ESI has revealed the agenda and full lineup of speakers for the return of ESI Digital Spring. Taking place from March 30-31st, the event will bring together industry pioneers from esports, sports and global brands to discuss and debate sponsorship, investment, tournament delivery, fan engagement and more. ESI Digital Spring will see over 60 speakers, 400 attendees and offer more than 16 hours of live content across two days, with unrivalled networking opportunities for all attendees.
Speakers for ESI Digital Spring include some of the industry’s most celebrated thought leaders and brand authorities. The event will play host to two days of well considered and engaging content with the likes of Riot Games, Pringles, Team Liquid, BBC Sport and ESL all taking to the virtual stage. Sessions include:
Monday 30th March
- Brand wars – how are the biggest Chinese teams and brands expanding their audiences?
- Confirmed speakers: Bo Shen – VP International – RNG, Trinity Wu – Head of Overseas Marketing – LGD Gaming, Stijn Jacobs – Head of Strategy – Insightful, Yang Zhao – Commercial Head – Nielsen Sport China & Laura Byrne – Account Executive – Swipe Right PR
- Health in gaming – the next big thing?
- Michal Noga – CEO & Co-Founder – MADMONQ
- Overseas esports teams in China – who’s winning the popularity contest?
- Tom Elsden – Senior Business Director – Mailman
- ESI Brand Showcase #1 – G2 x Pringles
- Sabrina Ratih – Partnerships & Biz Dev – G2 Esports & Andreas Billker – Senior Marketing Activation Manager – Pringles
- ESI Brand Showcase #2 – ESL x DHL
- Christine Schröder-Schönberg – Head of Global Sponsorships – DHL & Stephan Schroder – SVP Global Brand Partnerships, EMEA – ESL
- Is Valve’s laissez-faire approach to its esports products more help or hinderance?
- Nicolas Maurer – CEO – Team Vitality, JMR Luna – CEO – OG, Michał Blicharz – VP Product Development – ESL Gaming, Jonathan Berg – CEO – Alliance & Kirsty Endfield – Founder and CEO – Swipe Right PR
- Payment processing in esports: ecommerce opportunities and prize money challenges
- Han Park – CEO – Payment Labs, Gene Hladki – CPO – Starladder & Dan Houl – Head of Esports & Gaming – Nuvei
- The fairest tournament
- Dr Darina Golden – Director Data Science – Bayes Esports & Ben ‘Noxville’ Steenhuisen – Senior Software Architect – Bayes Esports
- Letting it ride on esports – How gambling on esports is evolving
- Sean Sullivan – Partner – Davis Wright Tremaine, William Collis – Genji Esports & Dr Brett Abarbanel – Director of Research – UNLV International Gaming Institute, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Tuesday 31st March
- Monetising online offerings – looking to the future
- John Fazio – CEO Founder – Nerd Street Gamers, Gregory Bolle – Chief Revenue Officer – NICECACTUS.gg, Romain Bigeard – Business Development Manager – Riot Games Europe & Tatiana Tacca – Advisor & Consultant – TT.GG Advisory
- ESI Brand Showcase #1 – NSE x Barclays
- Alex Coulson – Managing Director – NSE & David Gowans – Head of Games and Esports – Barclays
- ESI Brand Showcase #2 – OpTic x Mavix
- Hector Rodriguez – CEO – OpTic Gaming & Matt Hillman – Co-Founder – Zoned Gaming
- Rights Holders: Maximizing Fan Engagement, Sponsorships, and Brand Ownership Through Your Data Assets
- Charlie Hanley-Nicols – VP – GRID Esports, Valentyn Shevchenko – Business Development Lead – WePlay Esports, & Kyle Freedman – Broadcast Talent
- Checkmate. Is chess an esport?
- Walter Wang – Head of Operations – TSM, Andrew Peterman – Chief Content Officer – Envy Gaming, Kaja Snare – Sport Director – Play Magnus Group & Kerry Waananen – Esports Insider
- Investment in esports, 2021
- Joey Brander – President & Managing Partner – First Serve Partners, Spike Laurie – Venture Director – Hiro Capital, Almudena Berzosa – VP Investor Relations and Strategy Development – Team Queso & David Jones, CEO – OCEANWORX, Agent – SPORTEL
- Broadcast wars: The esports production landscape 2021
- Nicolas Estrup – VP of Product – BLAST, Nigel Crow – Sports Rights Executive – BBC Sport, Ryan Thompson – CPO and Co-Founder – Esports Engine & Nick Collier – Managing Director – High Viz Media Group
- Fan Engagement in esports: Tips, tricks, and tech
- Miquel Matthys – Founder and CEO – 3D Aim Trainer, Anders Blume – Founder – Skybox, Daniels Evans – President and CEO – REELY / Rocketreel, Tricia Sugita – CEO – FlyQuest & Miles Yim – Communications Strategist – Story Mob
- Esports teams and fandoms: Memberships, fan perks and loyalty points
- Bo Kryne – Director of Fan Management – Team Liquid & Henry James – CEO – Espo
“I am really excited to kick off the year with our first digital event and welcome a wealth of industry leaders and brands. At Esports Insider we pride ourselves of being a platform where the esports industry can not only showcase its advancements but also welcome and educate brands looking to grow within the space. This year we have an events calendar which focuses on quality content and ample networking working opportunities across three digital and at least one physical event. We really hope we can safely welcome you all to London for our flagship event later in the year,” said Sam Cooke, MD and Co-Founder, Esports Insider.
“G2 Esports are thrilled to be involved in the Esports Insider Digital Spring Showcase this year. G2 have worked alongside Andreas and the Pringles team for the past six months, and created some amazing content for our fans as well as those who are new to the esports space, including our groundbreaking ‘Making the Squad 2021’ series. We are excited to share some exclusive insights on the series and delve into its creation, strategy and the overall impact the series has had for both Pringles and G2.” commented Sabrina Ratih, Interim Commercial Director at G2 Esports
Throughout 2021, ESI is set to offer an abundance of high-quality digital and live events starting with ESI Digital Spring, followed by ESI Digital Summer on September 8-9th and Winter from 1st-2nd December. Both events promise riveting industry talks and brand showcases, with ESI Digital Summer featuring the fourth edition of The Clutch, a pitch competition for esports startups. ESI Digital Winter will also see the return of the prestigious Hall of Fame, which will see more notable industry leaders inducted and celebrated across the two day event. ESI is also working on delivering a physical edition of its flagship conference ESI London towards the end of the year and will look to release more information on this later in the year.
Co-operated by ESI and Platform and returning for its third season, the Win From Home (WFH) League pits companies against each other in a ‘casual but competitive’ tournament to see which company will gain bragging rights as champion across all game titles. From May 10-30th, companies will have the chance to compete in CS:GO, Rocket League or Brawlhalla, teaming up with their colleagues to show off their skills and represent their company in this authentic ‘corporate’ esports league experience. To find out more and register for the WFH League, you can head here.
The first confirmed teams for WFH League in May will be announced next week, in the immediate aftermath of ESI Digital Spring which will see GRID return as a Gold partner for the ESI Digital Spring alongside Bayes Esports, Davis Wright Tremaine, Nuvei and MADMONQ.
View the full agenda for ESI Digital Spring here, and tickets can be purchased here. This year ESI is offering discounted Annual Passes for those wishing to secure their attendance to all three digital conferences throughout 2021. Follow Esports Insider on Twitter and Linkedin for all the latest updates.
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