A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

[SlipperyDuck]

Don't take my somewhat powdery response as the official one.
As Jono said, we've discussed this to some degree in the Admin meeting previously.

Here is a thought though, as it seems we've already "made up our minds" here, but it may not necessarily be as set in stone as we would like to think.

Battlefield Bad Company 2 is the Flagship Game being sponsored? While logistically it makes sense to formalise everything under one umbrella, are we setting our commitment on one game again, much like we had in Battlefield 2? The reason i raise this point is that we had great difficulty in branching out into other competitive games, like COD or TF2.
What if the commitment was not necessarily on one game, what if, for example Digital Life had a request from the supplier to host a LAN (us being the hosts and finding venues etc etc) and the game was NOT Bad Company 2, what if it was Call of Duty or Starcraft even? Where the said supplier was sponsoring a prize or 10 and wanted us to create an event?
While hosting events has never featured on any discussions, I thought I’d send it out there for some grey matter thumping. Think about it, this particular deal has no hard set goals and it is not Digital Life only, an event type setup MAY actually be something they want out of us. Not simply attending any particular LAN of their choosing. – (Well at least, that’s the kind of setup that makes sense to me from a sponsor point of view)

Anyway, food for thought.

Other than that, we have a limited draft of committed players, we may need to recruit based the outcome of future discussions, so ponder on that too.

[SlipperyDuck]

Oh and Drags, I feel your excitement and commitment, but this IS Grrr, we're slow, so it normally takes more than 24hours to process a post, then another 24 hours to formulate a thought, followed by another 24 hours to convert said thought into a post. . . . ..

[Phatso]

Incoming massive wall of text. Please read on...
intro
First up apologies for not responding sooner. I understand that the responses may have seemed lackluster. We need to get the thoughts flowing here and do need to make sure we leave no stone unturned. I was thinking about things. I have a truckload of "real life" shit going on at the moment (little good, lotsa bad), as I am sure we all do. And this is something we gotta keep in mind when agreeing to be involved like this. Unless this becomes a full time venture, with contracts, salaries etc (more on that later)... Real life (good reason permitting) will take preference. I have so little time as it is (we all do), and I like to choose when I game. Not get forced into it. Fortunately, I feel like gaming 90% of the time.

Practice thoughts
We would to set in a strict practice schedule. Not only to get in shape, but to stay in it. If we have been selected as the "best" clan, we need to perform like it. Practice not only irons out creases but also gets the cohesion needed to rock worlds. At any given moment of any given round, you need to know EXACTLY what ALL your teammates would be doing. Having competed in multiple rAge comps and AGASA leagues (and have results to prove - please don't take that the wrong way), the amount of time set to practicing is sometimes hectic. And that was at a small scale. This will be even bigger. Technically, every spare moment online would be spent practicing. This in itself is a HUGE task. One which will need to critically assess and accomplish.

LAN thoughts
This, in my opinion is where we can really shine. Being the center of attention at pretty much EVERY rAge (previous years too!), proves this point. The clan attracts interest and attention. The members are all such individuals with completely different personalities. The diversity shines in real life situations. No more stereo-typical gamer BS. This is a barrier I believe we can overcome. For the good of all gamers. Online, everyone is a talker. In real life very few are walkers. Let us pioneer the new breed of gamer. The one that has a life, and a personality, but that'll frag n bag you in a second. Additionally, it would be great to be able to see you guys more often (no jokes). It'll bridge any gaps that exist and bring us closer together. (i know nothing really related to the actual events themselves, but these are my thoughts on "public appearances").

Hardware thoughts
A very interesting topic. Assuming they will sponsor rigs, what will become of current hardware? I (and i know quite a few of you too) have just spent a little bit of cash (judge it how you wish), upgrading my machine, almost SOLELY to compete in BC2. What now? Sell old hardware? See it as money wasted? We need to see if they are willing sponsor full blown rigs, or not just a standard component (Digital Life LCD... ? ). I am wondering what I would do with my brand new hardware...

Contract
Would be signing a contract of sorts that says (non-legal) "I will play and represent DL wherever." With the amount of time and effort and all the sponship stuff (gear etc), we essentially become a part of DL. Would this mean that they would pay us a salary? Would it be market related? Would we need to keep our old jobs and work for "said work" and DL? All these things need to be found out. As mentioned, we are all career men and women. We need to make sure that in the event that this is SUPER hectic, there is a form of remuneration. It is for the love of gaming, but if your current work suffers as a result? (negative I know, but needs to be said)

Ability to work, play hard and now game hard too...
I work every week day, game every week night and party all weekend. Will this be fine? Would I need to curb one of the mentioned? Work less? Game more? If we have to attend Friday/Saturday night matches/events, will they be compulsory? What about significant others in all this? Will they be allowed to travel with us? Come sit with us and support us? Real life is important, as are our friends and family. How will this affect them?

