New Astralis CMO explains why she left VICE\u2019s Refinery29 for esports AstralisAstralis have bolstered their ranks outside of the server with a new hire, bringing in Samantha Yu as the new chief marketing officer of their parent company. The publicly-listed esports organization, much like other major companies in the industry, are placing importance on building their brand to stand out to fans and commercial partners alike even when they\u2019re not competing. Yu\u2019s experience in content and media aligns perfectly with this objective as in her role as chief marketing officer she will help Astralis Group with their commercial efforts, partnerships, and establishing a deeper connection with fans. She previously served as the vice president of brand and marketing at Refinery29, a publication owned by VICE Media, leading a team of creatives to deliver value to brands by effectively connecting them with the site\u2019s readership. \u201cI\u2019ve been aware of the power and appeal of esports and its ability to bring people together since I was a teenager,\u201d Yu told Dexerto in an exclusive interview. \u201cI remember one summer, when I was visiting my grandparents in Seoul, one of the major malls had an area along a main walkway for people to play StarCraft. Big screens, gaming chairs, everything. I had been learning to play with my cousins, who were all obsessed, in the local PC bangs\u2026 but I was such a newbie. I was in awe of the crowds gathering to watch the competitions. There was a real buzz! \u201cMore recently, though, I\u2019ve been curious about esports as a way to connect with audiences and about gaming as a way for people to find entertainment, self-expression, and community. Esports has been a hot topic of conversation for anyone interested in innovation, content, and connection. As a marketer, I\u2019m always thinking about new ways of telling stories and serving audiences. News of exciting developments in gaming and esports, from brand campaigns to trend reports to partnerships, came across my desk regularly at Refinery29. So I was naturally intrigued.\u201d Read More: TSM launches talent agency – Having been aware of esports for quite some time, the next question is why she chose to make the leap from a senior position in a major media group to Astralis Group. There are dozens of prominent organizations in esports that could benefit from her expertise. \u201cAstralis is already a strong brand with a clear mission to champion the positive power of gaming and esports,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s an organisation that\u2019s helped esports reach new audiences and shaped the landscape. I\u2019m coming in with a genuine curiosity and respect for what\u2019s been accomplished both in the esports industry and by Astralis Group.\u201d Esports is gaining traction in the mainstream but it\u2019s still a young industry that changes frequently. There are no best practices due to its infancy so creative leaders with fresh ideas have a lot of room to innovate. The media industry is similar in that its landscape is always changing as companies look for the best methods to monetize their audience without alienating them. With Yu\u2019s nine years of experience at Refinery29, working her way up from an editorial associate to a VP, she\u2019ll bring over a unique perspective from an industry that\u2019s well-established yet full of challenges. \u201cWhen I first started at Refinery29, my focus was on creating great content and building a mission-driven brand that our audience would love,\u201d she said. \u201cEventually, I also added a commercial layer, thinking about how we could introduce brand partners into conversations in a genuine way. \u201cNot only am I passionate about building brands and finding creative ways to connect with and engage global audiences, I also put a lot of care into the team that makes such incredible work possible. Creating an operation and a culture that enables the ambitions of the organisation to be met and the skilled people who are a part to feel fulfilled is extremely important to me. It\u2019s not just about what we do but how we do it.\u201d There are real challenges that must be overcome in esports for companies to thrive. It\u2019s hard to monetize the act of competing and that\u2019s why we\u2019re seeing organizations act more like media groups. Just look at FaZe Clan and 100 Thieves to see this in action. Read More: Top 10 most valuable esports teams in 2020 – Astralis Group understand the importance of building a robust and fruitful commercial arm, having already forged successful partnerships with major brands Garmin, Logitech, hummel, HP, and Bang & Olufsen. Adding Yu to their ranks will likely to see things taken up a notch but there\u2019s no blueprint on how best for them to move forward. Their future is in their hands. \u201cPart of what got me so excited about the esports and gaming industry was the creativity and the personality that shone through the marketing and brand activations, from game releases to fashion partnerships to in-game activations,\u201d Yu told Dexerto. \u201cThat creativity invites more fun and surprising thinking. \u201cMy main focus when it comes to partnerships will be to identify and create experiences that delight our fans where brands can play a genuine role. I\u2019m always looking for that sweet spot where Astralis, our fans, and our partners can share in something greater than the sum of its parts. \u201cWe\u2019re working \u2014 and eager to work \u2014 with partners who want to create engaging and memorable experiences for audiences old and new. Who are eager to be a part of culture through esports and, especially if they are new to the industry, trust Astralis as their guides for connecting with gamers and esports fans. Who think creatively and aren\u2019t afraid to experiment and try something new. And who are interested in building long-term relationships not just with Astralis, but with the esports and gaming community.\u201d Yu starts with Astralis Group on February 1 and will report to CEO Anders H\u00f8rsholt while working closely with other company leadership members chief revenue officer Jakob Lund Kristensen, director of communications Steen Laursen, and recently-announced commercial director Kasper Sindt.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Astralis CMO explains why she left VICE\u2019s Refinery29 for esports AstralisAstralis have bolstered their ranks outside of the server with a new hire, bringing in Samantha Yu as the new chief marketing officer of their parent company. The publicly-listed esports organization, much like other major companies in the industry, are placing importance on building […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21804\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}