From Global to Local: Building City-Based Fandom in Esports

In this episode of The Future of Marketing, host Andres Figueira interviews Tien Ho, Head of Marketing at MOUZ, one of esports' oldest and most successful organizations. MOUZ is pioneering a radical shift in esports marketing by bringing a digital-first industry back to physical reality. While other esports organizations chase global audiences online, MOUZ is building a 22-year legacy brand through hyper-local community engagement, treating their Hamburg headquarters as both a performance facility and a marketing platform. With their team consistently ranking in the top 3-4 globally in Counter-Strike, Tien shares how they're converting the product of winning into sustainable fan loyalty while solving esports' biggest challenge: making parents believe this is a legitimate career path for their children. Topics Discussed: Building physical headquarters as a marketing strategy in a digital industry Converting players into viewers in the esports funnel Creating hyper-local brand loyalty in a global competitive landscape Designing facilities to combat gaming stereotypes and prejudice Leveraging prime real estate for organic brand awareness Developing talent pipelines through youth camps and community programs Transitioning from franchise league systems to tournament circuits Executing guerrilla marketing tactics with limited resources