lines of working with brands from an individual level to a team level.
44:21 – Cory discusses how brands can get a better ROI on working with athletes directly when it comes to gaming vs. trying to work with the esports professional teams and athletes.
46:21 – Who is the one who initiatives the conversation when it comes to finding the right fit between brands and professional athletes.
To connect with Cory on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coryhollingsworth/
Or Twitter: https://twitter.com/CoryHollings
To connect with Rebecca, visit: https://www.happywarrior.us/
And follow her on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/RLongawa
