It’s early afternoon at HyperX’s Fountain Valley headquarters.
In one studio four broadcasters are caught up in some pregame chatter, while two producers monitor broadcast feeds from several cameras in the back of the room.
In a recently built console gaming room around the corner some event headliners test equipment while others eat pizza and check their smartphones.
The room is filled with some of the best professional “Streetfighter V” and “Smash Brothers Melee” players in the world, fresh off a weekend tilt in Las Vegas at The Evo Championship Series, the largest fighting-game tournament series.
Daigo, Tokido, Punk, Mang0 and Mew2king are among the 20 or so esports stars HyperX has invited to this one-day, all-expense paid trip to Orange County before they head back home.
In less than an hour their skills will be showcased in a friendly competition on HyperX’s Twitch channel, which has more than 450,000 subscribers.
“It’s part of the overall branding and marketing of HyperX,” Corporate Public Relations Manager Mark Tekunoff said. “It’s part of our growth.”
The HyperX gaming unit is a key driver for parent Kingston Technology Inc., the world’s largest memory products maker for computers and consumer electronics, with estimated revenue last year of $6.6 billion. The division now employs 60 in OC and 110 globally.
The brand introduced its first line of HyperX memory products geared for gamers, computer enthusiasts and system builders in 2002.
But building a loyal following among gamers goes well beyond product launches, so Kingston started sponsoring teams about six years ago. Its roster of “marketing influencers” now includes about 30 organizations and 90 teams—some from a more mainstream sports segment.
Last year HyperX signed NBA star Gordon Hayward, who recently inked a four-year, $128 million deal with the Boston Celtics. HyperX followed up that signing this year with hyped Sacramento Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox, the No. 5 pick in last month’s draft.
HyperX also has endorsement deals with Utah Jazz forward Jonas Jerebko, who bought esports franchise Renegades IMG last year, and Echo Fox, owned by actor, entrepreneur and former NBA player Rick Fox, who won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“This is mainstream consumer branding. This is no longer just pure esports,” Tekunoff said.
That’s evident by the resources and money HyperX has poured into the event on Twitch.com, the world’s largest livestreaming site for gaming content with over 100 million monthly viewers.
The studio and gaming room feature high-speed internet, a must for streaming broadcasts. Teams were brought in to manage the network and production.
“This is the first time we’re using all our wires and pipes to deliver out to Twitch TV,” Tekunoff said. “This is pretty big for us. This has never been done before, and from what I can tell, it’s working.”
The setup mimics that of other major gaming tournaments, complete with behind-the-scenes coverage and interviews, but in a more casual, unformatted style.
The informal vibe and crowded gaming room is nothing new to the competitors, who got their start in similar setups, perhaps their living rooms or basements, eating chicken wings and pizza while playing video games.
“It brings it back home,” Tekunoff said.
It also adds credibility and authenticity to the HyperX brand for a booming segment weary of corporate messaging, structure and policies.
Gamers are some of the savviest consumers of media in the world, according to Dustin Illingworth, a HyperX influencer marketing specialist.
“Rather than having a slick corporate image and plaster it all over these guys, we find people that we think are authentic,” he said. “They appreciate that we don’t push ourselves too hard.”
It’s a fine balancing act for a market leader with operations around the world and an expanding suite of gaming accessory products, such as keyboards, headsets and mice that augment its line of flash drives, USBs and solid-state drives.
Tekunoff credits Kingston founders John Tu and David Sun for paving the path.
“When they see some movement and some changes, they give our management the opportunity to grow with it,” he said. “You wouldn’t see a major brand doing this in their offices.”
The July 18 Twitch viewing party went off without a hitch, peaking at more than 10,000 viewers in the early evening during an electronic Jenga match.
