By Joe Smith – Digital and Social Media Executive
Digital Sports MGMT’s 5th year of existence as a multi-faceted, diverse ecosystem was eventful, exciting, and endearing all the same.
The growth of DSM in 2021, whilst maintaining that soft touch and personable approach provided all of us with some great memories across the year, and so throughout this debut blog I would love to go into depth and share some of my personal favourite highlights to celebrate not only my first year of working for the agency, but also the company’s 5th year of operation.
It’s Coming Home to your Xbox
After signing full time with DSM, I was lucky enough to be introduced across the Xbox and England football teams’ partnership account, where I have helped to support our team in managing the day-to-day ongoings of the deal.
It has been an unforgettable experience so far, with a late-night trip to Wembley for the announcement film shoot being a key highlight. I feel like this partnership has really put our agency across a unique and accomplished position, as we now represent both key stakeholders of the deal, on different sides of the business.
You should definitely be on the lookout for all things Xbox and England football in the coming two years, as we help support them within our commercial and partnerships team.
Klabu Gaming Tournament
Long-term DSM client Avery Dennison worked alongside the charity Klabu, who support and help refugees across Africa participate in sport.
We supported a Klabu branded FIFA21 tournament utilising our influencer portfolio on Facebook Gaming to stream it live across 8 different channels.
My role was to run the Klabu social media accounts and tally up donations for each influencer for the day, which was stressful yet a great experience all the same.
The tournament ended with Bateson vs Richard Buckley in the final, with them both smashing the field to compete for the virtual winner’s trophy.
It was a fantastic insight into how the guys at DSM regularly organise and run gaming tournaments for a whole host of clients including Brighton & Hove Albion, Xbox, Facebook, EA and more.
The process was streamlined and professional from start to finish, and I was glad to be a part of it! You can see the full case study here.
#TeamDSM Virtual Christmas Party
The December 2020 party, although not in person, was DSM’s Director’s “favourite Christmas-do” to date, clearly setting a standard for DSM organised parties in the coming years.
I believe it wasn’t only me who struggled a little bit the next morning…however I would do it all over again as it was a superb night of games, quizzes and special messages from talent and celebrities - a great way to settle me into the team having only been working for two months.
It was a brilliant way to cap off the agency’s best performing year, one in which we cherished all of our partners, talent and employee contributions towards our goals.
Becoming The Star Baker
Late January 2021 kicked off with little excitement due to the second national lockdown! However, my first DSM project started with the oversight on all thing’s talent birthdays. Cakes were designed, and then the operation began – they were and are still sent out to each influencer and Esports talent within our roster, where Bateson87 was the lucky first! Now 25 cakes down the line, I can confidently say I am an expert at baking cakes. Just joking – they are all expertly handled via our European and North America suppliers. Although it’s been a great initiative, it hasn’t come with its ups and downs – melted cakes in the Miami sun, and deliveries to the wrong door have occasionally given us a laugh, but hopefully that’ll be the end of any issues!
DSM Bath Takeover
The stage was set for all 8 DSM employees to take the trip to sunny Bath for 3 days in July this past summer, where some of us would be meeting each other for the very first time (which sounds incredible considering I’d been spending every day speaking to my colleagues for 9 months). However, sadly two team members had to withdraw due to the dreaded COVID - yet, despite this, they still played their part in making it a special few days with lovely accommodation and activities being planned in advance. After a short session of strategic thinking and planning, the real work began with kayaking, escape rooms and golf! I think some people (they know who they are) have to work on certain skills. Overall, it was another great experience, and if Asahi would like to get in touch to become the official beer supplier for the agency, we would not say no as they went down a treat over the course of the trip.
Stay tuned for more blogs in the coming months as more of DSM’s amazing Team write guest blogs on key topics from our worlds of Sports, Gaming & Entertainment.
Thanks for reading!