Vortex Gaming

Gaming has evolved into esports. It can be said that its beginning started with the history of computer games. This is because it aligns with the essential values of sports, which evoke a sense of competition from victory and defeat, and form bonds through understanding cooperative relationships. Of course, the beginning was humble. In the early days of esports, users perceived game tournaments as 'festivals for enthusiasts' or 'leagues for themselves.' However, as time passed, technology advanced, and tournaments became more formalized, the scale expanded day by day, and it established itself as an industry.

Especially after the birth of the League of Legends game, it gained explosive popularity both domestically and internationally, and related tournaments also continued to develop day by day. The increased scale is one thing, but it is also evaluated as a 'complete esports scene' based on the fact that it has become a leisure activity enjoyed by people of all ages. According to data released by LCK (League of Legends Champions Korea) in 2020, the largest new influx of LCK viewers was in the teens (53.5%) and 40s (44%), and the influx of female fans (46%) increased significantly.

As a result, companies around the world are focusing on esports. If gaming gear companies have supported esports from the beginning of esports to the present, now even vehicle, clothing, pharmaceutical, film, jewelry, and food brands that seem to have nothing to do with games are increasingly participating in marketing activities through esports. HP OMEN is considered a veteran sponsor among these sponsors, having supported various tournaments and professional teams early on.

Currently, HP OMEN supports esports company T1 and LCK. In fact, HP OMEN's active role in the esports scene with various sponsorships is not limited to League of Legends. In 2017, through an official sponsorship agreement with Blizzard, it also supported HP gaming PCs and monitors for the Overwatch League and Overwatch World Cup. After that, they changed their route to League of Legends. It is said that they are collaborating with T1 and LCK because the game title accounts for more than 48% of the games, more than 70% of domestic gamers have experience playing League of Legends, and it is currently considered the strongest league in Korea.

Until now, HP was associated with printers and had a slightly office-oriented brand image, dominating the overseas desktop and laptop market. Therefore, I was curious about OMEN's position, which has been continuing its relationship with LCK for 3 years and T1 for 2 years. Whether the effect is certain based on large corporations. Whether there are any discords in promoting the business. So, Inven prepared a time to talk lightly with Jeong Ji-yeon, Director of the Consumer Personal Systems Marketing Team at HP.

HP Director Jeong Ji-yeon (hereinafter HP): "I think this is my first time greeting Inven. Hello, I'm Jeong Ji-yeon, who is in charge of PC system marketing for general customers at HP Korea. I started my relationship with Inven in 2017 with coverage of the APEX finals event."

HP: Since then, we have also conducted a live broadcast of the launch of HP OMEN's new product on Inven Broadcasting Station, and started gaming PC marketing in earnest from 2021 with the growth of LCK and the game market. Inven's HP OMEN brand page is also operated as part of that."

HP OMEN products mostly have high-performance parts that are effective for gamers who require high-performance graphics. From a marketing perspective, I was curious about the reason why they jumped into this market and continued their relationship for a long time, even though the specifications required by LoL are somewhat low to fully express the original performance of the product. I'm talking about the reason for choosing LCK and T1, and whether they are definitely experiencing the effects of esports marketing.

HP: "I didn't worry about that at all. To imprint OMEN as a gaming PC among Korean gamers, I decided to partner with LCK because I thought it was more important to be recognized as a "gaming PC" among people than the fact that the PC is high-spec. Because LCK is the league of League of Legends that Korean gamers love the most. At the same time as choosing LCK, cooperation with teams within the league was already planned. The reason for choosing T1 is simple. Because it's No.1. (laughs)"

HP: "The effect... I think it's certain. According to internal survey results such as brand awareness surveys, it has been steadily growing since 2021, and in 2022, it ranked first in the gaming PC market share in the third quarter, and recently (CQ123 IDC) market research data continues to maintain the first place in market share. Because the effect is good, I am more happy these days because I can introduce and promote more things to domestic gamers."

In Korea, the popularity of assembled PCs, which are built by purchasing parts separately, is still good. If only physical compatibility is confirmed, you can select and purchase the parts you want, and if you have a spare PC, you can invest time and effort to aim for individual discounts, and thanks to this, it is receiving good reviews in terms of cost-effectiveness. However, for people who do not know hardware well, it is difficult to check if the computer does not work or something is wrong, and furthermore, there is a problem that A/S is a headache.

I have also experienced HP OMEN PCs several times. I have played games at Riot PC Bang in LoL Park, where 'HP OMEN Desktop PCs' are installed in all seats, and I have used it several times for reviews. It was a PC room with 101 seats prepared according to the LOL game name concept, and all seats were equipped with the same Intel i7 CPU and RTX 3070. It was a performance that could be driven as an active player, and at the time, it was the same as the PC used by the players at the competition venue as the official PC of the LoL Champions League, so there could be no disagreement in terms of specifications.

HP: "We installed HP OMEN desktop PCs in the Riot PC room in LoL Park and the arena player seats to provide the best gaming experience to users and players visiting LoL Park. HP OMEN desktop PC is not only the official LCK game PC, but also the official game PC for the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) Pacific, so users who are interested should visit LoL Park and try it out. (laughs)"

HP: "LoL Park is nothing less than a mecca for LoL users. From HP OMEN's point of view, I think it is the only channel and strategic stronghold that provides a space for game fans to experience and communicate with gamers. That's why we are placing PCs in LoL Park with OMEN products and expect various reactions from users. HP OMEN wants to share and understand the experiences of gamers."

HP: "In fact, HP desktop and laptop brands are largely divided into OMEN and Victus. Before we started full-fledged gaming PC marketing, that is, three years ago, HP gaming brands accounted for only 3% of the total gaming market. At the time, very few users knew the HP OMEN brand name."

