Team Dignitas has launched a new smartphone app for fans (on iTunes and Android), and the firm behind it hopes to help other eSports organisations do the same.
The app – powered by Heero – lets fans stay up to date with Team Dignitas, check out the latest scores, view streams and read articles.
Heero is an app platform set up by Philip Wride, a former eSports team manager who held a role at Fnatic, ran a consultancy firm and spent two years at EA Sports on FIFA.
He told eSports News UK: “Coming from the angle of knowing how hard it is for teams to secure sponsorship and build revenue streams, Heero aims to give something back to teams based on the knowledge I’ve gained from my time outside of eSports.
“If, collectively there is the opportunity to understand more about the audience, and help teams monetise their respective audiences, then hopefully we move into a position of a rising tide lifting all ships.
“Teams are already creating content for their websites and social channels while monetisation often comes from third-party advertisers and sponsors. Repurposing some of that content, and expanding upon it with an element of exclusivity, means that teams can look to offer something new to fans and open up a new revenue source.
“With mobile phones sitting in the pockets of just about every fan, a dedicated team app becomes a natural way for teams to connect with fans on a more personal level and vice versa.”
However, Philip did suggest that Heero ‘may not be much use’ for smaller UK eSports organisations such as those which compete in the local ESL UK League of Legends Premiership.
“On the UK side, sadly Heero may not be much use here until the overall market develops,” he said.
“Dignitas are going to be the first team to have their own custom branded mobile app on the Heero network but there aren’t really any other UK teams with a sizeable fanbase to warrant having their own app. This may change over time with Gfinity focusing on the UK market and helping raise the profile of games like Halo.”
Our new team app has been released on itunes go download it – https://t.co/BS3k7p6Sh6
— Michael O’Dell (@dignitasODEE) March 14, 2016
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
