Ad Space? In my TF2?
Otherwise known as jumping the gun.
In lieu of Schetter's recent and riveting articles, I thought it may be a good idea to hammer some things down. I do apologize if it seems like I'm stealing your thunder.
First, I've taken it upon myself to catalog each of the maps that are found commonly in the competitive scene. As of yet, I've completed cataloging CP_Bandlands, CP_Granary, and CP_Gravelpit. The point? We may need a clean and organized system of referring to each of the ad spaces that Valve so conveniently left us with. Thus, instead of Red Valley Mining or Gray Gravel Co. sponsoring our beloved game, we can have real sponsors putting up their posters/sprays/billboards all around our competitive scene. So long as their color scheme isn't too off (like incandescent rainbow), I don't think that the viewership will be too distracted.
One important note is that besides Badlands (and possibly Granary), the amount of pre-existing advertising space is quite limited. Badlands by default has 28 spots (including some that are rarely ~ never viewed, such as within spawns), while Granary (26) has VERY few in the mid area, and those in the yard are often too high to see. On the other hand, Gpit has an astounding 13 spots (again, including those spots that are rarely ~ never seen). Thus, I’ve taken the liberty of highlighting certain spots around the map, which I believe would be alright for advertisements as they’re flat areas with relatively boring texture. So long as the ads aren’t too intrusive, it shouldn’t provide too much of a distraction to the players.
Take a look through a few of the screen shot's I've taken (and also the list of names I've used to catalog: judge please)
Badlands Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?4wr5nzirm1ihaur
Granary Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?ney0qztmvymnvnt
Gravelpit Link: http://www.mediafire.com/?z1oztjzzyyjemki
These are by no means the only way to advertise. We can have the old text spam in bright green text appearing periodically and even have the caster(s)/commentator(s) periodically drop a “This match has been brought to you by the people of Gray Gravel Co: bringing you the grayest gravel since 2007.”
The final point I wish to make is that it will be quite hard to lure in sponsors. If you doubt me, take a look to the right of your screen. See it? Even on CommFT, we have 3 open spaces reading ‘Sponsor Us’. It has been reading like that for quite a while now. Thus, we have to somehow bring out word that TF2 is a viable and profitable way of advertisement. How? I’m not sure.
As a side note, I’ve been thinking up of a basic model for this association to run off of (in terms of revenue).
For each game, we can sell sponsor spots for advertisements (in the aforementioned places of the old BLU and RED, provided that they aren't too distracting and tasteful enough). The earnings for each game will probably be determined by the name value of each team: e.g. coL. v Blight would generate more viewership, and therefore more revenue (sponsors would be willing to pay more) than say 22d. v Knockout Gaming. (This provides an incentive for a team to "get good").
To put a pricetag on each spot, perhaps we could have a bidding system? Or would you rather simply have a price on it.
Taking the revenue generated into consideration, we first subtract the upkeep required for the association (website management, cost of server space, etc...) and possibly a flat income (double minimum wage?) for the caster(s).
Afterwards, we take ~10% revenue out to keep for the prize pot at the end of the tourney (with approx. 50%, 30%, and 20% of the pot going to 1st, 2nd, 3rd placers), and distribute 60% to the winner of the match and 30% to the loser (thereby increasing the incentive to have a good team). The owners then divide up the winnings with the players (and possibly the subs) according to their contract.
Some problems we need to consider are:
1. Prevention of team stacking --> if the outcome of each match is predetermined, it won't generate too much viewership
2. Regulations for player payment --> should we leave it all up to the owners, or should we have general outlines?
3. Class distinction --> perhaps not a problem, but something interesting to ponder: would a scout be paid more than a medic? A soldier? How will players be ranked (and therefore have payment possibly determined) if they're not of the same class? Will payment be evenly divided amongst the players?
4. Incentive for early investment --> what exactly could we offer the early investors? Position on the board? A cut of the profit?
5. Board member payment --> how much/will we?
So I’ve taken one step. Let’s take another step forward, shall we?
Questions? Comments?
Comments
The days of explosive growth in this community are long behind us, to be real about it. Instead of coming up with large scale schemes that would clearly only work if TF2 were a rapidly growing game, a better idea would be to find ways that we can maintain the best quality that we can with the leagues and tournaments that we already have.
A lot of people really seem to overestimate the reach that this game has. In the context of PC gaming the competitive TF2 scene is nothing.The quake live ESWC streams had in excess of 10,000 spectators. TF2 has never, and will never get that many spectators.
Hate to be a pessimist but…
Even then, advertising would not generate any meaningful revenue - there are far better ways to market than a niche game like TF2. Like I said before this has been tried and its failed in games with a reach that far far exceeds the maybe 400 constant spectators for a typical match. And the same 400 people spectate every match.