HP: "However, by continuing to collaborate with LCK and T1, we have achieved rapid growth by increasing the gaming PC market share to 18%. I think that the awareness has increased to the point that there are almost no users who do not know HP OMEN if they are LCK and T1 fans."

Because I work with hardware, I get to handle a lot of parts with good specifications and performance, and I tend to look at the specs first, but HP OMEN products have something more than that, so the order changes. To express it in a similar word, it's like 'optimization'.

The advantage of HP OMEN PC is that it supports 24-hour integrated A/S that only brand PCs support, and the invisible compatibility of each part is good. The frame change range is a bit smaller than when playing games with an assembled PC with better specifications than the PC. This is due to the compatibility between each part, but also to the air control, that is, the cooling solution, which was carefully researched in brand PCs.

If you are a gamer who has seen HP OMEN's advertisement or campaign, you would have laughed at least once. Even if it was really funny or a slight chuckle, Director Jeong Ji-yeon said that she did not waver much. It was a reaction within the range she was worried about. Rather, she was satisfied that even people who were not very interested in this field were curious about "What is this advertisement?" and watched it until the end.

HP: "Recently, we have conducted two major campaigns with T1 in Korea. Under the campaign message "Only skill proves you", this year's OMEN RULE and "Define the skills of T1 players with your own words"."

HP: "In the case of the campaign, I thought it was important to first know who the main target of PC games is, and how they think, worry, and enjoy the game. The main game age group for PC games in Korea, where 70% of the population are gamers, is in their 20s, and I thought that young people in their 20s and people who enjoy games are the same target group. From the beginning, I wanted to deliver a message that was somewhat unconventional and elicited their sympathy strongly. I didn't think about a mild, ordinary campaign. It was a bit of an adventure, but I was confident."

HP: "After a long period of deliberation, I had a clear goal. Let's create a culture where we can share the concerns in the minds of people in their 20s who enjoy games, so that we can rejoice and suffer together with the people who live in this era, and sometimes create opportunities to seriously talk about each other's concerns."

HP: "As a result, in the video to deliver the campaign message, some gamers initially expressed "cringe" when they saw the players' appearances that they had never seen before. I think there was also a sense of rejection from the unfamiliar appearance. HP OMEN thought that through the campaign message, we could find what I wanted to get in the game world and a wonderful me who proves myself with only skills, so we proceeded with the campaign. I think gamers enjoyed the OMEN campaign."

HP: "Perhaps because they are players who have reached the top, I gained a lot of inspiration and ideas through prior interviews and communication with T1 players. All the messages are based on their interviews. I was also moved by their stories every moment and became more of a fan while conducting the campaign."

HP: "The T1 players I saw usually have timid personalities, are quiet, or play quirky pranks, in other words, 'ordinary Korean young people in their 20s'. However, in the game, they sometimes become devils (DEVIL) who foresee the opponent's next move and move, and sometimes show monster-like (MONSTER) skills. I tried to create a place where we can rethink their skills and think about what "skill" is in the game world."

HP: "That's how we came to conduct this campaign, 'Define T1 players with your own words'. How many people in this world can do it at once when you say, "Hey, express yourself in a word"? I started with the hope that I could also provide an opportunity for individuals to think about what "skill" is in my opinion while thinking about the skills of T1 players with my own words, but I don't know if you enjoyed it. (laughs)"

HP: "In particular, I remember conducting a prior interview with T1 players to conduct this campaign. It must have been the day after Faker confirmed his 3-year contract with T1 in the winter of 2022. I was moved by hearing the T1 players' attitude towards games, how they deal with victory and defeat, and their wonderful stories of overcoming trials."

HP: "Also, the word 'DEVIL' for Faker is the ordinary Faker in his 20s, but in the game, I thought it was the perfect way to express the image of Faker, a skilled player with foresight and strategies that are several steps ahead of the opponent's thoughts. To maximize this, we exposed a black and white front photo as a key visual. The reaction of the fans who saw the photo for the first time was really amazing, and later, various memes were created. I knew that the fans' reaction was interest and love, and I think that the fans slowly started to understand it after time passed."

HP: "Also, when monitoring the opinions of fans, I sometimes see opinions that they do not consider the player's personal thoughts or time too much. When we conduct campaigns, we go directly to the T1 office to share opinions with the players in detail and work on them in a fun way. Of course, interviews for the campaign are also conducted in the off-season. I think it's just a misunderstanding that can arise because the live point is during the season."

It feels like the puzzle is now being put together. When Keria appeared with red eyes and in a lotus position, when I saw an image of a mugshot that was slightly different from the T1 players I knew, I tilted my head, but soon I was able to guess the starting point, progress stage, and future appearance of the campaigns that focused on the message. .

All the campaigns that HP OMEN has shown were not gestures to communicate with gamers and form a bond through how sincere they are about esports and games. HP OMEN's unique move seems to continue in various genres in the future, and Director Jeong Ji-yeon revealed that they are continuing to collaborate not only with League of Legends but also with other genres.

HP: "Recently, there is also news that HP OMEN has signed an official sponsorship for the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), 2023 VCT Pacific, targeting the East Asian region. The Korean market is particularly focused on LoL, but if you broaden your view to the global market, we are investing in other genres of games. HP OMEN is proud to support the VALORANT tournament to build a better esports community."

HP: "The semi-finals and finals of the 2023 VCT Pacific, which HP OMEN and Victus officially sponsor, will be held on the 27th and 28th at the Jangchung Gymnasium in Seoul, and we will be operating an HP booth on site, so please show a lot of interest and participation."

웹진 인벤이형민 기자
2023-06-07