Inside Esports Star Franchise Optic Gaming
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Optic runs teams for games including “Call of Duty,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” “Halo” and “Gears of War.” But the franchise emphasizes content creation as much as competitive excellence. Team members record themselves playing games, creating slickly edited videos that draw eyeballs and ad dollars. Optic also provides looks at players’ lives that often have nothing to do with gaming. One example: A YouTube video of star “Call of Duty” player Ian “Crimsix” Porter taking a hike last summer drew more than 80,000 views.
The always-on approach is the brainchild of Optic CEO Hector Rodriguez, 37, who along with esports agency RevXP has leveraged the franchise’s celebrity status in the gaming world to lure sponsors such as PepsiCo’s Brisk and Turtle Wax. The car-care brand just signed up for a second year with Optic for a program that will include Optic-produced video content including Mr. Porter upgrading and detailing his Porsche with the help of the brand.
Brisk last year used the team to plug its Mate line of energizing tea with a weekly content series produced by Optic called “Smooth Competition.” It focused on Optic members outside of gaming, showing members engaging in go-kart racing, bowling and more. Forty-six pieces of custom video content accumulated more than 7.6 million views, according to PepsiCo. At the house, Optic keeps a cabinet full of Brisk in the kitchen and a Brisk-branded ping-pong table in the basement.