Management
The clan needs to be managed by an admin member. Jarrod in my opinion (no offense to ANYONE else) would be perfect for this. He has the clans best interest at heart and this way, we can be sure we won't get screwed. Otherwise we have a situation where a non gamer/lamer/absolute doos manages us and destroys anything and everything that could've been.

Games
The most popular competitive game in the world currently is still CS. That is not a good thing for us. We don't know it and don't like it (assumption). WoW has some MAJOR sponsorships going down. The top guilds in the world (in EU, US and Asia) all have full time jobs basically playing WoW. Bad Company 2 comes along now... Is it going to be the game of choice for everyone? Will it be successful enough to last the next 5 years competitively? I certainly hope so. Its in our blood. BUT, they might stipulate exactly what games we compete in... That would be shit. Imagine getting told to play "Pony Island IV".

Also, Jonno posted the following which I strongly agree with

I do not want sponsorship to enforce attendance or participation in any game, LAN, competition as an 'obligation'.

+

"Becoming driven to win at all costs and losing the enjoyment of online gaming is not fine. "

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All in all, I am VERY excited with this. It is an opportunity for all of SA gaming to come alive. SA gaming needs the exposure, we can provide it. The sponsorship is cool and all, but its getting gaming out there, and showing that it can be competitive and is enjoyed by normal people too, that is cool. And doing it with the people that share the same passion as me... Shit, thats like first place!

I have a shitload of thoughts around this. Let me make them words that are understand by all, and I'll post a bit more.

[flycatchr]

awesome thoughts there everyone

i think we did do well covering a LARGE amount of thoughts there drag, both in our tel convo's and with the admins, so i expect whoever wasnt there to actually believe that they are in good hands with us. NOT to say they dont have a say, but we have thought of a LOT.

[Megageth]

One thing that concerns me is that we are not a serious SERIOUS type clan. I get miffed when I think we have underperformed as a team but honestly we dont have the commitment of the best online clans. Some of the COD & CS okes are way beyond us in both commitment and performance. I don't see us wanting to change simply for sponsorship. If DL can accept that we will carry on as we have then it will be a bonus, if they expect us to change...

Drag, don't get downhearted about the percieved lack of response, I guarantee you everyone is an a state of . I will have more to say and more of a reaction when I see exactly what they want and exactly what they are willing to give. As mentioned before, it is obvious that you and Fly have done a great deal for the clan in this negotiation and I for one am greatful cos if it comes through it will be due to your prep work and my good looks.

Are they gonna put out on the first date?

[flycatchr]

i was under the impression that the wanted some stuff sorted out well before they went to print for the for the june/july edition (deadline end april) but i did understand he wanted it asap. not that that really answers the question.

[Thor_23]

Sounds like one long ass date ....

[flycatchr]

even for me drag, it takes a few days to think of something:

every year we make a new t shirt or 2 for rAge, and each year it is slightly different (or a lot different)
I am talking branding for grrr specifically.
do we start something now (something = getting ideas together), that is specifically log term? should we wait for DL input?
any ideas?

[J_Th4ng]

^^^ There we go, now that's what I'm talking about. In the last 24 hours we've had loads of comment and opinion from people, and that's what I was hoping to see. Some interesting thoughts too. Thanks for restoring my faith a little here.

I think I'd like to comment on the 'negative' feedback as a start. What it seems to boil down to (my interpretation, so please correct me) is that sponsorship should not change clan behaviour at all. We shouldn't have to modify our existing behaviour, commit to any standards in terms of participation/ practice schedules, or adhere to any kind of code of conduct. And if we did, then the sponsorship offer is questionable.

The reality is, if we feel this way we might as well tell them to forget it right now. Sponsorship is a business transaction, and for it to work all parties must get value out of the arrangement. Putting logo's on T-Shirts is not value adding to any noticeable degree. In fact, if we're honest about it, all of those 'sponsorships' that we've got over the last couple of years for rAge have actually been donations, not sponsorships. The people/organisations who gave us money and stuff never got any real value from what they gave us. Additionally, a lot of the funds raised to get us to rAge were donations from our own clan members, supporting others in the clan that didn't have the means. A fantastic effort, and one I'm very proud of all of our members for, but it can't be compared to a sponsorship arrangement.

Within a well structured sponsorship agreement, we will be given what we need in order to compete (or at least contributions towards those costs). There would be no financial drain on clan members for this, but obviously we'd have to offer something in return.

And what do the sponsors want out of the arrangement? Clearly they want to sell more goods or increase their circulation based on an association with our clan. How do they achieve that? In order for it to be a success, they would have to raise the profile of the [grrr] clan so that it becomes a brand that people will want to relate to, and thus purchase the 'goods' that we use.

