While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has put a damper on big events and conventions, that hasn’t stopped some organizers from finding ways to bring their events online. One such event was 2020 edition of Gariath Concept’s Esports and Gaming Summit (ESGS).
Traditionally held at the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia, ESGS has been the biggest esports and gaming convention in the Philippines for some years now. For this year’s edition, organizer Gariath Concepts decided to take the initiative to take the event online as a way to allow the event to continue even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage.
Now, Gariath’s efforts have paid off, with ESGS 2020 being shortlisted for Best B2B Event: Exhibition/Trade Shows at Marketing‘s Marketing Events Awards for 2020.
First held in 2014, ESGS has prided itself in being a mostly consumer-focused event, unlike similar shows such as the Tokyo Game Show and Electronic Entertainment Expo.
This consumer-focus has helped the event grow from having less than 10,000 attendees back in 2014 to a record-breaking 42,000 plus attendees in 2019.
While focused primarily on consumers, Gariath couldn’t ignore ESGS’s ability to attract businesses and corporations looking to get involved with esports and gaming. In 2019, ESGS’s organizers added a Business Day to its schedule in the hopes of broadening the event’s client base and enticing them to sponsor esports and gaming tournaments and events.
The highlight of ESGS’s first business day was a series of talks designed to give brands looking to enter into esports a better understanding of the industry.
Now, in the span of a year and with the challenges of a global pandemic to boot, Gariath’s efforts to involve businesses in ESGS has caught the eye of the Marketing who has shortlisted it for a business-to-business award.
ESGS is one of only three events shortlisted for the award. The other two events are the Singapore Airshow 2020, hosted by the Changi Airport Group and the Toyota Dealer Convention 2019, by Indonesia’ss Toyota Astra Motor.
Started in 2020, Marketing‘s Marketing Events Awards are designed to recognize excellence in events marketing across Southeast Asia, South Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Marketing calls the awards an opportunity for organizers to “not only showcase your best work to the wider industry and potential, future clients but also increase credibility for your events and mark yourself as an industry leader.”
Entries in the awards are judged by an independent panel of senior, brand-side marketers including a number of executives and marketing managers from various brands operating in the region such as Facebook, Linkedin, Ninja Van, Shopee and more.
Winners are set to be revealed at a virtual awards ceremony on December 1 with a special “Recognition Day” on December 2.