031: The business of translating
[Before - Session 10] I'm not a gamer, but has that ever stopped anyone in advertising?
One of my favorite aspects of working in advertising is the opportunity to explore and gain fluency in worlds I don’t frequent or simply don’t know. Because then we get to illuminate those cultures.
I had no idea how beer got made until I worked on Anheuser-Busch, and we got trained on their global supply chain and process. Visiting Volkswagen’s Glass Factory in Dresden, Germany gave me useful insights on materials sourcing and manufacturing. Did you know they record video of the inside of each engine cylinder to ensure production quality?
I had no idea over 240 colleges and universities offered degrees and programs in e-sports. But it kind of makes sense given the global industry is “exhibiting a CAGR of 21.0%.” Clearly Hollywood noticed, hence Super Mario Bros. and Tetris arriving in this moment. (Great story here on "the greatest Tetris player in the world”—a woman who had no idea she was that good.) And there’s a growing range of e-sports fitness routines. Never mind the brouhaha over games selected for the Olympic Esports Series 2023.
I am not a gamer. I was happy to play Call Of Duty on Carmichael Lynch’s network during lunch hours, and hear much better players laugh as they sniped my character mid-spawn. 🙄 Thanks to my teenagers, I have minimal skills in Minecraft, Fortnite and Roblox. But my six year old thinks Acron is pretty funny.
Now I’m fascinated by the personalities, tribes, rituals, politics, bureaucracy and cultures of gaming. And I’m excited to welcome guest speaker Marty Wetherall, co-founder and CEO of LeagueOS, to help us unpack and explore potential impacts on the future of advertising.
I’ll have “During” recap late tomorrow evening.