The amount of revenue you're going to generate from this is going to be insignificant - it's just not worth it.
I am very certain if you were to pitch this idea outside of the idealist community we have here at COMMFT then it would get a lot more criticism from people who'd rather not have ads in their game.
That is a sourcemod plugin..
I am not saying TF2 will fizzle, it is a possibility, but a long term advertiser simply is not going to buy into that due to the history, it a realistic thing that needs to be addressed. The only thing I do think is the frequent updates from Valve are approaching their end and we may see a situation like CS16/CSS was in for the past few years.
Historically, it wasn't the TV Deals that got things rolling, that came later, it was businesses using the teams as ad revenue streams that peopel bought tickets to see. Once the players union showed up and modified the revenue streams. Then things shifted to the players. However most major sports are having issues right now. (Re: The packers disclosure of their financial statement) So even those model have significant issues right now.
Again, this entire blog post was a pie in the sky, and not even something I am particularly caring to address, but if the conversation is there to discuss long term hypothetical, why not.
Hawk, if you're not thinking at least 10 years out then there's little point. Trying to shoehorn all of gaming into a single organization will only yield similar results.
There's no jump to the absolute; you can't go from 0 to 60 without passing 5 at some point. And let's face it, most games/sports that have tried to go big have barely gotten past that point anyhow. But the ones that are big, this is how they started - really small and not making any cash. TV deals, merchandise, this is all when it really starts rolling in - of course that's lofty, does anybody really think it'll get to that point this decade? Of course not. But there's ZERO chance of us getting close to that over time if a proper foundation isn't built.
Regarding the possibility of TF fizzling (remote, imo), I already addressed that possibility in my last post…pick a new game and move on. Focus on a single game, however, is essential.
To be perfectly honest, this I simply do not see ever working if money is in the equation at all. SImply put, TF2 has been out for going on three years, the number of participants is relatively stable, your biggest matches really get less then a 1000 viewers. We can make TF2 all it can be, which is in fact the goal of the association, but it will also be the demise of that same association. Gaming doesn't fit into the same category as say the NFL or MLB in a sense that the players themselves are pretty fickle and any givens game days are in fact numbered. If you don't increase the portfolio beyond TF2 which we may be able to sell for two more years since I really don't see Valve direct involvement with the game lasting beyond this year honestly. You just created the greatest association to watch a ship sink. The concept of an Association is about E-Sports, not a particular game. The multi-game aspect is mainly about profit sharing and increasing the revenues. AKA TF2 portion is self contained and runs, CSS or LoL also has its own governing body that may in fact already exists, basiccally it allows all the communities to pursue things as a group. No one game is big enough to be a blip on the radar on its own.
Look at how the revenue streams really work:
The League (in a sense of MLB for example the league is the business/association so to speak) they approach the television contract of all the individual franchises (independent business ventures) and treat them all as a collective package for revenue streams. The teams have the ability to license their own merchandise to some extent but it needs to have a MLB logo on it, so most of the revenue that comes in then goes to the league and divide up from there.
With say TF2, the teams simply are not big enough to get those revenue streams on their own and simply never will, even in the largest games at the moment (MW2) there just isn't a brand or anything at play. So it goes back to the league getting contracts signed. And trust me when it simply is not going to happen within the next 5-6 years since to many people got burned trying it from an advertising stream, that is why CGS chose the format of more then just CSS (even though most of the game managers were CSS team owners). It was to have the best shot at a product that will last and see which game finally takes a bit and a fan base.
At the moment, no you would not expect the NFL to branch out, they have a core business that is very successful and no means do they need to branch out, but they did do side ventures when they believed it helps the core product.
Now truthfully, I think the expectation of ad revenue at all in any game is far fetched at best, but if you want to discuss it which the blog post seems to imply, you may as well be realistic about the chances and how it might work, if I am to take CS16, which historically was a much more popular game then TF2 will ever be as it stand currently, the association concept really didn't go anywhere (How much has the G7 really done for CS/CSS that you know of, most players likely have no idea what the G7 is? For those curious is a gaming association that includes the seven largest MGS on the planet)
I agree with you, and that's what I tried to convey in the 60/30/10 cut, but perhaps the 10 was a bit too big. I still feel that there should be some sort of prize as an incentive for teams to get better.
You wouldn't similarly expect the NFL to suddenly branch out and start holding competitions in soccer, a 'national sports league' is just as ridiculous as it sounds, and finding sponsors for it would be just as difficult as it is for these all-encompasing gaming leagues. If you're serious about advancing TF to the maximum extent then no other games can even be a part of the picture. It's not about playing numbers, it's about bringing legitimacy to a single game and taking it as far as it can go, with the teams and players as the benefactors. Any purposes outside of that are, at best, unnecessary, and at worse, detrimental.
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