Cyberport Brings Together Hong Kong and Pacific Rim Youth for Esports Exchange

Workshop Organised with APRU Teaches How to Win Heavyweight Brand Sponsorships for Esports Development

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 30 April 2021 – Hong Kong Cyberport and the Association of Pacific Rim
Universities (APRU),
a consortium of 58 leading universities in the Pacific Rim region,
today held the APRU Esports Fellowship Workshop on the Cyberport campus and
online. Talon Esports, a Cyberport incubatee and well-known organiser of
esports leagues, shared its perspective on the esports business ecosystem and
how marketing and business sponsorship can benefit the industry’s development. 30
students from universities in Hong Kong and the Pacific Rim, including the Hong
Kong University of Science and Technology, the School of Professional and
Continuing Education of the University of Hong Kong (HKU SPACE) and the Open
University of Hong Kong, joined the workshop and exchanged views with fellow
students who share their passion for esports.

Participating students conducted a mock sponsor pitch to enhance their knowledge of the esports ecosystem.

Eric
Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport, said, “Cyberport is committed
to cultivating local young talent and providing them with diversified
entrepreneurship and career opportunities. As a high-growth emerging industry,
esports and digital entertainment present younger generations with a rich array
of opportunities, from content development to team management and training, and
from event planning to brand marketing. Through this workshop, participants learned
about the esports industry’s business models and the unique advantages of Hong
Kong’s esports companies. Those aspiring to a career in esports could also
broaden their horizons and enjoy fruitful exchanges via the APRU network with
their counterparts from other universities in the Pacific Rim.”

Industry
Leader Shares Tips on Winning Sponsorships

According
to the latest forecast from industry research institute Newzoo, the global
esports market’s value will reach USD1.084 billion
in 2021, representing year-on-year growth of 14.5%. Business sponsorship will
account for USD641 million, close to 60% of the total value. This demonstrates
that business sponsorship is the esports industry’s bread and butter.

As a Cyberport incubatee, Talon
Esports is well-known for its League of Legends team,
PSG Talon, as well as for the successful esports events it has staged, such as
the VALORANT competitions in Hong Kong and Taiwan which have attracted lucrative
sponsorships from a wide variety of businesses including sportswear company Nike,
KFC Thailand, Hong Kong virtual bank Mox and gaming seat developer Recaro. Today’s
workshop tutor, Sean Zhang, CEO and Co-founder of Talon Esports, noted: “Everything
begins with the fans. Esports fans typically represent a very valuable consumer
segment for many brands, but they are also notoriously difficult to reach
through traditional channels. So the most important thing for us to understand
from a partnership perspective is what our partners are looking to achieve,
from both a business and a branding standpoint, and then our job is to work out
how we can best help them bridge that gap between them and the gaming community
in a way that is authentic and adds value for our fans too.”

Sponsor Pitch Simulations

Each participating university,
including the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, HKU SPACE, the
Open University of Hong Kong, the Far Eastern Federal University, the National
Taiwan University, the National University of Singapore,
the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, the University
of British Columbia, the University of California, Los Angeles and the University
of Washington, arranged for two to three representatives to join the
workshop.  Grouped into five teams, the
students were required to conduct a sponsor pitch for a popular esports league.
To enhance their knowledge of the esports ecosystem, feedback and suggestions were
provided by the tutor.

Organising
inter-university tournaments and academic competitions

Dr Christopher
Tremewan, APRU Secretary General, said, “Empowering
future Esports leaders in the Pacific Rim brought APRU and Cyberport together
to create the APRU Esports Fellowship Program. Through Cyberport, the new
generation will have access to the resources they need to develop skills and
build networks for careers in the thriving Esports industry, including access
to over 140 Esports start-ups. A perk of our program is that students will have
the exclusive opportunity to pitch to industry leaders after learning about
sponsorship relations and insider tips that cannot be found in textbooks. Going
forward, we will forge ahead with this partnership and offer more opportunities
for students to learn through student-led inter-university tournaments,
academic competitions and fellowships.”

APRU is a premier alliance of
research universities, established in Los Angeles in 1997 by the presidents of
UCLA, Berkeley, Caltech and the University of Southern California. It aims to
foster collaboration between member universities to promote economic, scientific
and cultural advancement in the Pacific Rim. APRU now has a membership of more
than 50 leading research universities.

Organised by Cyberport in
partnership with APRU and the Monterrey Institute of Technology and
Higher Education, the APRU
Esports Fellowship Program is a one-year
programme dedicated to the esports industry. Cyberport’s session in Hong Kong
is the programme’s third workshop, with the first two hosted by the National University
of Singapore and the University of California, Los Angeles. The next
workshop is planned for May, and will be hosted by the University of British
Columbia. In addition to workshops, the programme also includes competitions which
aim to boost the student’s esports skills and techniques.