British esports executive Heather ‘Naysayerz’ Dower, aka Naysayerz, has today launched a new creative marketing agency known as Hotdrop.
The agency will provide end-to-end solutions for tournament organisers, teams, publishers and brands. Hotdrop offers in-house creative design, marketing and public relations services, video production and social media support, alongside other commercial services.
Hotdrop says it will offer ‘a comprehensive service from ideation and execution thanks to its diverse, passionate team of leading industry professionals’. Speaking of which, the firm has announced that some experienced UK esports names have joined its ranks.
Tom ‘Tridd’ Underwood, known for his casting and hosting work in the likes of Overwatch, has been appointed marketing manager.
And designer and high elo UK League of Legends player, Joe ‘Joekerism’ Kent, is on board as creative manager. He previously worked at ESL UK as video/graphics editor, alongside Heather, who held the role of marketing director. They both left the tournament organiser late last year, when ESL UK announced a spate of voluntary redundancies as part of a global restructure.
While Joekerism hasn’t played in UK League competitions for a few seasons, he told Esports News UK he is still playing the game casually when he can.
The team also consists of other editors and designers. Hotdrop’s founding team has more than 25 years of esports and gaming experience, and also draws on knowledge from the worlds of sport, retail and technology.
It’s a good move as, while the UK has plenty of tech and games PR agencies, it doesn’t have many specialised in the esports space. So Hotdrop seems to have identified a real gap in the market.
“Founding Hotdrop has given us the opportunity to show the world of esports what we are made of and I am so excited to see what we build in the years to come.”
Heather ‘Naysayerz’ Dower, Hotdrop
“Ever since being involved in the space, I’ve always aimed to combine my passion for content creation, gaming and esports,” said Hotdrop founder and managing director Heather Dower.
“The same passion is shared by our incredibly talented team, pushing innovation and creating narrative for the fans. Founding Hotdrop has given us the opportunity to show the world of esports what we are made of and I am so excited to see what we build in the years to come.”
The organisation has been in operation since January, and has provided creative marketing support for partners and events including ESL’s Rainbow Six Siege Premiership season and Intel’s FutureGen leadership campaign, as well as managing public relations for Endpoint –
CSGO’s five-time UK and Ireland champions.
Hotdrop will also provide marketing and dissemination support for the Weavr Consortium – the government funded organisation which aims to revolutionise how people watch esports. A Weavr app went live late last year.
Several Hotdrop press releases have been sent to Esports News UK this year, helping us to cover developments in esports. We also took part in an Endpoint stream talking about careers in esports.
Hotdrop also said that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has responded quickly by installing remote workflows to keep the team working, and has shifted marketing campaigns from offline to online formats.
The team say they’re eager to work with new stakeholders from across the esports and gaming industries.
For more info, you can visit the Hotdrop website or email them here.
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.