Now clearly, there has to be something existing within the clan currently that makes them believe that we are the right fit for them. Clearly their focus is not on the 'ultimate competitors’; if that was the case they would not be talking to us right now. It's also not because we play the most popular competitive online game (CS or COD4 still outnumber BF by a huge majority in terms of people playing the game). It is my belief that they have targeted us because of our make-up, our blend of personalities, and the clear bond that can be seen between members. We aren't the typical competitive gaming clan. We are on average older, more mature, more 'real' than most clans out there. We work for a living, we have families and kids, we juggle gaming with real life commitments, and (what I believe to be very important) we are representative of a group of adults for whom gaming is a lifestyle choice.

If this is the case (and I’ll admit that I am speculating here), then the last thing any sponsor is going to want to do is destroy the very characteristics that make us appealing in the first place. And attempting to turn us into the ultimate competitive machine would certainly do that.

There would have to be two objectives to be achieved for the sponsorship to work:

1. Raise our profile amongst the gaming community – we already have a good reputation amongst other gaming clans, so we have a head start here. What is missing is the masses of gaming adults that don’t belong to the clan scene, but game casually. To target them, exposure will be key. Gaining exposure could be achieved by:
a. Attending LAN events, expos, technology shows, etc. as speakers and representatives of our partners
b. Competing in events and leagues where results can be published and commented on. Clearly they would want us to do well in this competition, but it’s about exposure, not necessarily winning everything
c. Website coverage on the Digital Life site e.g. interviews, blogs, league match reviews and gaming community commentary by grrr clan members
d. Magazine coverage as above
e. Hosting LAN events/competitions. As Lee mentioned in his post

2. Link the clan to Digital Life and it’s partners – Demonstrate that ‘Clan grrr uses AVG anti-virus – because you can never have too much protection (picture of jonny). How can we achieve this?
a. Endorsements on the grrr website for sponsors’ kit
b. Us seen to be using sponsors gear at competition (monitors, keyboards and mice are the most visible)
c. Branding on our website and forum signatures etc.
d. Reviews for sponsors’ products in both the grrr/Digital Life websites and Digital Life magazine
e. General merchandising (T’s, caps, etc.) branded with supported products.

I can’t see how any of the above would be against clan ideals in principle. Sure, there would be specifics that we’d need to bed down, but none of what I’ve put in the above list could be considered as ‘anti’ clan morals.

What is important is that participation by members would have to be on an ‘opt-in’ basis. All of the activities listed above will result in grrr members sacrificing one thing – time. Time to go to LANs, time to practice, time to write reviews, time to do interviews, time to do match reports and blogs, time for management of logistics, clan membership, scheduling etc. etc. etc. It’s all about time. And that’s what we would be asked to give if this were to be a success.

I know that we all have different real life constraints on our time, some of which are immovable, and others which are by choice. Each and every one of us will have to decide how much time they would be willing to give to this venture, and what they would be prepared to do with this time. Some people are suited to management and scheduling. Others are good writers. Some are public speakers, and some are inclined towards gaming strategy and tactics. All of these skills, to a greater or lesser extent, will contribute towards the success of this. And of course there is gaming itself, and practice and match time. This is the crux of it all.

If anyone wants to be included in the team that we put together, they must be prepared to commit the time that will be required for us to compete at a good level. We know what we can achieve when we provide an increased level of commitment – we saw it back in 1998.

As part of this, not all of us would make the ‘A’ team. Regardless of game played, it’s not going to be 16 man teams, so there will be people who don’t get selected. But hey, this happened before, remember? Granted, there weren’t potential sponsorships at stake then, but the principle is still the same. If you want to make the team, practice hard and make sure you are good enough. This should not become an issue within the clan, as long as we are open about our selection criteria, and provide a mechanism for non-selected yet willing participants to challenge for places going forward. Besides, as Lee mentioned, we are currently quite low on membership, and a number of members will not be able to commit (both time wise and technically –i.e. lack of internet) to the team. Selection might be easier than we think. In fact, we may even be short of players to be able to enter a team, and need to recruit (I personally expect this to be the case).

In all, there is a lot to be defined if this is to become a reality. I’m speculating as to what the drivers in the relationship would be, and we have no idea as yet as to the rewards that would be offered. Clearly there has to be synergy between the two. As an example, take a look at the costing spreadsheet. What if they offered us everything on there? Surely then it would be worthwhile to sacrifice the time required to make a good showing? And if you think not in your specific case (for whatever reason), then you must at least recognise that there are other members in the clan that would love this kind of opportunity, and be prepared to offer up the time. Opt yourself out, and accept that you won’t get access to the hardware and merchandise, you won’t be able to attend the LAN events around the country free of charge, but you’ll still reap some pretty cool benefits. We’d have a clan server to play on. Our web hosting would be paid for and local. And you’d still be able to reap the benefits of that extremely cool tag that you wear in front of your nick – except now it may well be far better recognised, respected and even coveted. That’s got to be a good thing, surely?

[J_Th4ng]

A suggestion to everyone...

Visit http://www.digitallife.co.za/temp/newsletter_subscribe.html and subscribe to their weekly newsletter. It's probably a good idea to understand what our potential partner has to say...

It's free, so no reason not to subscribe and read it