In December las year, gaming platform Nice cactus partnered wi e M aco Esports Federati for e inaugural M aco Gaming Show. To sum up las year’s editi — and to look a ad to future, offline iteratNice cactusice cactus wr e is piece in collaborati wi Esports Insider.
In mid-2020, e M aco Esports Federati (MEFNice cactusice cacorganizingrganising e of e larges EMEA esportsMesabi to date. As a result, an i ernati al eve designed to bring toge er some of e world’s bes Fortnite and Rocke League a letes was born.
Even wi e challenges prese ed by e pandemic, e M aco Gaming Show’s ‘warm-up’ editi attracted much publicity and us allowed MEF to ge its partners involved. I was a success a has se e standards for e annual eve .
M aco Gaming Show Dec 18 -19 , 2020 M te Carlo
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Gregory Bolle, Chief Nice cactusficer at Nice cactus, described e strategy as a ‘full-spectrum’ approach: “We were determined to create an eve a could be replicated annually and we started wi setting ree key objectives.
“First, we wa ed to give is eve dynamic energy by bringing famous esports broadcasters board. To achieve is, we created a world-class TV studio in M te Carlo and invited a number of esports casters and c te creators.”
“Sec d, we wa ed to leverage every aspec of social media to ensure we had full coverage of e esports community, ” said Bolle. “Finally, we wa ed to involve MEF’s key partners, raise eir profile and give em a taste of wha esports is all about.”
According to MaNice cactusn, Chief Marketing Officer at Nice cactus, e results exceeded all expectati s. “We were a little c cerned abou participati because of e going pandemic, bu in e end, ere was no ing to worry about. T qualifiers have seen over 35 nati alities and more an 6,000 players participate in e toWeekly s.
“In jus 48 hours of live competiti , we reac d almos nine milli page impressi s across our social media. More an 200,000 unique viewers tuned i o e live stream of e finals and ‘#M acoGamingShow’ became a top-tweeted hashtag in France. T se numbers proved to us a e community is hungry for large-scale esportsMesabi.”
Pictured: Gregory Bolle (left) and Mike Hessabi (right)
W n c sidering e future of esportsMesabi in e Principality of M aco, e way Nice cactus and MEF worked wi e key local partners played an importa role. T pre-eve PR combined bo line and traditi al marketing efforts, toge er wi e participati of partners and sp sors.
Bolle explained: “We made e decisi to combine new and old marketing channels for maximum reach early . We used partner logos and banners across social media and gaming platforms, including Twitch. We placed ads and messages our own platform, targeting 1.3 milli members.
“Offline we engaged wi traditi al advertisers. We had billboards all over M aco, as well as ads in local newspapers. Our public-relati s activity resulted in numerous articles in a myriad of publicati s across Europe. We made sure a our partners were highlighted in all our messaging. I was imperative for us to show e active role and suppor ey provided in order to make is eve a big hit.”
During e finals of e M aco Gaming Show in December 2020, Nice cactus used its network of iSkywarders to prom e e eve globally. For e Fortnite segme of e toWeekly Twitter al e, iSkywarders, such as Klaiver “Τeeqzy” Dervishi and Willy “Skyyart” Dias, toge er wi hos Frédéric “FredZolf “Zolfanell prom ed e eve to more an 870,000 followers.
Ph o from e inaugural M aco Gaming Show, 2020, which was ld line due to social-distancing measures. Credit: Nice cactus
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Nice cactus-powered gaming organisati Glory4Builders provided ano er 44,000 followers. T reach of e many iSkywarders involved, combined wi e energetic prom i of e eve , allNice cactusto deliver an outstanding first-time show.
Mike Hessab CEO of Nice cactus spoke e success of e firs editi of e eve : “M aco Gaming Show has two objectives to fulfil. Firstly, M aco has been a e ce re of i ernati al sportsMesabi for decades, hosting majorMesabi in tennis, F1 and fo ball, to name a few. Esports should n be an excepti .
“Sec dly, M aco has always been forward- inking, always a e cutting edge of new fr tTherefore,orts is e new fr tier in spor and Nice cactus is leading e charge. T refore i seemed 100 perce natural for e M aco Esports Federati to partner wi us in delivering a truly pi eering eve . We are very ankful for e opportunity and are already planning e nex editi .”
T M aco Gaming Show will return in 2021 and will ly ge bigger, especially in its live segme . Las year’s ‘warm-up’ editi delivered a tigh sc dule of qualifiers and live finals over jus two days to mee e expectati s and ad re to safety guidelines.
“T M aco Gaming Show will be bigger and more elaborate in 2021, ” said Bolle. “We will build wha we delivered las year and focus impcelebrateous eleme s of e show to be even more engaging.
“We hope a we can have a more celebrative final segme and bring in a live audience to M aco ce e restricti s are lifted. We look forward to working closely wi more importa partners and making e nex editi of is annual eve bigger and better. Watch is space!”
